DESTINATION BRANDING OF EUROPEAN RUSSIA: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE WEB PROJECTED IMAGERY

Web branding is an important strategic tool for building a promising travel experience that is uniquely associated with the destination and that reinforces the emotional connection between the visitor and the place. With the proliferation of the Internet, destination marketing organizations' (DMO) websites became a crucial communication channel for projecting a desirable place brand image. With an attempt to rehabilitate the brand image of Russia, this study explores the following: (1) What are dominant attributes in the brand images of European Russia communicated via the DMO websites? (2) Which words appear most frequently on the DMO websites of European districts of Russia? (3) Is there a discrepancy between the projected brand images and stories it tells in words on the DMO websites? As these perspectives contribute to a better understanding of the induced component of Russia's destination brand image in the online environment, content analysis of DMO websites from three European Russian regions is conducted and practical implications are discussed. The results have important marketing implications.