Azerbaijan: Putting Azerbaijan on the map
Azerbaijan was overlooked and misunderstood. Our answer was an invitation: take another look.
Through deep local immersion and a bold new positioning, we helped a country looking beyond oil become a destination worth seeing again.
Challenge
As reliance on oil began to decline, Azerbaijan wanted tourism to become a new engine for growth. But globally, it suffered from low awareness and outdated perceptions.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism needed a brand that could introduce the country to the world and challenge misconceptions head on: not just promote tourism, but reposition a nation.
Solution
We spent two weeks in the country, travelling every region and talking to more than 50 residents.
That led to the positioning: Take another look. Azerbaijan is a country of contrasts: snow-capped mountains and desert, ancient heritage and modern culture, and warmth where people least expect it.
The brand system and the visitor experience strategy were both built on that idea, to challenge what people expect and spark curiosity.
The result
After the rebrand, international visitors grew from 2.7 million to more than 3.1 million within two years, before the pandemic hit worldwide travel.
It became one of the most awarded place brands in the region, with six awards at the 2019 Transform Awards MENA, including Best Overall Visual Identity, Best Place or Nation Brand and Best Visual Identity from the Travel and Tourism Sector.
- My role
- Lead creative: led an internal team across three offices, from concept to guidelines
- Agency
- Landor
- Duration
- 3 months
- Scope
- Research and immersion, positioning, identity, visitor experience strategy, guidelines, trade show