Maxim Behar's Blog, page 6

Maxim Behar for NOVA TV: Bulgaria Does Not Need Visas for Tourists, but a Minister of Branding

In the show "Social Network" hosted by Milena Yaninska on the Bulgarian news channel NOVA NEWS Maxim Behar commented on a number of issues that need to be urgently resolved in order for Bulgaria to recover after the pandemic and maintain a successful summer season. According to Behar, Bulgaria should not have visas for tourists, but rather advertise its tourism more and appoint a minister of branding, who is more than needed now than ever.

Host: "Social Network" continues. We started the broadcast with the news about visa fees for visitors to Bulgaria from countries outside the European Union. The industry is concerned, but there are also several other issues on the agenda that can and must be urgently addressed so as not to declare the tourism this summer season as failure. My guests are Siika Katsarova, President of the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and Spa Tourism (BSBSPA) and Vice President of the European Spa Association, Maxim Behar - diplomat and global PR expert and Miroslav Mihailov, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Development and Sustainability of tourism. Welcome!

From 60 to 80 euros for a visa. Mr. Behar, what are your thoughts on that? Can that be considered as a global trend - an attempt to drive away tourists, or we should not attach so much importance to 20 euros more?
Maxim Behar: What do I think about the fee increase or how do I feel about having visas for foreign tourists?
Host: That is another question.

Maxim Behar: I think this is absurd. I can compare it with my favorite Seychelles, of course, who have a visa-free regime for everyone, for the whole world, up to 90 days. In this way, they develop their tourism and support themselves. Bulgaria should not have visas for tourists. They can set some further conditions, for example, to present their plane tickets, but the visas are an absurd suggestion, especially when you���re trying to save the tourism, to want majorly overbuilt seaside cities to survive and at the same time to stop tourists visiting the country freely. I believe that the Government or governments in general depend on the current situation and should have a very flexible and open policy regarding that issue.

Host: Let's take into account the strong competition from the two neighboring countries - Greece and Turkey. Are there visas for tourists in these countries?

Maxim Behar: I have no idea, but there will always be competition. And even if there are visas there, we still don't need such restrictions. We should open our borders and let tourists spend their holiday in Bulgaria - not only to bring money in Bulgaria���s economy, not only to develop the country���s business, but to bring diverse culture and build a significant cross-cultural network. They get to know Bulgaria better and everything we do, such as spa treatment and many other good services tourists are looking for. No one knows about them because there are visas. There are probably another million other barriers that keep tourists from choosing Bulgaria. At the same time, there is no advertising - we'll talk about that later.

Host: As you mentioned spa tourism, especially now after several COVID waves and a global pandemic that humanity has been through, this can be a very strong asset for Bulgaria. But how are things in the industry, Ms. Katsarova?

Siika Katsarova: Hello to you and the viewers of NOVA News. You have caught a good trend - the future of health tourism. And health tourism is part of healthcare. The sooner politicians at both Bulgarian and European levels realize that health tourism should be seen as part of the prevention, promotion, and prophylaxis of Europe's population, the better, as serious high budgets could be saved from healthcare. We are adamant. I have estimated at the level of the European SPA Association / ESPA / and I hope in this line of thought in the plan for sustainable recovery from COVID for Bulgaria to be found a serious place, for example in the National Plan for Reconstruction and Sustainability of the Republic of Bulgaria "Fair Bulgaria", which is under the management of our Minister of Health. We are looking forward to meeting him soon. Of course, together with the Minister of Tourism. So, in fact, in this national plan we need to find a place for health tourism, prevention, and prophylaxis, as post-COVID programs for rehabilitation or prevention. And although I am not a doctor, I communicate with doctors and I know that prevention should start from the earliest childhood. There must be an opportunity for families to enjoy the goods of Bulgaria because our gold is our mineral waters.

Host: The goods of Bulgaria are not so widespread, not so common. Some countries do not have such resources. Have we relied so far on foreign tourists, in your sector particularly?

Siika Katsarova: Of course. First, I want to finish my thought on the topic with the national plan. Romania has accepted 400 million and we can compare with them on many indicators, be it only for balneology. Croatia - 2.2 billion. We hope to include tourism in the plan and our current topic - health tourism. Back to your question, he Israeli market, before COVID was the main market for many Bulgarian destinations, such as Kyustendil, Devin, Hissarya, Velingrad. The hotels there literally depended on this market. Also - the German market, thanks to the support by the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GBITC) and of course the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health to add Bulgaria in the list of the German National Association of Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband) in 2019. This is a huge opportunity; this is a recognition of quality. But we should not think that people themselves will teach us that. I will agree with Mr. Behar, although I am not a PR specialist, without properly communicating this information, people will not understand that here in Bulgaria we have certified by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health medical and spa centers, where they can use their health insurance for medical prevention programs.

Host: We talk emotionally, maybe because we are afraid to fail. If there is a weak season for a second year in a row, do we risk a wave of bankruptcies, Mr. Mihailov? What is the situation in your industry?

Miroslav Mihailov: Hello to you and your viewers. We risk the season to be quite difficult. It is already difficult because, unlike neighboring destinations, such as Greece or Spain, we were not ready to show a health protocol at the beginning of the year. Most of the contractual relations were terminated. We do not have an official position on our relations with Russia and the Russian markets, as well as on visits, and you know that flights are still very difficult to manage. Still, I think that some colleagues realized that the demand is changing in 2020 - people are looking for an alternative to all-inclusive tourism and want more extra services, more trips, healthier food and lifestyle, want to visit spas and have contact with the locals, buy healthy, local goods - this worked pretty well actually. As the manager of the Emerald Hotel in the Bulgarian seaside Ravda, I can say that we managed to pass our target in 2020. There is a boom in demand for alternative destinations, such as Irakli and Kraimorie, where there are actually more boutique hotels. Sinemorets is also another such example. The reason for that is that such hotels provide a sustainable product constantly and consumers return for it. In the domestic market, as you may know that Bulgarians travel more often and for a shorter time in recent years.

Host: In fact, some of the Greek destinations are even closer than the Bulgarian Black Sea coast - this is one of the other topics that we will comment on a little later. Now the tourism industry relies on the two official ministries ��� Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tourism, to come up with a decision to remove the requirements for PCR tests of some Eastern European countries. Despite the announcement of flights from Russia to Bulgaria on June 28, there are still no reservations from there, and according to the latest data, the country registers more than 18,000 infected.

Host: Why, in the context of everything we are talking about, is advertising abandoned? Mr. Behar, some logic could be found in this if we consider that there are many, many more other important issues that need to be addressed first before dedicating time and money to a good advertising campaign.

