Polish officials’ knowledge of responsibilities under the act on sign language and other means of communicating

On behalf of the Polish Ombudsman AGERON completed a study “Polish officials’ knowledge of responsibilities under the act on sign language and other means of communicating.

Act of sign language and other forms of communicating was adopted in August 2011. The objective of its introduction was codification of facilities offered by public authorities with respect to the deaf and deaf-blind. As a result of numerous complaints from people who are deaf and deaf-blind, relating to non-compliance of the Act, the Ombudsman decided to commission a study to diagnose the actual state of its implementation.

The study has been realized on the basis of two research methods: Mystery Caller (mystery shopper) survey and IDI interviews. The purpose of the Mystery Caller survey was to investigate stated service level for deaf and deafblind in Polish public offices. Interviewer portrayed the role of a husband or wife to the deaf / deaf and blind and asked about applicable procedures and existing capabilities in the office for deaf or blind and deaf spouse. Purpose of the IDIs was to identify causes (diagnosed with surveys) for the state of implementation of the Act and to deepen the analysis of procedures existing in selected offices.

Completed research allowed us to draw a number of conclusions, of which the most important include varying levels of service and awareness of the officials to deaf and deaf-blind. Availability of interpreters and other facilities proved to be significantly lower to deafblind people than to deaf only. Lack of availability in both cases was explained alike – lack of supply of interpreters due to lack of demand – situations requiring handling the deaf or deaf and blind in the past. Nevertheless, a significant positive message flowing from processed research should be noted – despite inadequacies, offices were open to support people with these disabilities and without exception declared openness to service through an own interpreter.

Causes of the diagnosed condition of the law’s implementation were varied and resulted both from maladjustment of offices, lack of concretization of the Act and (hypothetically) the absence of activity of deaf and deaf-blind in highlighting their presence in functioning of offices – which could signal demand for translation services, and thus contribute to the increase in the level of service. In order to improve the diagnosed condition we have developed a number of recommendations, the use of which will be an opportunity to reduce barriers to activity of deaf and deaf-blind in both public offices and other entities.

The research was completed in early November 2013.

Consequences of German Market opening for Lower Silesia

EMPLOYMENT OFFICE OF LOWER SILESIA

 May 1, 2011. German market fully opening for employees from Poland. In a public debate questions about future emigration of Polish workforce were tackled. Various opinions among experts, journalists and governments ranged from the moderate ones to the ones full of worries, forecasting local job markets’ drain, especially close to the border.

In the first couple of months after this even AGERON Polska provided reliable answers concerning real scope of social and economic changes in the region, caused by opening German market. Carrying out a research project for the Employment Office of Lower Silesia using classic methodology of social research we reacted quickly to changing reality and provided full analysis of social-economic changes while they lasted.

Within the project ‘Consequences of opening German markets for employees and employers from Lower Silesia’ we diagnosed real scale of employees’ drain, scope of changes in supply and demand for work and enforcement of phenomena such as salary pressure, modifications in recruitment requirements and decrease of unemployment. In our analysis we took into consideration differences in territories, segments of the labour market, gender and we applied approach integrating conditions on the macro, mezo and micro level – this way fulfilling all the standards of reliable analysis of labour market. We didn’t avoid difficult and sensitive aspects, such as changes in gray zone and issue of black economy.

Diagnostic analysis were complemented with short term and medium term forecasts (scenario method) of changes at the Lower Silesian labour and education market.
While working on this project we used and developed our experience in carrying out international research and foreign markets analysis. Taking into account perspective of German employers and employees, AGERON’s moderators carried out 39 individual in-depth interviews in Germany. Quantitative research covered over 180 German institutional respondents.

In the country our moderators carried out over 50 IDIs in the whole Lower Silesia region. Thanks to phone survey research among employers and employees we strengthened our skills in successful carrying out also exceptionally complex, long surveys requiring questionnaire.

Apart from results focused on the main research problem, our analysis allowed us to define areas where there is knowledge lacking and information gaps together with formulating recommendations how to overcome there. This way AGERON contributed significantly to creating standards of monitoring international labour and education mobility on the local markets within Lower Silesian Labour Market Observatory.

Brand Strategy for the City of Belchatow 2012-2020

Developing our activities in the area of place branding, in the first half of 2012 we created Brand Strategy for the City of Belchatow.

• How to successfully create brand of the city with dominating negative image – contaminated industrial city and „poisoner”?
• In branding and promotional activities how to overcome identifying the city with only one element – coal maine and electricity plant?
• How to efficiently communicate various aspects of the city perceived only through one perspective – as a centre of the industrial area?
• How to use to promotional advantage proximity of the voivedoship’s capital without diminishing image clarity and identity individuality as well as city’s offer?
• How to shape local economic brand so that it can be successfully fitted in forecasting changes of city’s economic resources’ characteristics in the long term (running out of coal resources – closing down electricity plant)?

These are only some of the issues to which AGERON Polska’s team found solutions while creating brand of the City of Belchatow. Combining experience in market research and creating strategic tools for local governments we prepared comprehensive strategy of the city brand together with segment’s product and promotional strategy (inhabitants, tourists, investors). We provided professional consulting and support for the city government, determined to create new, strong and distinct local brand and start a new chapter in the city’s promotional activities.

