Getting the message across

The zł.1.4 million campaign, entitled 'The Heart of Europe - Poland', which is being funded by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), is the product of several years' research and negotiations.

The print campaign will follow a series of high profile events including parliamentary and presidential elections, and the release of business-related reports when interest in Poland is likely to rise.

"Poland should get away from advertisements with the bison, thatched cottages and horse-drawn carts that our country is still associated with," said PAIiIZ deputy president and Undersecretary of State in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Labor, Marcin Kaszuba.

"We would like it to be perceived as a developing country with a student community of over two million and highly qualified specialists - a country whose biggest assets are people, R&D, services and the capital-related center of the CEE region," Kaszuba added.

The research conducted before the campaign revealed Poland is currently perceived as a corrupt, Eastern European backwater with an unwelcoming climate and agriculture in dire need of modernization.

According to Kaszuba, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are much better at promoting  positive images of their countries, which makes it even more difficult for Poland to attract foreign investment.

In the graphic project of the campaign, Poland is symbolized by a beating heart - a metaphor of the country's central location in Europe. The leading idea of the promotion, Creative Tension, refers to Poland's biggest asset - it's young, dynamic and well-educated population.