On 26-27 March we participated in a two-day workshop at the invitation of the Innovation Partnership Centre. The event took place in the unique premises of the historic Bosáková banka building, which created an inspiring environment for professional discussions and exchange of experience.
The main topic of the meeting was the project „Branded region without borders“During the workshop, we discussed with tourism stakeholders the possibilities of supporting local producers, strengthening the visibility of regional brands in the cross-border area and creating a simple manual for future needs of regional product labelling.
The first day was marked by expert lectures and seminars. After the registration of participants and the official opening, the Innovation Partnership Centre a vision of a coordination hub for regional signposting and cross-border cooperation that adds value to the regions.
This topic was also addressed at the level of the Prešov Region. The topic Regional signage in the county strategy as a tool for territorial development Martina Slivková PhD., MBA from the Tourism Department of the PSK. The emphasis was on networking tourism actors, building an efficient system and the associated sustainability of regional brands in the Prešov Region with a vision for the period 2027-2034.
Methodology and quality: setting up cooperation and tools at regional local level for synergistic quality assurance approached Ing. Ľudmila Elexová PhD. from the BBSK Development Agency. She reminded the expectations from the regional branding, which are closely related to the increase of sales, presentation in the online space and harmonization of cooperation of producers in the region. She also mentioned common mistakes, errors or assumptions that circulate in the regional product labelling space. She called for community building and presentation of the region as a whole, where brand territory selection and networking play an important role.
Practical steps to introduce the "Made in Šariš" brand: regional product brand - vision and goals explained the director of the Regional Tourism Organisation of the Šariš Region Ing. Peter Halaj. He presented the process of connecting two parts of the region - Upper Šariš and Lower Šariš under a single regional brand Regional Product Šariš. He thus confirmed the importance of setting aside a territory that the brand presents and at the same time a territory that is known for its values and local producers. He also mentioned another important step - the certification of the Šariš Regional Product, which is planned for the coming period.
Regional Tourism Organization Horný Zemplín, represented by the director Mgr. Michaela Zdražilova presented Destination management in action: regional branding included in tourism products. From a practical point of view, she explained experiential tourism products as another possibility of regional branding elements. The presentation also included a summary of the successful events held so far, which have met with positive feedback.
The first day of the workshop ended with a short discussion about the toolbox, which is to be the practical output of this project. We continued this theme on the second day of the workshop.
We listened to the concept they are working with in neighbouring Poland and what ways of labelling regional products work in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The emphasis in this environment is on regionality in the sense of a larger territorial unit, which is very different from the understanding of regional products in Slovakia. The unity and coherent identity of the regional brand in Poland thus reflects the strong link between all the actors involved and also has a strong impact on the end customer. The result is a cohesive and compact representative set of the most important values and traditions that present the country and its nation as a whole through the products of local producers.
At the end of the workshop we returned to Co-creation of the Toolbox: development of a concept for the Polish-Slovak border area, which was presented by Ing. Zuzana Horaničová. Through an interactive process and participatory discussion, we gave the Innovation Partnership Centre suggestions to complete and consider within the project. Participants would welcome the outcome in an innovative, interactive, clear and updated form, supported by case studies and timeframes of the regional branding process.
The workshop brought a lot of stimulating ideas, concrete proposals and new partnerships that will serve as a basis for the next steps of the project. The common goal remains to create a functional and interconnected system that supports local producers while bringing quality regional products to a wider audience.
We believe that the established cooperation and exchange of experience will contribute to the successful implementation of the project „Branded Region without Borders“ and to the long-term development of the cross-border region. We thank the organisers for the invitation and all participants for their active approach and inspiring discussions.
Source: Regional Tourism Organisation Región Šariš
Photo source: Regional Tourism Organisation Región Šariš
