On September 8th, a focused working meeting unfolded, bringing together key representatives from the Adjara Cultural Heritage Protection Agency, USAID Georgia's Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) Activity, and consultants from Gepra. The meeting marked a significant step toward the development of a robust two-year communications strategy.

Highlights from the Strategy Document:

• Communication Goals and Objectives: The document delineates the overarching communication aims and the specific objectives designed to achieve them.
• Target Audience Overview: It outlines the key demographics and stakeholders who are the focus of the communication efforts.
• Audience-Specific Objectives: The strategy goes further to tailor objectives according to individual audience groups.
• Designated Communication Channels: Identifies the platforms and channels most effective for reaching the target audiences.
• Recommendations Package: Offers a comprehensive set of guidelines and best practices to optimize communication.
• Efficiency Evaluation Framework: Provides a structured scheme to assess the effectiveness of the communication initiatives.

The collaborative effort aims to build a sophisticated communications strategy that goes beyond just dissemination of information; it seeks to engage different community groups, promote cultural heritage protection, and evaluate the impact of these efforts. This initiative represents a monumental step in safeguarding and promoting Adjara’s rich cultural heritage through well-crafted strategic communication.

Gepra has been at the forefront of sustainable development efforts in Georgia, and its latest involvement in the #GRETA project is a testament to that commitment. The project, Green Economy: Sustainable Mining Tourism and Organic Agriculture, is implemented by the Austrian Development Agency and is co-financed by the European Union, Sweden, and Austria. Its primary goal is to stimulate the business environment in specific regions of Georgia by creating new income sources in sustainable mining tourism and organic agriculture.

As part of this ambitious initiative, Gepra consultants Salome Kvrivishvili and Anuki Tskhovrebadze recently completed a two-week working tour through the regions of Racha, Imereti, and Svaneti. The duo visited several villages, including Sveri, Gelati, Gheli, Ghe, Lakhushdi, and Ushguli, to engage with local businesses and communities.

One of the key activities during this tour was a series of digital marketing training sessions aimed at six family-owned hotels in these regions. These trainings provided the hotels with tailored digital communication strategies and ongoing consulting services. The move is expected to significantly boost the local tourism industry by enhancing the digital presence and marketing capabilities of these hotels.

The #GRETA project and Gepra's role in it underscore the transformative power of multi-disciplinary efforts. Through its comprehensive approach to sustainable development, digital transformation, and capacity building, Gepra continues to make strides in fostering meaningful, long-term change in communities across Georgia.

A specialized workshop was held at the Historical-Architectural Museum of Dadiani Palaces. This event was organized in collaboration with the USAID Georgia Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) Activity, and it involved key members of the museum's administration as well as experts from Gepra.

The primary focus of the workshop was the strategic development of marketing and communication capabilities for the Dadiani Palaces. Participants engaged in a comprehensive discussion of a situation analysis document, laying the groundwork for a unified vision and positioning strategy. Furthermore, a collaborative SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis was conducted to identify areas for improvement and potential avenues for growth.

For the first time, Gurjaani played host to an international youth forum aimed at fostering closer relationships between young people from Georgia and Europe. The event sought to share experiences, elevate local youth, stimulate their involvement, and encourage their growth.

This year's forum attracted 200 participants from across Georgia and seven European countries. The gathering served as a platform to identify outstanding speakers and top-performing teams in intellectual games.

The Gurjaani International Youth Forum is set to become an annual event, with plans for an even larger scale in subsequent editions. This landmark forum underscores the importance of international dialogue and collaboration among the younger generation, as it paves the way for future communal and transnational initiatives.

For the fifth year running, Gepra is lending its support to the global hypertension awareness campaign, "Measure Your Blood Pressure," organized by "Servie.r" The campaign is part of a broader initiative to commemorate World Hypertension Day, during which 21 leading cardiology clinics joined efforts to provide free medical screenings over a two-day period. This collaborative endeavor successfully offered services to over 1,200 patients, granting them access to top healthcare professionals at no cost.

The campaign aims to elevate public awareness of hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, which stands as a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality worldwide. By offering free screenings and educational resources, the event emphasizes the critical importance of effectively managing this prevalent health condition. We are honored to be a part of this vital initiative and look forward to continued collaboration with "Servier" in the years to come.

A groundbreaking B2B forum, aimed at fortifying small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), was recently hosted through the collaborative efforts of the Bank of Georgia, USAID Economic Security Program, Gepra, and Kudos Georgia. The forum welcomed 60 participating entrepreneurs and client companies from diverse sectors including tourism, light industry, intellectual services, creative industries, and solid waste management.

