| Abstract [eng] |
States have understood, that it is essential to realize and know exactly, what are their values and to be able to show the world theirs most unique and attractive features – only thus they would establish themselves as strong and competitive brand names as countries. The focal object of the Master thesis is image making in the official internet sites of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Aim of the thesis was to analyze similarities and differences of image making and presenting in the internet of the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) and giving recommendations for creators of internet sites. The tasks of the thesis include characterizing the notion of image, its importance and principles of creation; discussing importance of image creating and presenting online; analyzing effectiveness of the Internet as a channel for spreading information and its importance in representing a country internationally; carrying out analysis of official sites of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The hypothesis of the research was that presentations of the Baltic countries online are competitive, informative and qualitative, both in terms of technical parameters, quality of content and its presentation. It leads to a presumption, that image of the state is a process, requiring purposeful, coherent and complex work. To confirm that, official internet sites of the Baltic countries are analyzed according to the ten qualitative principles for creating internet site of MINERVA . After analyzing scientific literature we conclude that the importance of the image of the internet sites of Baltic countries is relevant, and that they have started working and reinforcing image importance in this field. The main reason for failing Lithuanian internet site was the fact that no strategy for creating country’s image was adopted before endorsing the concept for Lithuania’s image – „Lithuania is a courageous country” – and subsequently creating the logo for the country’s trade mark. For creating a positive image of the Baltic countries an actual strategy for image creating is required, as well as a special action plan, efficient cooperation of all state institutions involved in image creating, and a favourable public opinion. Latvia’s acceptance into S.Anolt National Brand Index would allow seeking for a greater recognition within the international community, while further monitoring of the results of this rating for Lithuania and Estonia would let to truly estimate the reputation of the state in different fields and to make right decisions towards image-making improvement. Twenty years ago the three Baltic countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – were seen as one territory. It’s only natural, that each of the countries has formed their respective images. All those countries started creating their image in the virtual space almost simultaneously. Experts acknowledge that Latvian site is the most informative, while the design of the Lithuanian site is the most attractive for viewers, thus the site is named as the most user-friendly. The experts point that travelling and security are the most relevant fields at the internet site, ecology and politics being the least interesting for the audience. Informativity and content quality are the main criteria at the country’s internet site. Foreign recognisability and valuability of a country’s political and economic situation are the main aspects helping in creating opinion about the country. According to the “East West Global Index 200” from the first quarter of 2010, Estonia is the least known of the Baltic countries, however, its image is the most positive. Lithuania’s name is being mentioned less frequently in influential global media than Latvia’s; however the image of our country has more positive assessment than that of Latvia. Latvia is the most mentioned from all the three Baltic countries, but it has many negative reports in the global media, which undermine country’s image. |