Maxim Behar: The main important thing now is to remove the PCR tests requirements. You know, Bulgaria is a wonderful place - we have everything that a man can dream of, and not only the 4 seasons, and the mountains and the sea. Most of all - the people. Because the people in Bulgaria are great - European and cool attitude, intelligent, educated, ambitious. But no one knows about it. That is why I was a little surprised that no one mentioned that Bulgaria does not have a tourist logo. There is a terrible one. We have no slogan and no advertising strategy. A campaign is not only important for foreigners, a well-made advertising campaign that will go on Western television will raise our and the Bulgarian tourists��� self-esteem. These days everyone watches CNN, BBC, Euronews or any other big TV channel. And when a Bulgarian happens to see it, he will be proud to say he is Bulgarian and to spend his summer holidays there. Not only foreigners but also people in Bulgaria. There is no strategy and this is a very painful topic for discussion. About 2 or 3 weeks ago, the Bulgarian national newspaper 24 Hours proposed Bulgaria to have a Minister of Branding. Of course, this is a reference to the famous Minister of Happiness in Bhutan. However, I don't think this idea is at all extravagant. There should be a Minister of Branding, who has only 5-people team in this Ministry and drives his official car by himself. However, there should be only one person responsible to meet the Bulgarian Prime Minister once a month to report his monthly activities aimed at boosting the country���s good reputation abroad. The Minister of Branding, in addition, could make us very popular just by sharing the existence of such an official position on the news. The person in that position should have lived abroad and watched Bulgaria from the sidelines. Extravagant, exotic measures are needed to attract the tourists��� attention.

Host: This must come from the Ministry of Tourism before there is a Ministry of Branding.

Maxim Behar: Nothing has been done in the last few years. The initiative may come from the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who should be equally concerned about the country's reputation. The message can come from the Prime Minister or any tourism organizations, which can unite under the same mission and turn to the Prime minister. If I was involved in such an organization, I would do just that and put a proposal on the table. I would call for a good logo, a good slogan, a good advertising campaign. Tourist organizations must participate in the entire selection of instruments with which Bulgaria will be represented.

Host: What is the effect of the individual paid advertisements? Each hotel for itself - through tour operators or social networks? Ms. Katsarova, do you have any observations?

Siika Katsarova: Hotels have started to unite more and more and advertise specific destinations. Hoteliers don't just look for today or tomorrow, they look to the future. I also think that we do not know how to present ourselves well. But this also requires funds and external experts to invite. Prof. Baltova, Minister of Tourism, did a great job last month because she caught the wave of recovery measures from COVID, but we cannot expect the people in the Ministry to do everything, as they are in the same side and need to have a different perspective from an outsider. We need to ask ourselves whether tourism is a priority for other ministries as well or is it just on paper. Regarding health tourism - this is the future and I hope the Ministry of Health will have real audibility, because money is constantly being poured into health care, and we have a methodology on how to reduce it if we invest in the medical prevention of Bulgarians.

Host: What is being done at the moment to attract tourists, Mr. Mihailov, and what does it emphase on - Bulgarian or foreign market?

Miroslav Mihailov: The emphasis is on the Bulgarian market and the solvent Bulgarians - they are targeted and at the same time the neighboring countries. Most of my colleagues have experience in certain markets - Poland, Ukraine, Central and Western Europe, but in Western Europe there are still restrictions and not as much demand as before. The good thing is that the situation is changing day by day and demand is rising.

Host: What are we doing to attract our tourists?

Miroslav Mihailov: The most important thing, in my opinion, is the quality of the services we offer, because, unfortunately, we have the image of a low-cost destination. A destination that is associated with alcohol tourism and a lot of complaints from our foreign customers has been registered. Advertising is very important. I am very glad that you have invited Mr. Behar and you are paying attention to this, but if we want to work in tourism in the distant future, we must have standards, we need the right staff retention policy and we need to work with local products. You know, we have a unique natural heritage - rose, lavender, yogurt, which should be more involved in our menus. We should also not be afraid to work in September and October, because there is a tendency for the summer to stay longer until the middle of September.

Siika Katsarova: I do not agree that Bulgaria is a cheap destination. Maybe, if you're talking about sea tourism, yes. During the pandemic, Bulgaria was the only destination open to tourists and our spas offered a very good service at a very good price.

Host: Mr. Behar, what do you think about an advertising strategy, a national menu with nine selected dishes to promote culinary tourism and traditional Bulgarian dishes to the world?

Maxim Behar: If I make a TV show in the kitchen at home and ask you what you think about it, your answer will be the same. Absolutely amateurish outing and most likely someone took money from European projects. I saw it on the internet and it costs nothing. I will go back in the conversation to add that I do not think we should divide tourists into foreign and Bulgarian. This is a bias in the tourism industry - the idea that foreign tourists will leave more money.

Host: Yes, but last year there were preferential prices for Bulgarian tourists.

Maxim Behar: This is great because there were a lot of people affected by the pandemic. In my work, however, I do not divide clients into Bulgarian and foreign. Our service is the same for everyone. Therefore, I would suggest to the tourism industry or the Tourism Board, which is a very important player, to unite in several tourism organizations and adapt a consulting board, working along with the Prime Minister. Because I have not seen a spark in the eyes of any of the tourism ministers. That is why there should be such a board that would take care of the presentation of tourism in Bulgaria not only abroad, but also here. It seems to me that once a month the Prime Minister can find an hour or two to review the work done by the Board. The presentation of Bulgaria is very important not only as tourism but also as an investment destination, as an industrial country, as a country that can export a product, as a brand. Because we promote many brands, but the brand Bulgaria is the most important. And a brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room.

Host: Let���s go back to the previous topic that Bulgaria has the image of a low-cost destination.

Maxim Behar: I have no problem that Bulgaria has such an image, as long as the hotels are full, tourists keep visiting, pay well, because hoteliers have to earn well to pay salaries and re-invest in better hotels. Therefore, the wages will raise and the employments will be motivated to work better and harder. What hurts me most is that Bulgaria does not have a brand. When you say Bulgaria, I want to feel excitement, not neglect, and this can be achieved in one, two, or three years. There must be a clear vision that a good image will help tourism, the country, and the people who live in it. Especially now, when the Western media are full of things about Bulgaria, including the ongoing changes of the MPs, who are in power. That is why we now need a very clear strategy.

Host: If our strength is spa tourism and the services we offer, how could we control the proper utilization of natural resources?

Siika Katsarova: Resources must come to the municipalities so that the fountains, baths, pipes can be rehabilitated so that we can show a complete full of services destination. The future is in the health tourism.

Host: Is there an outflow of staff?

Miroslav Mikhailov: No. The crisis in 2019 was much more serious. Then there was no one willing to work in Bulgaria, because a good receptionist, valet, or cook could find a job all over Europe on much better terms. People who worked seasonally last season preferred cruise ships, Scandinavian countries, or established hotels in the Middle East. They returned in 2020 and started looking for work in our country. There is also a migration of people from big cities who want to do something for a cause, and there is tourism.

Maxim Behar: It is not a bad idea for NOVA TV to initiate a discussion on the topic "The Brand Bulgaria". There will certainly be many quality participants in it.

Maxim Behar with a Lecture on Modern Leadership

Maxim Behar, world-renowned PR expert and CEO of M3 Communications Group Inc., was invited by His Majesty King Simeon II of Bulgaria to give a lecture on modern leadership during a special event at the Royal Palace of Vrana. The event was organized by the European political foundation - European Liberal Forum. Behar shared his opinion and knowledge about leadership, modern communications, business ethics and the leaders of the future in front of a wide audience of entrepreneurs, diplomats and students invited by the King, as well as members of his team.

During his lecture, Maxim Behar highlighted the changes in the modern world and focused on social media and the pandemic, that have turned our lives upside down in the recent year. Social media, which has existed for almost 15 years, has become an active communication tool that requires a new way of leadership and management not only in business, but also in politics.

