Elena Zelenskaya’s research while affiliated with Saint Petersburg University of Management and Economics and other places

This paper explores the artification process from three perspectives: the brand, the artist or art institution and the consumer. The paper is based on three Russian cases of brand‐and‐artist collaborations in the spheres of fashion and hospitality. The study consists of two phases. Phase 1 uses in‐depth expert interviews to investigate the benefits and risks of artification for brands and artists. Phase 2 uses an online survey to measure the art‐infusion effect along the five dimensions of consumer experience: sensory, affective, behavioural, intellectual and social. The results show that both partners of brand‐and‐artist collaboration receive marketing benefits and create new meanings for their brands. Values fit, target audience fit and careful consideration of the artificated product concept are the main premises of successful collaboration. The findings demonstrate that the sensory, affective and behavioural dimensions of consumer experience are mostly affected by the art‐infusion effect. The interest of a person in art affects the intellectual dimension of the consumer experience. The study confirms that the perception of the product as art is a prerequisite for the art‐infusion effect and shows a significant impact on the art‐infusion effect of consumer awareness of the fact that a famous artist participates in the product creation.

This paper explores visitor behaviour in the context of contemporary art museums. Assuming that the consumption patterns of contemporary art differ from those of classical art, the study analyses the impact of the cognitive and affective components on revisit intention. We use a survey of visitors to five contemporary art museums in St Petersburg, Russia and apply structural equation modelling. The paper distinguishes between three levels of revisit intention to find out whether cognitive and affective components predefine the likelihood and intensity of revisit intention. The findings demonstrate that the cognitive component has a significant impact on the affective component and revisit intention. Among the affective dimensions, empathy and responsiveness of museum staff are the most important predictors of the high level of revisit intention. The results highlight the need for raising interest of the general public in contemporary art and the importance of human interaction to stimulate revisit intention.

The purpose of the article is to investigate the problem of place brand architecture. Despite being a well-established research domain in the field of product and services marketing, brand architecture remains an under-explored phenomenon in relation to places. The article aims to discuss a new approach to a sub-brands strategy that builds on both the supply and the demand sides, and explores the benefits and challenges of the suggested strategy. The article is based on a case study of St Petersburg, Russia, utilising both secondary and primary data. The primary data consists of in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in city branding and applies thematic analysis. The results demonstrate that place brand architecture helps to design a differentiated system of sub-brands that are customer-focused and reflect the complexity of a place. The article outlines the benefits (such as, flexibility of the sub-brands strategy and the increased credibility of the brand) and the challenges for strategy implementation (such as, higher promotional expenditure and communication risk and stakeholder misalignment). This research will be helpful for place brand and tourism managers who seek to attract new target groups and avoid various problems, such as the overcrowding of popular sights. While the existing literature on place brand architecture is mainly approached from a geographical perspective, this article proposes a new target-group-specific approach that incorporates the supply and demand sides. Zelenskaya, E. and Elkanova, E. (2020), "Designing place brand architecture: the potential of a sub-brands strategy", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2551 Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

The role of the Arctic on the global geopolitical arena rose during the Cold War. With time, political rivalry gave the way to regional cooperation, but the Arctic remains a highly politicized area. In the twenty-first century, Arctic states waded into the ‘Arctic Rush’ for natural resources and political supremacy. Their geopolitical interests affect significantly the development of Arctic tourism. At present, the Arctic is in the foreground of Russian political agenda. It resulted in the rising interest in Arctic tourism as a means of promoting strategic and economic value of the Arctic. Current paper focuses on the case of the National Park ‘Russian Arctic’. Based on expert interviews, the results of the study reveal how political circumstances influence Arctic tourism development. Four aspects related to political context were identified: increased militarization, access restrictions, political tensions between Russia and global community, and interest of non-Arctic players in the region’s potential.

Purpose – This paper aims to display the role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic place branding. The authors view hotel restaurants as having a great potential in the promotion of local gastronomy. Design/methodology/approach – The research was done in several stages. First, the authors selected six destinations (Lapland, Catalonia, Saint Petersburg, Marseille, Parma and Munich) according to the classification of gastronomic brands based on the settlement type. Second, the authors studied conceptions of hotel restaurants located in these destinations to see how they reflect local gastronomic brands. For this purpose, restaurant menus, verbal descriptions of interiors and names of establishments were analyzed using elements of content analysis. Finally, the authors conducted several interviews with hotel managers in one of the destinations to distinguish the challenges of gastronomic branding within hotel restaurants. Findings – The results allowed defining the role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic branding depending on the following factors: hotel’s affiliation with a chain, hotel’s star rating and destination type. Practical implications – The authors argue that gastronomic branding raises attractiveness of hotels, its restaurants and destination on the whole. This research was presented to the Tourism Committee of St Petersburg, resulting in increased attention to gastronomic branding among the city authorities. Originality/value – The role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic branding has not been studied previously. However, hotel restaurants differ from other actors of gastronomic branding due to the necessity to comply with hotel’s conception, brand and standards.