Рубрика: Теория и история культуры
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Международные фестивали как способ продвижения культурного бренда Владивостока

Денисов Никита Андреевич
бакалавр 1 курса, кафедра телевидения

Владивостокский государственный университет экономики и сервиса
Россия. Владивосток 
E-mail: nikita.denisov@yahoo.com; тел.: +79025568119
ул. Гоголя, 41, г. Владивосток, Приморский край, Россия, 690014
Научный руководитель: Беркович Татьяна Александровна, 
старший преподаватель, кафедра межкультурных коммуникаций и переводоведения. 

Ключевые слова и словосочетания: международные фестивали, культурный обмен, имидж, международное признание, культурная столица.

                      International Festivals as a Way to Promote Cultural Brand of Vladivostok

Denisov Nikita Andreevich
Bachelor of the 1st year, Department of Television

Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service
Russia. Vladivostok
E-mail: agentdog@mail.ru; tel.: +79149675771
41 Gogolya str., Vladivostok, Russia, 690014

Scientific adviser: Berkovich Tatiana Alexandrovna,
Senior lecturer, Department of Cross-cultural Communication and Translation

Close cultural ties between nations can promote better understanding and contribute to the positive image of Russia abroad. The author examines   international cultural venues held in Vladivostok as an important factor to make our city famous among world film and music industry representatives. The events can serve as a good example of promoting Vladivostok’s cultural brand.

Kew words: cultural ties, cultural exchange, image, international recognition, capital of culture. 

At present time, international cultural events can stimulate the promotion of a city brand enormously. The main goal of organizing cultural festivals is to make a city appealing for international community.
The creation of a cultural brand can bring drastic changes to the development of a city, therefore increasing its appeal towards more tourist-based infrastructure, economical uprising and international awareness. Many famous cities throughout the world use culture to motivate people to visit them. Simon Anholt in his book “Competitive Identity” considers culture to be one of the most important elements in the city’s so-called “Brand Hexagon”, hence an integral unit of its competitive advantages. In fact, culture is capable to have an impact on all city’s main components, from its physical and economical influence to its presence on international markets. 

Culture has an enormous potential in leveraging residents’ and visitors’ behavior and perceptions. In most cases, it give the city brand an emotional value. When a place evokes emotions and creates memories as well as personal experience and expectations, it can result in a positive output of consumer’s behavior. 

How culture can serve a city brand: Example Verona, Italy	

The second largest city in Italy’s Veneto region, Verona is globally known for its unique cultural heritage. Art and architectural monuments ranging from Roman, Middle Age to Austro-Hungarian Empire – protected as UNESCO World Heritage – attract about 750 thousand visitors each year.
What is interesting in the case of Verona, from the position of place branding, is the city’s approach to managing its cultural assets. Although the artistic and cultural activities of the city are based on the main landmarks representing Italian culture, the intangible brand assets management is what brings more than tangible economic results for the city and improves a quality of life.
In Verona the preservation of the past goes hand in hand with an innovative event-hosting policy to sustain the cultural offering for the future. Culture is understood as a tool for development of creative activities, which move the economic progress of a place. The scope and quality of activities aimed at promoting cultural diversity of a place is well incorporated in the main community action plan for sustainable city development and broadly supported by local government and businesses.
The unique experiences of the city are consistently communicated by local DMO encouraging visitors and residents to participate in active dialogue in regard of Verona tourism product.
In order to better understand the experiences of the visitors, the local DMO conducted a study resulting in a conceptual map of city attributes which directly influence visitor perceptions. The study had a profound effect on the city’s brand development, now paying equal attention to visitor target markets, residents and investors. Seeking to attract visitor spending through cultural and event activities, Verona has simultaneously revitalised its image as a lively and dynamic place to live and to invest in.
In the study, the supply side of the tourism offering was presented by a variety of factors: Safety, welcoming attitude, greenery, cleanliness, hygienic facilities and pedestrian zones were chosen as basic factors directly affecting visitor perceptions of tourism attractions. Service factors taken into account included signs, information points, parking, receptions, transport and road conditions. Monuments, museums and exhibitions together with a wide range of events – from opera and theatre to gastronomy and sport – were selected as factors of attractiveness.
Factors were then carefully analysed through the prism of their relevance, priority (level of importance), margin of satisfaction and price-quality ratio. Based on the results of factor analysis Verona’s DMO was able to map the areas of improvement within its tourism offering and to develop a powerful tool for managing visitor perceptions of the Verona brand.