Our creative work was based on complex diagnosis of the image that City of Belchatow already had among internal and external recipients, in media and in Internet. We carried out social and market research based on comprehensive combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques of market research and diversification of data’s sources. We identified strengths and weaknesses of the city and five features within Unique Selling Position, positioning Belchatow against competitors on the cities market in the region and outside of region.

This is how the brand Belchatow: only good re:actions! was created, emphasizing dynamic and active features of the city meeting needs of inhabitants, tourists and investors and reacting to contemporary challenges, including caring for environment. We created complex brand, in which main idea is reflected fully in structure of sub brands and rich wallet of 16 city brand’s products (in the area of tourism, services, investment, culture and sport). Concept of the brand includes also guidelines which will allow later to create identification of visual identification consistent and integral with whole city brand.

By including in the strategy detailed recommendations concerning promotional activities for the brand as such as well as for specific products we led local brand of Belchatow in the area of Internet communication, mobile applications and social-technological innovations.

We combined typically creational elements with full description of implementation and evaluation details, thanks to which final document presenting Brand Strategy of the City of Belchatow is a professional tool for managing the city brand in the reality of everyday functioning of the City Council in Belchatow.

Promotion strategy for the brand of city Zakopane

We aimed at transforming one of the most recognizable touristic brands in Poland, brand with many years of tradition dating back to pre-war times, deeply rooted in customers’ and touristic market’s participants’ awareness.

• Does Zakopane successfully promote its values?
• How to efficiently modify image of one of the best known territorial Polish touristic brands?
• Proximity of Tatra Mountains – how to use this resource in promoting Zakopane without losing distinctness and individuality of city’s brand?
• How to shape promotional activities of the city in order to attract groups from completely different market’s segments?
• Is it possible to revive Zakopane’s image of mountain “classy” resort?
• How to efficiently influence internal environment in order to convince city’s and region’s inhabitants that modification of Zakopane’s brand’s position is necessary?

We faced these questions while working on Strategy of Promoting Zakopane in the years 2012-2020.

Thanks to carrying out project for the Office of Promotion in Zakopane we gained experience in new area of place marketing. This time our task was not to create brand from scratch (green field), but “working on live organism”. Our aim was to transform one on the most recognizable territorial touristic brands in Poland. Brand with many years of tradition dating back to pre-war times, deeply rooted in customers’ and touristic markets’ participants’ awareness. Brand, whose image in last years was created in a spontaneous process – based on experiences, media reports and general opinions, with very little conscious activities in the area of image and brand from the local government, which led to the situation where existing brand was different from the ambitions and development directions specified by the local government.

In the first stage of the project we provided client with reliable analysis of Zakopane’s image. We checked if preliminary observations and assumptions in the area of creating a new brand have their reflection in the reality. We carried out classic image research applying CATI technique both on national level and among Zakopane’s inhabitants. We analyzed content of the press and online articles about Zakopane. We compared results of external research, rankings and image analyses using desk research method. We carried out stocktaking and assessment of promotional activities carried out by the local government until now. We compared Zakopane with competitors applying benchmarking analysis.

Conclusions from the research were firm: Zakopane’s brand is losing its value. Apart from obvious connotations such as mountains, Krupowki or Gubalowka, image of Zakopane is dominated by negative associations: traffic jams, crowd, tackiness. Apparently advantages of former resort are not underlined and developed sufficiently. Zakopane brand became a brand chosen by not demanding mass tourist.

The main aim of the brand creation and strategy creation was to overcome and divert negative image trends, modify offer and create a brand attracting more ambitious target groups.

In answer to this challenge we formulated complete, comprehensive concept of a brand with specifying whole array of key elements of Zakopane’s brand, such as: origins of the brand, distinguishing features, desired recipient, ambition, personality and values of the brand as well as mission and vision of expected changes. Precise elaboration on each of these elements led to creating a new brand Zakopane, whose ambitious, aspirational, active and progress-oriented character is expressed in a phrase: Zakopane – Aim high!

The project was summed up by the Strategy’s document. Applying original solutions, such as separating horizontal and thematic strategic lines, we created ready effective tool for implementing brand “Aim high”.

Marketing elements were enriched with wide array of suggested product solutions. Suggested product component introduced in Zakopane modern paradigm of creating touristic offer of 3E type (entertainment, excitement, education). Touristic products that we recommend include:

• Leading products: “Ethnic Zakopane”, “Creative Zakopane”, “Avant-garde Zakopane”;
• Touristic routes: “Interwar Zakopane”, “Zakopane, culinary path”, “Zakopane for bad weather”;
• Complimentary products: “Live museum of Podhale Culture”, “Zakopane Erasmus Week”, “Eco Zakopane”.

Making the process of creating Strategy „more social” was an important part of the project realized for Zakopane. Based on our experience we know that efficient implementation of strategic documents is not possible without support and involvement of local interested parties and community, nor it is possible without taking into account social-cultural context. This is why our initial ideas for a new, transformed Zakopane’s brand underwent debate, assessment and improvement in a series of social consultations with local companies, city’s inhabitants and 3rd sector representatives. Similarly, strategy’s outline was based on integral model – recommending cooperation with a wide array of internal and external stakeholders (neighbouring communities). We know that if we act together we will optimize efficiency of promotional activities and create new quality.