  29 декабря 2005 In need of image makeover, Ukraine turns to experts
by Vlad Lavrov, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Dec 14 2005, 23:37
Foreign ministry announces tender for national account; local PR agencies to compete
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry is going to hire a public relations firm to improve the country’s image abroad – and the ministry is prepared to pay 4.5 million euros ($5.4 million) to whichever agency wins the account.
Olena Zakharova of the ministry’s press service told the Post on Dec. 13 that the public relations campaign would promote Ukraine’s tourism, cultural and economic potential. The tender marks the latest step in an ongoing program to improve Ukraine’s international image. Zakharova has estimated that nearly Hr 42 million ($8.3 million) has been spent on the program so far.
Martin Nunn, chief executive of the Kyiv branch of White’s International, said the list of tender requirements included getting Ukraine coverage on CNN, CNBC and Fox News as well as in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Financial Times. White’s International will take part in the tender, he adds. He said tender participants were given a mere five working days to prepare.
Olesya Rotonos, the ministry official in charge of the tender, said that competing firms must provide banking guarantees worth Hr 700,000 ($140,000). Nunn said he welcomes the government’s recognition that it needs to compete with other countries to attract foreign investment, but he is critical of some of the government’s past methods. Among these he mentions its preoccupation with conferences and roundtables. “Publishing annual financial reports on Ukraine in adequate quantities will do 10 times more than 1,000 conferences,” he said. Nunn also says the media’s business coverage is problematic. When the news is positive, people suspect the company discussed paid for it.
As a result, Nunn says, most journalists prefer to stick to negative news, which harms how Ukraine’s business climate is perceived in the West. A switch to what he defines as more balanced coverage is needed. “Journalists should be free to praise and criticize where it is due,” he said. Aryna Satovska, managing director of PRP Ukraine, a Weber Shandwick Affiliate Company, also says that if the budget figure is around the reported 4.5 million euros, as sources have it, it’s a good deal, and in line with international precedents.Satovsak said PRP will participate if the tender is open and transparent. “A massive PR attack won’t fix Ukraine’s international image immediately, but very serious improvements can be made,” she says. Satovska notes that this is the first time she can recall such a tender being held publicly, even though the program has been around since 2003.
Oksana Hoshva, who runs her own PR agency in Kyiv, says she might be interested in taking part in the tender, as long as all the attendant requirements and responsibilities are clearly spelled out. She also wants to make sure the winner will not need bureaucratic approval for every step it takes. “It might happen that the winner in the tender will instead win the right to be a scapegoat, responsible for all the problems with Ukraine’s image abroad,” she said.
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