Growing importance of events in city branding.

Events, especially festivals and theatre performances are probably the most ancient form of creative activity, which for a long time were a community affair, aimed to revitalize the economy and to create infrastructure. With growing competition between cities on the global arena, events started to be used as a promotional and branding tool more often. As Richards and Palmer have argued in their “Eventful Cities: Cultural management and urban revitalization”, cities are increasingly developing cultural and other events because there is a widespread feeling that events are more flexible than certain types of fixed physical infrastructure.

So what is the cultural brand of Vladivostok?

Vladivostok has already become 3rd city in Russia popular among tourists all over the world. In fact, the town is constantly becoming more appealing not only to foreign tourists, but also to musicians, filmmakers, producers and to other cultural luminaries from different European or Asian countries. 
Therefore, we must understand the urge for creating a more alluring character to the city and shape a well-recognized cultural brand of Vladivostok.

VROX

We can’t start the discussion about a cultural brand of Vladivostok without giving credit to one of the most valuable music festivals in Russia. VROX is not only an expansive musical event, but at the same time it’s an international conference on matters of the music industry and cultural management. VROX brings in musicians, producers, music industry professionals, interpreters and journalists from central Russia, Mongolia, South Korea, China, Great Britain, Germany, South Africa, the U.S, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Far Eastern Federal University campus provides accommodations for the festival’s participants. The festival is both the result and the cause of the changes occurring in Vladivostok over the years. It catapults Vladivostok to new international heights, enriching the Russian musical scene with Asian philosophy, and introducing a creative Russia to the world. 
VROX festival has been taking place since 2013 and has become a platform for a successful international cooperation and cultural exchange. Unfortunately, due to the tough economic and political situation in Russia, VROX 2018 has recently got canceled. 

Pacific Meridian

One of the largest Asian-Pacific festivals takes place nowhere else, but in Vladivostok and since 2003 Pacific Meridian has become a true movie enthusiast’s place of visit. In addition to large film programs, film festival creates an annual cultural program. Traditionally, the cultural program includes: 

•	Concerts with the participation of musicians – festival guests
•	Exhibitions, including devoted to the history of film festival
•	Creative meeting of famous actors and directors with the audience
•	Open-air cinema and many others. 

The sixths International Film Festival “Pacific Meridian” was a presentation of an unprecedented international project: “Cinema Train. Cinema train – is a master class for young filmmakers, which took place on board of the “Moscow-Vladivostok” train. Within 2 weeks 18 participants from different European countries traveled throughout Russia, with stops in various cities and shot 6 short movies all united in one theme: “Where is the border of Europe?” Films have later been edited in Vladivostok and presented during Meridian program. After world premiere of the movie in Vladivostok, it has been selected for display at the Cannes Film Festival program. And finally, Pacific Meridian Film Festival held an international Filmsammit “Eurasia” aimed for developing cooperation between Russian, European and Asian investors and financiers, producers, distributors, representatives of public funds financing film industry. Within the bounds of the Forum there was a round-table dedicated to Russian involvement to co-production in Europe and Asia and “Co-production as a Business strategy” master class by a Korean director, founder of Pusan International Film Festival, director of film school in Seoul – Park Kwang Su.
In the very end Vladivostok fits the conditions for creating a strong cultural brand, however without certain support from the local government or investors, the rate of grows will stay on the same average level. As was already mentioned above, one of the biggest festivals playing huge role in a development of a cultural brand of the city got canceled, which of course doesn’t play in the cities favor. City just as well provides international exhibitions and holds Jazz Orchestra concerts with musicians from all over Europe, though these events are almost unnoticeable on a mass scale. Vladivostok’s cultural differentiation is a must and the city must make sure that massive cultural events live and develop, because as the new investors, producers, musicians and film makers arrive to Vladivostok – only then the cultural brand with make Vladivostok a cultural capital of Russia.

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