The new city brand of Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city, was presented on December 9. The brand was created by Deem Communications marketing agency. Along with a team of professionals, more than 2,000 people from Gyumri and other cities were engaged in the process of brand development participating in polls, seminars and discussions.
The presentation of the brand was followed by a series of trainings by Icelandic place branding expert, storytelling and communications strategist Hjörtur Smárason. The meetings were aimed to encourage local businesses, media, government agencies and non-governmental organizations to use the brand as a tool for development. “If you want to attract investments and new people, the reputation of the city is essential, – said Hjörtur Smárason. – For most of the history cities did not manage their reputation, it just what happened by itself. Today, with the tools that city branding provides it is possible to built and direct a reputation more deliberately.” The trainings took place on December 11-13 in Gyumri Technology Center and were held with the support of European Union and German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ).
By the end of December Deem Communications will present brand application strategy for 2018-2019 to the local government.