Since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and started its occupation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014, the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been spreading disinformation in an attempt to undermine Ukraine’s international image.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is yet to find its place in the global narrative, Farzana Baduel, the founder and CEO of the London-based Curzon PR firm, said at the Kyiv’s Post’s 6th annual Tiger Conference on Dec. 5.
Baduel, who has advised governments on strategic communications and worked on the United Kingdom’s 2016 Vote Leave campaign to quit the European Union, was speaking during the conference’s ‘Strategic Communications: Branding Ukraine” panel discussion.
She isn’t new to Ukraine. Back in 2012 she worked with the Ministry of Culture to promote Ukrainian contemporary art abroad. However, she says she still struggles to articulate what Ukraine is as a nation and how it differs from its powerful and more prominent neighbor, Russia.
“There’s a vacuum in the minds of people who barely differentiate Russia from Ukraine. For the outsiders the two countries are quite synonymous, which almost legitimizes Russia’s aggression,” she said in a conversation with the Kyiv Post after the panel.
Ukraine needs to ditch its “victimhood mentality” of blaming its poor international image on Russia, and start with deep soul-searching to define where it stands on the global scene, and how it is different.
Baduel suggested conducting some kind of national audit to identify the country’s assets and strongest sectors, to find engaging stories in its history and culture, and to understand what audience it wants to appeal to.
A great source of ideas is the Ukrainian population itself, Baduel said. It is one thing when someone in a position of power decides on what Ukraine’s image should be. But it is another story to run a nationwide opinion poll on what Ukraine means to its citizens.
The national brand has to be consolidated and shared by all parties and delegates, she said.
“The biggest obstacle that Ukraine’s national brand faces is a lack of consistency and a shared vision and strategy,” Baduel said.
Once a rational position is formed, the next step would be communicating it. Here Baduel advised to appeal to the emotions, through storytelling and imagery.
She recalled her experience of bringing British journalists to cover Ukrainian contemporary art, which resulted into a number of positive publications in top UK media outlets.
“Western media are thirsty for something new, and Ukraine is new,” she said.
To boost third party endorsement, the Ukrainian government needs to adopt consistency in reaching out to foreign media with story ideas and organizing regular press trips for foreign journalists. A few articles won’t break the negative coverage cycle, she said.
“It’s doable in-house. Get national airlines and hotel chains involved. It must be a joint effort,” she said.