The event was attended by many prominent names of the Bulgarian political and business elite.

His Majesty congratulated Mr. Behar for the interesting lecture and expressed his gratitude for the successful realization of the event.

Maxim Behar awarded the Bulgarian Fashion Icon for 2021

The world-renowned PR expert Maxim Behar was a special guest at the ceremony presenting the prestigious awards "Bulgaria Fashion Icon 2021", organized by the most influential fashion institution in Bulgaria - the Academy of Fashion. As a winner of�� "Bulgaria Fashion Icon 2019", Behar was officially invited by the Chairman of the Academy Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov to present this year's award in the Business category.

The Academy of Fashion awarded for the 12th consecutive year the most stylish and successful Bulgarians and the winners announcement took place during a stylish gala event in Sofia, moderated by the Chairman of the Academy. The awarding ceremony was accompanied by a fashion show of some of the best and recognized Bulgarian designers.

Among the most stylish and successful Bulgarians who were awarded this year are the TV presenter Natalie Trifonova in the Television category, the businesswoman Tanya Skrinska in the Business category, the journalist Nikolay Doinov in the Media and Journalism category, the singer and fashion designer Esil Duran in the Music category, the actor and TV host Ivo Arakov and the actress Sanya Borisova in the Art category.

"In my opinion, every professional should have style, which cannot be detemined only by our clothes - it is the attitude while we do business. Style is to be charismatic, have positive vibes, send influential messages and have the ability to unite people. And the Fashion Icon winners must always have all these qualities," said Maxim Behar.

You can watch the video of the ceremony here.

Maxim Behar was re-elected member of BBLF Management Board

The Bulgarian PR expert and diplomat Maxim Behar was re-elected as a member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF), established with the support of Prince Charles. Behar was among the Founders of the Forum and a member of the Board since 1997. He was its Chairman for two mandates from 2001 to 2007, and then Vice-President for two more mandates.

Maxim Behar is also an honorary member of BBLF, officially announced in 2007 for his outstanding contribution to the establishment of the Forum as a leading organization in the field of ethical business and corporate social responsibility. Now it unites more than 120 leading Bulgarian and foreign companies and is part of the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF).

Behar was re-elected as a member of the Board during the Annual General Meeting of BBLF, which was voted on by the senior executive of 40 leading BBLF member companies. The attendees were greeted by the BBLF Chair Levon Hampartzoumian and the Executive Director George Ruitchev, and a special guest of the event was Dr. Rob Dixon, British Ambassador to Bulgaria.

Maxim Behar for MeTV: PR is Changing Every Single Day

The world-renowned PR expert Maxim Behar was interviewed for MeTV, the first Indian / South Asian TV Channel from Australia, by Sukruti Narayanan, the MeTV Director of Public Relations and Business Growth.

Host: A big ���Hi��� to all the lovely viewers watching this program. This is your host Sukruti Narayanan from Sydney, presenting your favorite program ���Success stories��� with me Sukruti. Today we have a very interesting guest with us. He is a leading public relations expert with huge experience, having strong presence in many countries all over the world. He travels a lot and often speaks in front of world leaders, practitioners, students, and opinion-makers on the modern public relations and social media topics. He is in the board of various organizations and has been a leader in the public relations domain for over 3 decades. I take pride in welcoming Mr. Maxim Behar, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the M3 Communications Group to the show. Welcome to the show Maxim, how are you doing?

Maxim: Hello Sydney, hello Sukruti! So nice to be here in your show! It is a big honor, thank you very much for the invitation!

Host: It is our pleasure, Maxim! I will quickly jump onto my first burning question! Out of all of the professions in the world, how did you choose public relations?

Maxim: It came naturally. When I was a teenager, something like 13-14 years old, I was publishing a neighborhood newspaper on a typewriting machine. Meanwhile, I was also learning the news I was writing. And then, I became a journalist, although I studied International Business and graduated in Prague, the Czech Republic. But I was such a big fan of journalism, so I became a correspondent, travelled all over the world and met a lot of people. One day, I remembered the words of Winston Churchill ���You can achieve a lot of things with journalism, but you must know when to quit���. In that moment, I decided to quit, but I did not know what to do. It was the year of 1994, the public relations were not as known in Europe as they were in the US or the UK. So, I started my small one-man show advertising agency that produced souvenirs, business cards, and calendars. One day, a big American petroleum company came, and they invited me for a pitch in public relations. I was asking what is this? They gave me a big book about advertising and public relations and said there was no other public relations company in my country, so I shall do my best to learn the business. That is how I started! Now we have thousands of international awards, a big office with many people, but my attitude towards the business is the same. You should be very precise and to the point but most importantly very proactive.

Host: I would say this has been an incredible journey, right? Next, I want to ask you because you brought that topic, how is the evolution of PR been like in those 3 decades? What are the changes you have been observing?

Maxim: It is upside down! Literally the business changed a lot. I think that this is the most dynamic business in the world these days. The reason is simple, it is changing the ownership of the media. Imagine the world 15-20 years ago, there was the traditional media, TV channels like yours, newspapers, radio stations, and that was all. We had the journalists, who had their press cards, licenses, education diplomas. The journalists were the bridge between the politicians or the businesspeople and the readers/viewers. Today, we have 4 billion editors in chief, and 4 billion journalists. Because everyone who has their own Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok has his/her own media. This is the first significant change. Secondly, in the past we had clients who were coming to public relations companies. We were going to the media, and the media was writing so we could reach the targets. The clients of our clients had two bridges in between-public relations consultants and the media. Nowadays, the media disappeared. The public relations companies who are managing the social profiles talk to the clients of their clients. That means that from consultants the public relations experts became decision makers. If we maintain a social media profile on behalf of our client, we cannot go to our client every 2 minutes to ask him or her, or the corporate advisors, or the CEO what to post on the social media and how to react to a negative opinion. Thus, we are part of the decision-making process. Thirdly, the profession is very different. Before we were consultants, we were sitting quietly, looking at the ceiling, and the clients used to come and say ���Please advise me how to make this article��� or ���How do I solve this crisis���. We were helping. Today, we are a mixture of publishers, editors, and reporters. This is the PR profession. Publishers because we own media, and this is what a publisher does. The social media is sometimes much more influential than any traditional media. Editors because we take care of content, and this is crucial. We must prepare good content, short and influential. Finally, reporters because this content should have some news, otherwise no one would read it. From that perspective we changed our profession entirely. It is still changing every single day. The ones who do not understand this, I think, either they are out of business already or they will be very soon. It is a beautiful change though, Sukruti. Because these days I have much more fun than 20 years ago.

Host: That is a very interesting perspective! I would like to talk about the book that you authored, Maxim. You authored ���The Global PR Revolution��� which is ranked by book authorities among the top 5 new books on PR in the world. So, what made you write this book?

