Promotion ideas for an Embassy

[thekunk07]

tell the man/boy love stories, people eat those up.maybe in a participatory blog format.

Originally Posted by ratboycom

So, I am currently interning for the Embassy of Afghanistan doing PR and my boss wants me to think of some ways to promote the embassy and the country. Basically we are trying to shift the image of the country away from three decades of war to more positive things that are happening. Also we are trying to spread a little more info about the culture.
Currently we have an E-news letter/monthly e-zine, have a pretty strong presence in community events, etc. My job is to find ways to grab more attention on the internet side of things, so Social Networking, designing activities and things to get people interested in the culture and such. Currently I am working on building up a Youtube channel to post video from events we have held, musical performances by Afghan artists, etc.

Does anyone have any tips or leads on what I could do to gain more attention to our cause, or have any suggestions for sites or programs I should start working with? In all honesty would anyone want to read a Blog/twitter about goings on in the embassy/country?

Thanks guys

Also, if you could please try not to derail this thread with the typical SF Snark

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

Hope they're paying you plenty....

 

[Matt]

OK we are in the realm of my area of expertise here, and I was recently involved in developing a pretty similar strategy for a European country here as a favor to a friend in the consul...but even then, Afghanistan is a stretch.

Anyhow Collin, what is the objective of this...

Most of the time that I have been asked to work in embassy promotions it has either been to promote tourism, encourage increased trade or to promote education to potential foreign students in the market in which I am operating. What does the Afghan embassy want from this?

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by Matt

OK we are in the realm of my area of expertise here, and I was recently involved in developing a pretty similar strategy for a European country here as a favor to a friend in the consul...but even then, Afghanistan is a stretch.

Anyhow Collin, what is the objective of this...

Most of the time that I have been asked to work in embassy promotions it has either been to promote tourism, encourage increased trade or to promote education to potential foreign students in the market in which I am operating. What does the Afghan embassy want from this?

I assume they're not even there yet and merely want to raise goodwill/image and not much else. Maybe keep Japanese people being supportive of their nation's efforts in rebuilding the country. Just going on a limb here but...

 

[Joffrey]

Originally Posted by Magician

Hope they're paying you plenty....
Working at an embassy is always relative. As a U.S. citizen abroad it's nice because most if not all of your pay is tax free, plus free housing. FSN's aren't so lucky - But it sounds like good experience if PR is the OP's main interest. If they can put some good gigs together, it'd look damn good on his resume I think. PS - Having family from a developing country with a crappy rep, I'm always interested in stories/opportunities whereby another misunderstood country/culture is working to sell itself. PS #2 - What's the objective of these events? I would imagine it's simply to show the Japanese that Afghanistan is more than terrorism and opium as Fuuma implies. Sounds about right at this stage of their development/predicament.

 

[globetrotter]

I'd focus on

1. the Budism connection- there is a lot of budhist art out of afganastan (maybe not existing any more there, but there are pictures of it)

2. carpets - there are some fantastic high end carpets that come out of afganastan, and I would focus on pictures of that as art.

3. some early islamic art is, to my eyes, very similar to some japanese zen art - minimalistic, sort of abstract and using letters as a core to the art. I'd go into some islamic art websites, probrably the Qatar foundation is a good place to start, and see if you can find some images that fit your needs.


good luck,

 

[acidboy]

imho, first thing the afghan government should sell is the idea that tourists won't get blown up there. I think a lot of people would find afghanistan intriguing enough to visit, but there is that negative impression they have to address first.

 

[Matt]

Afghanistan as a buddhist country is gonna be a hard sell

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Matt

Afghanistan as a buddhist country is gonna be a hard sell

if they didn't blow all the good art up, it would have been easier

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Matt

Afghanistan as a buddhist country is gonna be a hard sell

or, "afganastan, where we've persecuted people like you for 1500 years, but now we want your tourist dollars so you're getting a pass"

 

[willpower]

It's going to be tough to interest people in art, architecture, etc without addressing the issue of safety. Maslow, you know. People want to know that life is getting back to normal - kids are going to school, women are allowed education. Show examples of that. Many westerners think the country is a big desert with dilapidated structures and black turbaned bad guys. I certainly do. The images we get to see in the west are of bootleg DVD stores and 70 year old junkies drinking tea. I think Normalcy should be the big theme. Create a weekly hi definition video blog on Vimeo and Youtube that demonstrates how our perception of Afghanistan is wrong.

 

[ratboycom]

Originally Posted by acidboy

imho, first thing the afghan government should sell is the idea that tourists won't get blown up there. I think a lot of people would find afghanistan intriguing enough to visit, but there is that negative impression they have to address first.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I assume they're not even there yet and merely want to raise goodwill/image and not much else. Maybe keep Japanese people being supportive of their nation's efforts in rebuilding the country. Just going on a limb here but...

Actually this is a large part of our mission here, to change the idea that it is all just a burned out fucked up place and that there are interesting things to do or see. Though it is not somewhere you would really want to go and stay for much longer than a few days, at this point even that is welcome. Mostly we want to change the image of the country. For Japanese people who do not want to brave the conditions here I am aiming to promote some of the local Afghan owned businesses like restaurants and carpet shops.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I'd focus on

1. the Budism connection- there is a lot of budhist art out of afganastan (maybe not existing any more there, but there are pictures of it)

2. carpets - there are some fantastic high end carpets that come out of afganastan, and I would focus on pictures of that as art.

3. some early islamic art is, to my eyes, very similar to some japanese zen art - minimalistic, sort of abstract and using letters as a core to the art. I'd go into some islamic art websites, probrably the Qatar foundation is a good place to start, and see if you can find some images that fit your needs.


good luck,

Thank you for the input

Originally Posted by Jodum5

Working at an embassy is always relative. As a U.S. citizen abroad it's nice because most if not all of your pay is tax free, plus free housing. FSN's aren't so lucky - But it sounds like good experience if PR is the OP's main interest. If they can put some good gigs together, it'd look damn good on his resume I think.

PS - Having family from a developing country with a crappy rep, I'm always interested in stories/opportunities whereby another misunderstood country/culture is working to sell itself.

PS #2 - What's the objective of these events? I would imagine it's simply to show the Japanese that Afghanistan is more than terrorism and opium as Fuuma implies. Sounds about right at this stage of their development/predicament.

Actually as I am an intern, I am not getting paid anything to do this, but there is a very small chance that if it takes off they could create a new position for me at the place. I have already shown my worth in computer skills that everyone else here seems to be lacking.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

Actually this is a large part of our mission here, to change the idea that it is all just a burned out fucked up place and that there are interesting things to do or see.
Are there actually interesting things to see and do in Afghanistan?

 

[LabelKing]

Here's a luxury hotel in Kabul:

http://www.serenahotels.com/serenakabul/default-en.html

 

[ratboycom]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Are there actually interesting things to see and do in Afghanistan?

Yeah, lots of ruins dating back several hundred years, as stated earlier though most of the Buddhist ones are extra effed up due to the Taliban, but the old muslim ones are still around. Up in the North its safe enough to go around and check stuff out, but its not exactly a hot place to visit unless you have previous interest in the region.