A provincial Russian town: images for insiders and outsiders

The Russian Journal of Communication. 2016. Vol. 8. No. 1. P. 67–79.

Radina N.

This article is to analyze the image of a provincial Russian town in the communicative context – for the insiders and the outsiders. This analysis helps to manage the town’s brand and to evaluate the tourist potential of the location. The research is based on integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches. The image of the territory (which forms the brand’s basis) was reconstructed through the qualitative and quantitative content-analysis of 515 unstructured focused interviews with the citizens of minor towns. The residents of a provincial Russian town form its image predominantly through nature (rivers, forests, the opportunities for hunting and fishing, etc.). The image of the town for the insiders (focused on the nature) varies considerably from the version for the others/ the outsiders (where the town’s nature, history and culture are integrated). So the town’s branding for inner tourism may vary considerably from the brand aimed at international tourism.

Keywords: брендинг, образ города, провинциальный город, the provincial town, image of the city, Branding, tourist attraction of the city, туристическая привлекательность города