Maxim: The necessity of expressing myself. I am not a writer of course, but I am a PR expert, let���s put it that way! I spent many years in the Top Management of ICCO, which is the International Communications Consultancy Organization, and this is an Australian PR organization. This is the largest PR community in the world. It has around 5 thousand PR companies from each continent. I was its Treasurer, then Vice President, and then President. As a President I travelled all over the world, I visited more than 45 countries. After finishing my presidency, I said, let���s take the benefits of this. I went to China, Brazil, the Arabic states, all the countries in Europe, many countries in Africa, and I saw how the business is changing in all of them. That is how the idea of ���The Global PR Revolution��� came up. By the way, it is very well sold on the Australian Amazon. it was published by the American publishing house ���Allworth��� and distributed by Simon&Schuster. It had a huge number of sales in the US, which made me very happy because I do believe that this is really a revolution. It is not an evolution. The change of ownership of media is tremendous, it had never happened before in history. And maybe the next change will be that this media will become real time media.
The biggest advantage of the book, in my opinion, is that I managed to collect the opinions of 100 top leaders of 65 countries all over the world. The book could be good or bad, I cannot judge because I am the author. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure there is no other such book in the whole public relations history that gathers 100 hundred opinions of many top PR leaders. So, when you open the book, you can see the changes in Kazakhstan, the changes in Botswana, in Sweden, Australia, Pakistan, Brazil, Canada, basically everywhere. It is like an encyclopedia of the current changes. I truly believe it may be useful years ahead.
Host: I will repeat the name of the book one more time, it is ���The Global PR Revolution���. Maxim, it would be great, if you could show the cover one more time.

Maxim: Absolutely [shows cover]! You can find it very easily. The subtitle is ���How Thought Leaders Succeed in the Transformed World of PR���. It is very important to know how to change the leadership and how to bring new elements. Talking about books, I think I have somewhere here my next book. It was published a month ago. It is called ���The Morning After���. It is on Amazon, of course. It is quite detailed, explaining my thoughts and my visions after COVID, the ways through which the leadership and the communications are changing, the positive things about the lockdowns and the home offices. It is kind of a continuation of ���The Global PR Revolution���. It is a book written for no longer than one week, it consists simply of my thoughts during the pandemic.

Host: I am excited to read that one! So, Maxim, having seen the PR industry around the globe, what do you think are characteristics needed to be a successful PR.

Maxim: I don���t really know exactly the meaning of the word successful. Because in the modern world you could be successful today and you can fail tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow you can stand up again. I would rather say the characteristics of the good-working PR. Some of them are valid for each profession in the business world. For example, to be serious, to be precise, to do your job, which is absolutely crucial. A lot of people ask me what I do to manage to run so many communities and my business. And I say that I don���t know, I just do my job. So, doing your job in the proper way seriously and precisely, I think it should be a base for the development of each serious person not only of businessmen. On the other hand, the PR business has a couple of characteristics, the first of which is to be absolutely and unconditionally proactive. We must feel what the clients need and how the consumer would react to the products or the brand of our clients. We must take care of our own brand firstly, and then the brand of our clients, which takes places every day, almost every minute. The brand is what people talk about regarding you when you are not in the room. So, you must count on this that you cannot hear what people think about your brand. You should feel it every single day. You should make research, be on social media, listen to the opinions on social media. It requires a lot of consistency in the PR business because you must be prepared all time to react to a crisis. Recall what was happening 15 years ago. A PR expert opens a newspaper and reads a bad story about a client. He calls the client, telling him that they have a crisis. We discuss it, we have coffee or lunch, and then we make a press release. Eventually, we make a press conference confirming or denying the story. We had 12 hours to solve it and now we have less than 12 minutes. This requires a very good knowledge about the products, the media, the environment, the consumers, especially the social media. A good PR person should know how to react if the client did wrong. We should immediately recognize and apologize and take measures. We could also fire someone or make a product recall. In order to do this, however, the PR expert should be prepared with a huge amount of knowledge unlike before when we had 12 hours. The so-called advance preparation must be done in a perfect way.

Host: Having mentioned the importance of being proactive, I would like to walk you down memory lane. Is there a lesson that you have learned the hard way?

Maxim: I wouldn���t say the hard way because I am learning every day. The most important lesson I have learned from the PR business in the past 10 years is one of the rules I use in my life- ���the worst decision is better than no decision���. If we don���t make a decision, it is a disaster. Sometimes we make the wrong one, but we can correct it and adjust it. In certain cases, not talking to the media or not to commenting/reacting is also a decision.
In my company I also have the so-called ���three S���s��� which has been the leading rule for many years. The three S���s stand for speed, simplicity, and self-confidence. The speed is about the speed of making decisions, as I mentioned. Also, it is about the speed of learning, the speed of communications, the speed of praising or criticizing someone in the office. We do not have time to wait. Simplicity is very important, as well. You wake up in Australia and you see thousands of different news. You have 25 tasks to finish for the day and you are worried. You should make it simple for yourself and you should set up priorities. Moreover, simplicity of expression because sometimes we come onto social media and write huge sentences. The readers start reading and by the time they have stopped, they have forgotten the beginning. It is counterproductive. Make it no more than 15 words, put the verb in the beginning, delete the unnecessary words. Simplicity is also very important in our lives, since we are lost in the ocean of news, and we get confused. And number 3 is number 1 in fact! I don���t know a single person who succeeded without any self-confidence. It is also in personal life, if you want to attract the attention of a beautiful lady or a man, or a friend, or partner you should be confident. If you fail, it is not a big deal because you learn. Do you know what Dalai Lama said? It is one of my favorite sayings- ���If you lose, don���t lose lessons���. Self-confidence very often comes with learning, knowledge and mostly with experience. These days you can learn very easily, you go on Google, and in a minute, you can learn anything, you should just do it.

Host: When you talk about the three S���s maxima, especially the simplicity bit, you mentioned the many tasks one has for a day. I know you are so busy, and you are on the boards of so many organizations, so how do you manage your time and juggle things?

Maxim: I just manage my time. I wake up and I have a lot of those post-it sheets of paper. If I show you my monitor, I have hundreds of those on which I write my tasks, so I don���t forget them. The good communications and the internet give me the opportunity to be very fast and very efficient. But I also have this rule that states that it is not important how much do you work, but how you relax. I try to live the rest of my life, when I���m not in front of the computer, beautifully. I listen to music, sometimes rock, and yesterday I watched the BRIT Awards. In the evening I went to bed with a great feeling after listening to Elton John at the Awards, so I woke in the morning full of energy. You could do some sport; I like to bike and parachute jump. We know many people that work 20 hours a day and at the end of the day they are almost dead. That is not the case for us, our job is creative, and we must be very fresh and full of ideas at all times.

Host: I would say these are the words of wise and experienced people because if we look deep into your answer, you are a mentioning the personal lifestyle, as well. I would say that getting burnt out is one of the most common things we face. If you do not relax, you cannot think clearly. I just love the social media posts with you and your mom. She is fantastic and so active!
Maxim: Thank you! She is almost 90 and I love her very much! This afternoon I will go visit her and I will give her your best regards from Australia.

Host: Talking about your mom, it got me thinking about the young people in PR. What is that one thing, in your opinion, that the young people in the industry are missing?

Maxim: I have been into many universities all over the world. One thing I always tell the students is to start working as soon as possible, even during their first grade in the university. These days it is possible, especially during the lockdowns. I predict our job will be hybrid. We will stay in our houses like I am in my home right now. At the same time, we could still go to the offices or even take our phones and go to a Starbucks shop. Some people graduate from good schools and come to work at our company, and they don���t know anything. That is why it is so important to start working as soon as possible. The corporations do not expect you to spend months learning.

