Marketing experts share the view that branding is one of the ways by which a dominant position on the market can be achieved. Regional branding has been in the European countries for a long time, while in Serbia there were several attempts, which were not fully implemented and did not achieve significant results. The importance of branding to differentiate local resources is still not sufficiently recognized.
One of the reasons why regional branding is not recognized and why there is no successfully implemented regional brands in Serbia is that it is necessary to include a large number of actors in a branding process. It is also necessary to have a dedicated organization that runs the entire process and the process itself is rather complex and time-consuming. The complexity of the branding process lies precisely in the fact that it is saturated with intangible elements and that it requires the interaction of all factors from a region (people, natural resources, regulations, cultural, social and economic factors, etc.).
The branding process requires a common, coherent approach to the market, through a series of marketing activities, which results with the growth of regional product sales and gives the wind in the back to local manufacturers and service providers.
It is necessary to approach regional branding strategically in order to guide the region's promotion and development in line with the possibilities and available resources, all taking into account available knowledge, experience and achieved level of development. Positioning a brand should not be based on a false promise, but it must use the best of what is available. It is a process that requires the implementation of a whole range of coordinated activities and does not end only with the logo design and its promotion. Establishing a regional brand implies that there is a good coordination between everyone in the region of eastern Serbia that is included in branding process.
Theoreticians of marketing consider that in the world, at the beginning of the 21st century, a global change took place. It means that the focus in economic development moves from the state level to the level of the region. This, somewhat, looks like a process that took place in the 15th and 16th century, when the entire economic activity was concentrated around the city regions. Unfortunately, in this process, as in many others, Serbia is late.
Over the past twenty years, the regions in the developed world have become self-sufficient and strive to highlight, through a series of activities, their comparative advantages over competitive regions. Regions have taken advantage of the best experiences of branding industrial products and marketing, but with a fundamental difference, which implies that the regions already have their own identity that only needs to be emphasized, with the much more complex architecture and hierarchy present.
In the development of the regional brand, the region of eastern Serbia must respond to significant economic, social and technological changes that occur in the environment. The wider surrounding of eastern Serbia, both internally and internationally, passes through a very sensitive zone of transition and varies considerably from the period of some ten years ago:
• Neighboring Bulgaria and Romania are now members of the EU
• Globalization is further intensified, other regions develops faster, competition of goods and services is growing
• Public sector funds are getting smaller, private investments is becoming more and more risky
• Technology is rapidly evolving, especially in the IT sector and social networks
• Other countries and regions are much more developed, and in the environment, there are many tourist destinations that are much better recognized
• The so-called "Generation Y" or "Millennium Demographic Group" (born after 1980) begin to significantly shape styles and locations
• There is an intensive movement of the population towards urban areas (cities) and this is a global trend
Regarding the region of eastern Serbia, it is in many ways in a subordinate position comparing to the other parts of Serbia (lower level of development, weaker traffic connections, depopulation...). The process of joining the European Union is on a long stick, with an uncertain outcome, and the conditions for attracting investment and capital, as well as for a return of the population are very uncertain.
Under such conditions, it is necessary to undertake those activities that will enable the region of eastern Serbia to take steps and responsibility for its own future. The establishment of the regional brand of eastern Serbia is just one step forward in this regard, but it is necessary for several reasons:
• To make the region of eastern Serbia more recognizable and to position it at national market, and at later stages on the international market
• To highlight the competitive advantages of the region of eastern Serbia
• To make consumers more interested for regional products and services; to force the "desire" of customers to buy "their" products.
• To define a range of products and services that will have a guarantee of a certain quality