I wake up every single day at 7 am and make coffee. At 7:15 it is obligatory for me to read one article for PR. After all those years in business, every single day I find something new. I am subscriber of various online newspapers and in the morning if I find something interesting, I read it. This could be done by a 7-year-old child. It must come from the heart, you cannot say to your child to become a PR expert. It is like being a painter, it is creative business. If you cannot sing, you cannot become a singer, and the same goes for the PR business.

Host: That gets me to another question. What is that professional have today that you missed 30 years ago?

Maxim: First of all, the ability to communicate very fast. Secondly, the knowledge! 30 years ago, we did not have Google, we had the internet but not the opportunity to find interesting things. We were mainly using the books. The problem was that US was the motherland of the PR and the books published there arrived in Europe 3 years later. If you read a book years after its publishment, it is nonsense because the business has changed. The access to information is a driving force.

Host: What are the three things that you think have made you successful? Is it the three S���s or something else?

Maxim: As I said, I am very cautious with the word successful. I do not know what it is like to be successful.

Host: Okay, then, not being successful, but being you?

Maxim: Do your job every day and that���s it! The three most important things to do a good job as a PR are to be innovative, bloody innovative. Every single day you must create something new and interesting that has never been done before. Again, it can be compared to painting. Secondly, be provocative. This might surprise you but you must be very provocative, catchy or even sexy to attract the human���s attention. If you are not doing that on social media, you are not attractive. Let���s say the nature of our business today is story telling. These stories must be provocative, so that the people learn about them. Lastly, be creative. It overlaps a bit with being innovative. However, innovation is to do something never done before. Being creative is to upgrade this innovation. These are the three most important things in the PR business. To wrap it up, be consistent, understand the business, have heart and all of those are probably valid for any other business.

We were with you together in one of the forums in Davos at the WCFA (World Communications Forum Association). I was about to make a presentation but they told me late at night that there was change in plans and I should present at 9 am the next morning. I didn���t go to a dinner nor I drank wine, I sat down and did the presentation. Its title was ���The PR expert never gives up���. That is another belief of mine never give up.

Host: That is brilliant! I believe that not giving up is the backbone of any business that people start. What are your top tips for start-ups?

Maxim: Knowledge is crucial. You should know more than your clients. The beginners should take everything seriously because every big company was once a small one. There is a pyramid of business. At the bottom are the plans and the experience/know-how. At the top is the profit, the most important word in business. However, in order to have this profit you should have the bottom two. I would add also ethics and honesty for our industry. Imagine that you buy tomatoes, and you go home to find out they are not good. You go back to the shop, the seller may refund you or may not but the problem is between you two. However, in the case of PR if you publish a fake story or lie on the behalf of your clients, this could damage a lot of people. Many people may believe in untrue news. Thus, honesty and ethics are necessities. According to me, being ethical is to make profit transparently. Transparency is a key word because we have influence.

One more piece of advice, we have clients and teams, People always say that the client is right but that is wrong. The team is far more important. You can have hundreds of clients but if your team is not great, you will lose them anyway. If your team is amazing, sooner or later the clients will come.

If start-ups follow these steps, they will soon become big-ups!

Host: Big-ups! I love it! Your list of clients includes globally renowned brands in various fields such as energy, finances, technology, property management and real estate, education, art, and the list actually keeps on going. How different is the communication in these sectors?

Maxim: Different sectors require very often specific knowledge. There are certain principles that apply to all field. The PR expert shall be prepared and shall know the business in detail. I am personally trying to understand my clients��� businesses better than they know them, so I can suggest the best marketing campaign. We often do simulations with our clients. We put them in the shoes of the media and make them think as journalists. The freedom of the media and expression is the most significant of all freedoms on our planet. That is the reason why the war against fake news is so major.�� We do these simulations to model them to think like us, and eventually they agree with us.

Host: I want to ask you one last question. As you said students shall get experience early but normally what happens is that they don���t know where to start and companies often reject them. How should they start and what did you do in your student years?

Maxim: I was working! If you buy my book The Morning After, you will see it starts with my first job. I was 14 years old and worked in a dairy factory. I also spent 5 years in a machinery factory because I was not accepted in the university. I was not the best student in high school, but this changed in my university years. Later on, when I was already in the Prague University I had two jobs. I was a journalist in magazine full-time and over the weekends I was cleaning streets. I was enjoying because I was doing it with my friends, and I made money. It is important to work something you enjoy. If you child wants to start working, let them. If they want to go to the club every night, let them. By going to the club, they might become a very good DJ. Do not push your children. Nowadays, at the age of 18 years old they are very educated. Let them explore. There are huge opportunities to succeed, so many 20-years-old boys and girls are becoming billionaires working in various fields. Just don���t give up!

Host: This has been phenomenal for me! ���Worst decision is better than no decision��� stuck with me. I have never heard this before. People always say to think twice, and this is a completely new perspective. I love the three S���s, as well.

Maxim: Thank you so much Sukruti! It was a great honor to be with you! Best regards to all of my friend and colleagues in Australia! I cannot wait to come and see beautiful Australia and take a selfie with a kangaroo!

Host: You have definitely set the tone for our global series going forward. Thank you so much!


Watch the whole video here.

M3 Communications Group, Inc. with a Special Award by PRWeek in the ���Best PR Agency in Europe��� Category

20.05.2021

Maxim Behar's leading PR agency M3 Communications Group, Inc. won a special award in the category ���Best Agency in Europe��� at the international competition PRWeek Global Awards 2021. The company was recognised as ���Highly Commended��� for its successful development during the challenging 2020. Despite the difficulties that the Covid-19 pandemic, M3 Communications Group, Inc. completed multiple successful projects, introduced new services, in response to the changed business reality, and extended its portfolio, adding 10 new clients.

The company received the ���Highly Commended��� award against four other agencies across Europe. PRWeek Global Awards, organised by one of the most prominent PR media outlets in the world, PRWeek, is among the most prestigious communications competitions in the industry. The winners are selected by appointed jury, comprising of industry experts.

���This award is a recognition not only for our company, but for the PR business in Bulgaria in general. PRWeek is a symbol of the communications industry all over the world and it is a true honour for us to be internationally acknowledged at this level. What makes us happiest is that it comes after such an unusual and difficult year, from which we came out stronger and proved that we are true professionals, regardless of the circumstances. I would like to thank my whole team for their efforts and dedication,��� said Maxim Behar, founder and CEO of M3 Communications Group, Inc.

The company is performing extremely successful at the PRWeek Global Awards for �� second year in a row. In 2020, M3 Communications Group, Inc. ranked second in the category ���Best Agency in Europe��� and Maxim Behar was awarded ���Best PR Professional in Europe���.

M3 Communications Group, Inc. with 6 BAPRA Bright Awards

12.05.2021

M3 Communications Group, Inc. won 6 awards at the annual BAPRA Bright Awards, organized by the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies (BAPRA). At a glamorous ceremony, the prestigious international jury honored the agency for its successful projects in 2019/2020 among a total of 150 entries. The company made an impressive hat-trick with three awards in the "Special Event or Launch" category and won the prestigious second prize in the "Agency of the Year" category. BAPRA Bright Awards are the most prominent awards in the PR industry in Bulgaria that have been held for 11 years now.

The creative projects, with which M3 Communications Group, Inc. impressed the jury in one of the most contested categories, "Event or Launch" and with which it achieved a triple success, are campaigns with international scope and global significance. First place was presented for the the unique pop-up escape room as part of the European Commission's consumer rights campaign. The second prize was awarded for the "Future of Mobility" forum for Shell Bulgaria and the third prize was awarded for the Davos Communications Summit, held in an online format.

M3 Communications Group, Inc. also received a silver award in the "Not-For-Profit Communications" category, where it again received a high praise from the jury for the large-scale #yourEUright campaign implemented for the European Commission to raise awareness about consumer rights. In addition, the Start Up Space project of the international satellite company Gilat brought the company third prize for "Employee Communications".

M3 Communications Group, Inc. also won the honorable second place in the "Agency of the Year" category. Since the establishment of BAPRA Bright Awards, the company has traditionally been in top 3 and has been a first place winner three times so far ��� in 2011, 2016 and 2018.

"The previous year was extremely challenging for the whole business and I am glad that despite this the Bulgarian PR companies have implemented such impressive projects. We at M3 Communications Group, Inc. managed to learn important lessons, to continue following the highest standards and to be valuable partners to our clients. We are happy that our efforts and professionalism are appreciated once again! Thank you to our entire team, our partners at Hill+Knowlton Strategies and all our other friends and partners", commented Maxim Behar, Founder and CEO of M3 Communications Group, Inc.

Apart from Bulgaria, the company has performed successfully in a number of international competitions this year. M3 Communications Group, Inc. is one of the four PR agencies competing for the "Best Agency in Europe" award in the prestigious PRWeek Global Awards 2021. The company is also among the finalists in the "CEE Consultancies of the Year" competition organized by PRovoke Media. Another significant achievement is that a campaign by M3 Communications Group, Inc. was selected among the final five international projects, competing for the award in the Public Affairs category of the prestigious international EMEA SABRE Awards 2021.

Mirror Review Magazine: Maxim Behar's Great Success from a Machinery Worker to a Global Entrepreneur

The award-winning PR expert and M3 Communications Group, Inc. CEO Maxim Behar shared in an interview for the global business magazin Mirror Review about his long successful career and professional achievements in the PR industry, the importance of having strong leadership skills and how to implement them in overcoming the unexpected changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the global business landscape.

Recently, there have been numerous revolutions in leadership practices, particularly due to changes in communication amongst the people. Social media has transformed the entire world for the better. This transformation indicates the two main pillars - communications and knowledge. Thus, today���s leaders are required to deliver duties to their team in a way that they must also be recognized as ���mini leaders��� within their working responsibility. This completes the cycle of leadership where a leader creates a platform for another leader to be born.

���I am strongly convinced that only horizontal way of management can be the right leadership in the modern world. Moreover, the difference between a manager and leader must be understood by everyone involved in business, small or big. Manager means to manage today, leader means to lead towards tomorrow,��� says Maxim Behar (CEO and Chairman of Board at M3 Communications Group, Inc.)

Adhering to his candid opinions on leadership, Maxim has been serving as one of the prominent global leaders in the media and communications industry for over two decades. He is a globally-renowned PR professional, entrepreneur, diplomat, and media expert, and one of the pioneers of the PR business in the Europe region.

An Esteemed Career

Maxim started his career as a machinery worker in a small factory before graduating in International Business in Prague���where his father was sent on a diplomatic mission. In 1994, he started his company���M3 Communication Group, Inc.���in a small kitchen. Over the years, he has transformed the company into a machine for innovative projects and leadership in the Public Relations business. Moreover, he successfully completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive program in 2019.

���Throughout the years, we had hundreds of awards and peaks climbed and when it happened always, we were looking for the next peak to reach. And it has never been easy,��� asserts Maxim. Today, M3 Communications Group, Inc. is a benchmark of high precision in the Public Relations business courtesy of its high level of innovation and creativity.

The company has been recognized as the Best Consultancy in Eastern Europe by the Holmes Report and was nominated in 2021 among the Best PR Companies in Europe by PRWeek. Maxim too was awarded the Best PR professional in Europe in 2020. ���Great recognitions which mark successful stops on the journey to the top, which is different and higher every year,��� he continues.

Entering the PR Business

Remembering the words of Winston Churchill, ���You can achieve a lot of things with journalism, but you must know when to quit������Maxim quit journalism as the managing editor of the largest then Bulgarian newspaper ���Standard���. Starting a one-man-show adverting���s company, Maxim soon realized that his knowledge and experience will be much more applicable to the Public Relations business���which then was completely unknown in the country. Since then, M3 Communications Group, Inc. has been among the leaders in the PR business in Bulgaria as well as the Eastern Europe region.

In 2002, M3 Communications Group, Inc. started its amazing cooperation with Hill+Knowlton Strategies���which was an additional boost to its success. M3 Communications Group, Inc. has been widely known for its three important and competitive achievements���24/7 care for the clients��� needs, transparency & integrity, and a very high level of professionalism for over 26 years in the industry. ���What is more important���all those three characteristics we develop every single day and accommodate them to the new reality. But if we need to mention just one unbelievably strong side of the company, then it will be constant innovation,��� adds Maxim.

Making a Difference

Maxim combines all the three main responsibilities���Founder, Leader, and Manager. He is constantly trying to make a difference in these roles in different projects and timings. He believes that each leader must understand his/her responsibilities, particularly during difficult and unpredictable times. In his daily work, Maxim relies on the Board of Management members and each of them has specific tasks to control or support.

Oftentimes, Maxim arranges 5 or 10 minutes Zoom meetings with the board members to coordinate important decisions and clients��� projects. He believes that this is one of the great advantages in modern management via online platforms as traditionally it would take at least a day to arrange such meetings. ���Undoubtedly this will be the future, it takes minutes to see each other online as anyway we all are available in front of our laptops,��� he affirms.

Impacts of the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected changes in the global business landscape. One of them was remote working and not having personal contacts with the clients, and even between the team, partners, and vendors. The environment impacted almost all the industries; however, Maxim believes that the PR industry is among those with deep and significant impacts.

���My point of view is that all those facts brought to a forever lasting change in the style of management and leadership,��� comments Maxim. According to him, working from home, from a hotel lobby, park, or a coffee shop has numerous advantages���but requires a completely different way of management and a new style of creating brand new teams. He further mentions that creating teams online will be a challenge for any business in the forthcoming years; however, it will be particularly a must to happen in public communications.

Turning the Wheel

In response to the pandemic, Maxim took some logical and purely business decisions. He changed the way business operated so that no client was lost and no employee was laid-off. With hard work, the company managed to turn the wheel and convinced all clients that they need its services more than ever���to communicate properly with their teams and employees and with their customers, vendors, and stakeholders.

This message was very positively accepted and as a result, M3 Communications Group, Inc. did not have a single client left. Rather, with clever marketing and new services, the company managed to get new clients including some of the big international corporations. ���Never consider crisis management of a company as the time for tough decisions, but as time to learn and overcome new challenges,��� says Maxim.

The Pursuit of Survival

According to Maxim, businesses that learned the lessons from the pandemic and put themselves in a completely new base may survive in the near future, but the rest will be put at a huge risk. ���We live in a new world and life will be never like before. If 2020 was just a rehearsal of how to cope with the new life, 2021 will be the year to prove who and how learned the lessons,��� comments Maxim. He anticipates that a majority of modern leaders will understand this and the number of businesses that survived will be higher than the ones that failed.

A Stronger Involvement in Decision-making

Despite being a fan of the horizontal style of management, Maxim believes that today���s leaders should have a stronger involvement in the decision-making processes. Presently, companies need strong and immediate transformation, however, teams are often confused and insecure and clients may hesitate whether to implement the ���golden rule��� in crisis to cut first marketing and public relations expenses.

Maxim demonstrated a presentation a few years ago which was entitled ���PR men never give up���. ���If I could make the same presentation now, I would name it: This business now is only for brave people who can take fast decisions,��� he adds. He believes that more managers and leaders will understand this and will develop the relevant abilities to be brave in 2021.

��

Read the original article here.

Maxim Behar for Seychelles NATION newspaper: Well-controlled risk is bringing to Seychelles only benefits

11.05.2021

The Seychelles��� Honorary Consul General in Bulgaria Maxim Behar shared in an interview with the chief editor Gerard Govinden for Seychelles NATION newspaper about the power of competition and freedom of the media as a vital condition for the development of the country and its tourism, for the fight against COVID-19 and the greatest achievements of Seychelles' democracy.


A globally renown public relation expert, Maxim Behar is Seychelles��� Honorary Consul General in Bulgaria since 2004, and is a great friend of our country.

He is the co-founder of Seychelles News Agency and creator of the new modern online web look of the Seychelles NATION. He is also a Harvard Kennedy School graduate, president of the World Communications Forum in Davos, Switzerland and founder and owner of the leading PR company in Bulgaria ��� M3 Communications Group, Inc.

In his capacity of Seychelles��� honorary consul, Mr Behar is a chairman of PR and Media Committee of the World Federation of Consuls (FICAC) and also vice-president and speaker of the Association of Honorary Consuls in Bulgaria. His book ���The Global PR Revolution��� is one of the best sellers on Amazon and was ranked in the top 10 of PR books of all time. ��

Mr Behar has been here for the past weeks and Seychelles NATION caught up with him for this exclusive interview.

Seychelles NATION: You are faithful visitor to the Seychelles and the last time you were here before the present visit was two-and-a-half years ago. What is your opinion of how the country has developed?

Maxim Behar: I have been coming to Seychelles on a very regular basis for the past almost 20 years and if I may compare the country then and now... it is not only a different country, but also in my opinion even different planet. First, market ��� is much more developed and people totally accepted the great power of competition. This is crucially important not only for the local people, but also for the tourists ��� new hotels, bars and restaurants have been opened, much more beautiful guest houses, diving centres are more modern, and many more services are being offered.

But the main change are the people. Of course, Seychellois people are traditionally very positive, hardworking, smiling and hospitable, but the young generation now is the one who is digitally committed. Almost 70 percent of Seychellois are on social media these days, which is not only a record for Africa, but also shows that our country is much more ahead that many more countries in the entire world. First of all, it means nothing else but a lot of knowledge and wider horizons for the majority of the population.�� Secondly, there are more possibilities for marketing, promotion and higher degree of modern business.

Last year���s elections also showed that the democracy is working very well and the voters wanted change and much faster development of the country. So, to make the long story short, I am very, very positive about the future of Seychelles and this is not an artificial optimism only. People of Seychelles are changing this country fast and what is very good this change is based on the willingness to keep clean and untouched the beautiful nature and also the unique Creole traditions.

Seychelles NATION: What is your opinion of Seychelles' fight against Covid-19?

Maxim Behar: It was almost unbelievable for me to see how strict and disciplined people are here. For the past ten days we did not enter a single place without having our temperature checked and asking for names and mobile numbers. In the beautiful guest house at Beau Vallon, where we stay, every morning we have a temperature check, masks are obligatory everywhere and I see often people wearing them even on the beach. I can clearly say that Seychelles is keeping the right measure much better than any other country in the world and this is thanks to the understanding of all the people that this is the only way to prevent the spread of deaths. And of course, the level of vaccination is one of the highest in the world and it makes all of us very proud. It is important to keep the same momentum and at the end of the day there is no pandemic in the whole human history which had been overcome without vaccine. The massive information about the need for all people to be vaccinated and very proactive governmental measures will help a lot for sure. But still, many more countries in the world can learn and implement ���the lessons of Seychelles��� in the fight against the pandemic.���� ��

Seychelles NATION: Do you think the Government made the right decision to open the country to the outside world at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is still creating havoc?

Maxim Behar: The Government undoubtedly took a well-controlled risk to help the Seychellois people and economy. It was simply a must. Business must continue its usual existence and it is crucial for the people these days. Of course, the recent picture with the increase in the number of positive cases is worrying, but for sure it was not unexpected. During the past couple of days, I met very high level and responsible people from the Government, and I really felt their care and also knowledge how to keep the best balance between the open economy, new tourists coming in every day to the islands, strict hygienic measures and also securing relevant and professional health support to the whole population. Observing many other states in Europe I must admit that it is a great challenge for the new Seychelles Government, but also for the whole country. You know, a couple of years ago I published a book with 111 rules of life from my perspective and experience and the first ���rule��� in the book is ���Worst decision is better than no decision���. Something very similar is happening now in Seychelles and I am sure the Government understands how important it is for the country on one hand to open for tourists and business and on the other hand stopping the growth of the disease. But we must not forget that this fragile situation cannot be the responsibility of the Government of Seychelles only, it must be a priority of the whole population, of every single Seychellois and this is the only way to see the country getting out of this challenge stronger, more united, and better developed.�� ��

Seychelles NATION: As an experienced PR consultant do you think patriotic journalist has its place in this day and age?

Maxim Behar: Journalism has changed a lot over the past decade, this is the reality. Social media gave the chance to everyone to test their writing abilities, to own a place for sharing opinions, to like and to hate and even to spread fake news. All people now own media and ��� unfortunately ��� all of them think that they are editors in chief, which is not the case.�� Talking about real journalism ��� I do not know of any patriotic journalism, of course in the best professional meaning of this world. My long years of journalistic experience show that the most important element in the profession is to tell the truth and to defend not only the global human values and standards, but also to pay attention to the local traditions and relations. It is widespread truth that the world becomes smaller and much more global and international and social media have important drive in this process. And now this is the real professionalism of the modern journalism ��� to differentiate the global trends with the local necessities, interests, traditions and relation.������ ��

Seychelles NATION: What is your opinion of the quality of journalism in Seychelles?

Maxim Behar: Modern, stylish, very professional, and fully democratic. In all media I am following every day, no matter where I am in the world, I can see exchange of different opinions, serious domestic and international analysis and good journalistic arguments. The professional abilities of the journalists in the country have grown over the past decades and there is something I have observed with great satisfaction ��� the tone of hate and negative opinion these days is much lower and articles with positive points and good arguments with debates are prevailing. It is obvious that almost all the media profession is moving online and very soon, sorry to say this exactly here, in the pages of my lovely Seychelles NATION, but the paper body of the newspaper sooner or later will disappear one day, the news will be transferred online as it is much faster, and we all know that it is already happening. It will require completely new abilities of the modern journalist, to be much better prepared, to read a lot, to make notes and to be competitively knowledgeable, so they can react in minutes and deliver the proper content to their readers. Journalists in Seychelles have proven their professionalism for years and I am sure they will do it in the future.�� ��

Seychelles NATION: Seychelles climbed 11 places to 52nd place on the World Press Freedom index. What according to you should be done to further improve the ranking?

Maxim Behar: Just two simple words with capital letters ��� Great Success! And ��� congratulations to all of you, the Government, journalists, and readers! Freedom of the media is one of the most important elements of a well-developed democracy. This is a sign of a real freedom, of significant growth of the overall understanding of the importance of media. If you look at the index you can see numerous countries with very developed democracies dropping in the ranking and it makes me feel even more proud of the achievement of Seychelles. In my opinion, the founding of the Seychelles News Agency and the new online platform of the Seychelles NATION have had significant input in this reality. Both media are very modern, professional and independent and with the new software platform and professional content now the whole world knows this much better.

Seychelles NATION: Do you think there should be laws to regulate social media?

Maxim Behar: Hmm... This question is these days under discussion in the whole world. Using and living in social media is similar to driving a car. If you keep the rules and drive correctly, all passengers and people on the road will be safe and your driving license will be clean. From that point of view the probable answer could be ���yes���. But due to my nature and heart in keeping the freedom I would say ���no���. Sooner or later the formula will be found. Social media created real revolution in the world and this process is still developing. I am sure that fake news for sure must be controlled by the law, even more ��� they must be criminalised and treated by the penalty code according to the damages they do. If the regulations start with controlling fake news and also with personalisation of each profile account, I am sure everything will fall into place very soon. Freedom of the media, also social ones, start with sharing opinion, stories, and positions with your real identity ��� name, pictures and opinions. This process is inevitable.

Seychelles NATION: Seychelles' economy is based on tourism. Do you think tourism will get back to the previous high level?

Maxim Behar: Absolutely! Tourism will continue to be crucially important for Seychelles��� economy and wellbeing of the people and the pandemic will make it much stronger, more competitive, and even more innovative. All we know is that the world has changed a lot over the past 14 months and will never be like it was before. Tourists will be much more careful in their travel plan and will look for clean, hospitable, and reliable destinations. Seychelles undoubtedly is exactly such a destination, and I am sure will be forever. We will see more tourists in the coming months and years coming to our beaches and adoring our nature and even though I think the pandemic is now making Seychelles much more different than other destinations, which are exotic indeed, but parts of this countries are dirt and with not very well-maintained nature. We have to be very proactive in promoting our advantages ��� clean air, great beaches and always hospitable people ��� now to give us much higher advantage in the world tourism ranking.����������

Source: Seychelles NATION

Maxim Behar for Manager Magazine: Bulgaria Should Become ���The European Paradise������ for Foreign Investors

The PR expert Maxim Behar shares his ideas for the development of Bulgaria and highlights the importance of building the country's brand image, its positioning among the world's economic elite and the need of foreign investors.

Ministry of Branding in Bulgaria��� Why not?

Building a country���s brand image is quite a long process and the accumulation of positive news, stories and opinions should be extremely powerful to overshadow the distressing events. All of this with the crucial demand to be done daily.

In all the commotion around the pandemic, the vaccines, the lock-down and the politics played out on the streets during the protests downtown of the capital Sofia, we undoubtedly forgot the importance of positioning Bulgaria as a captivating country with divine young, educated and ready to conquer the world people who can make any foreign investor satisfied. Bulgaria is a marvellous European country but is torn by social contradictions and the political ambitions of the Balkan region and the mediocre people in it. However, Bulgaria is also a country that is unquestionably making progress regarding its contradictory post-communist development. In my professional background, the immediate association of the term ������branding������ is consistently related to the advertising field. Nevertheless, not everything can fall into this category, especially when it comes to a long-term project that requires decades of development.

The current practice emphatically shows that over the last 20 years the image of our country was based on two uncertain and quite fragile pillars ��� TV advertising campaigns and the so called ������road shows������. However, it was all done halfway ��� a dubious advertising agency launches a campaign just for the profit, slightly interested ministers doing nothing, who have just learned how to change the slides of a presentation or how to speak in English legibly without sounding extremely unprofessional. And then the whole campaign ends.

Both businesses and the Government play in the same team ��� the team of Bulgaria. As in every sports team, we should all know where it is better to position ourselves. The business is always under attack as it must score goals, and the Government plays in its defence and keeps the chances of the business to continue scoring goals. This is undoubtedly a basic law in the Government-business relationship, especially when it comes to investments and state profits. According to Company Guru, the number of registered foreign companies in the territory of Bulgaria this year has dropped to the point where it is 16 times less than it was in 2017.

Therefore, I believe that it is time for the business and the Government to join forces and build-up a long-term pragmatic and concrete strategy on how to set Bulgaria on a higher level in the world ranking for must-see locations, proper places to do business and to live in.

In the short term a few simple things can be done after the state���s elections to achieve that goal.

Ministry of Branding

There is nothing atypical or extravagant in this proposition. We need a good Minister with a professional team and an office with a conference room somewhere in Sofia and that is all. This carefully chosen Minister with a broad vision should only be a generator and coordinator of meetings and discussions of people from the state who are even more qualified in this field than him. If we compare this proposal with the extravagant Nepalese Minister of Happiness, our future Minister of Branding will undoubtedly be the improved version of him. Therefore, if he does his job well, happiness will be achieved. In addition, this news alone will put Bulgaria on the front pages of the world media.

Association for positioning Bulgaria in the forefront of the world economic elite.

We need such well-functioning association, which deals only with the positioning of our state among the best world players, in which business organizations, the Government, the communication associations and the universities can meet. A few years ago, a similar organization was created and went by the name ������Bulgarian image������. However, it wasn���t supported and therefore could not survive long enough. But we should step on this basis and create a new organization that holds online meetings every month and reports its activities to the Prime Minister personally, whoever he might be. Still, one third of its members, as well as the management of the association, must be Bulgarians studying or working abroad that are well qualified in this matter.

Foreign Investors in Bulgaria

They also must have their own well-functioning organization that not only supplies, but also funds various events that showcase the success of their projects and even the difficulties that accompany them. Thus, they will help the Government to make Bulgaria even more appealing. What needs to be desolated is the country���s administration, since it terminates the efficient investments. Bulgaria has the chance to become the ������European paradise������ for investors and we should work towards achieving this goal. Why? Simply because, excluding bureaucracy, for many years now we have the lowest taxes in Europe and almost no requirements for registration of a company with the symbolic share capital of 1 Euro.

Working towards the branding of Bulgaria is absolutely the most important obligation of any government from now on. This ������necessary operation������ is not just a matter of promoting our seaside or mountain resorts as a must-see locations. It is a matter of a great positioning of the most essential brand ��� the Bulgarian brand.

On the one hand, this will make our state recognizable worldwide, and on the other hand, will save the local tourism before it hits rock bottom. Our goal must be bringing investors, tourists, and people from all over the world to Bulgaria, where they can enjoy the true magic live. Before all else, let us tell them where the magic happens.