Designed to serve as an incubator for future cooperation, the event facilitated one-on-one meetings between prospective producers and buyers. Zurab Masurashvili, head of the Small and Medium Business Department at the Bank of Georgia, remarked, "We are committed to bolstering SMEs by helping them identify dependable partners. Participation in such initiatives aligns perfectly with our goal to continually enhance the business sector."

Davit Tsiklauri, USAID/Georgia's Senior Advisor for Private Sector Development, emphasized the long-term relationships the forum aims to cultivate: "We've been working with these target sectors for four years. The forum is an invaluable platform where entrepreneurs can establish strong future ties with potential buyers."

Kakha Maghradze, Senior Consultant at Gepra, noted, "The forum's objective is to augment avenues for SMEs to communicate their offerings and forge new business alliances. Despite the digital era offering various channels for outreach, direct communication remains irreplaceable for establishing genuine relationships."

Aleksandre Margishvili, Co-founder of Kudos Georgia, rounded out the conversation by underscoring the necessity for personal contacts in business development. "The digital realm is not a sufficient avenue for brand promotion. The forum provides the much-needed space for companies to meet potential customers in a face-to-face setting.

For more information about the event click here:

Media planning is a crucial aspect of public relations and marketing. It involves strategic planning and execution of various communication methods with the media to reach target audiences. In Georgia, Gepra has been offering media planning services for its clients for the past 20 years.

Nini Metreveli, Media Manager at Gepra, said that media planning is one of the many directions of media relations. Gepra's services range from consultation and content creation to media workshops, contests, and media placement. Company also provides extensive services such as media campaign management, speaker training, external press office, story-telling, and crisis management.

According to Metreveli, almost all the projects Gepra works on, involve some form of media planning, whether it be minimal or extensive. In Georgia, traditional and alternative media are highly rated and play a crucial role in determining brand awareness. Thus, maintaining good relationships with the media is one of the ways to achieve success.

Media planning has become increasingly important in the PR industry as traditional media is no longer the only source of news and information. Social media and digital platforms have changed the game, and companies need to adapt their strategies to reach target audiences.

The rise of social media has also brought about the need for crisis management, another service offered by Gepra. In the event of a crisis, companies need to act fast and respond to the situation with transparency and honesty. Gepra works with clients to develop crisis management plans and media responses to ensure that their reputation is not tarnished.

Overall, media planning is a key aspect of PR and marketing. With the rise of social media and digital platforms, companies need to adapt their strategies to reach their target audience. Gepra has been at the forefront of media planning in Georgia for the past 20 years, offering a range of services to their clients.

March is known for the blossoming of cherry trees, and to celebrate this event, we dedicated a presentation to exploring how Japanese management techniques can be effectively applied to modern business practices. Our presentation covered five powerful tools for quality management and marketing communications: the 5 Whys, Kano Model, Matrix of Priorities, Jidoka, Tree Diagram, and Similarity Diagram.

The 5 Whys is a systematic tool for identifying the root cause of problems. It was coined by Sakito Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, and is widely used for effective problem-solving. By analyzing the cause-and-effect relationships of a problem, the method helps to plan corrective actions and improve communication audits, anti-crisis communications, and advocacy campaigns.

The Kano Model, developed by Noriaki Kano, is used to define and prioritize customer needs and requirements. It is a valuable tool for creating new products and establishing a value proposition that delights customers. By identifying the key factors of selection and preference, businesses can enhance their competitive edge.

The Matrix of Priorities, which was included in the list of 7 main methods of quality management by the Japan Association of Scientists and Engineers in 1979, is a powerful decision-making tool. It helps to find the most important way to solve a problem by visually presenting information graphically. This tool is useful in creating business models, planning campaigns, and creating message boxes.

Jidoka, is a technique for optimizing production management and improving competitiveness. It was introduced by Sakito Toyoda and is a method of using human intelligence to implement automated systems. The main purpose of Poka-Yoke is to reveal and clarify hidden problems that prevent a company from functioning properly. It is a component of Lean Management.

The Tree Diagram, also known as the hierarchical model or system diagram, is another tool for decision-making that was included in the list of 7 main methods of quality management by the Japan Association of Scientists and Engineers in 1979. It is used to identify the characteristics of a problem and arrange them logically to find effective solutions. This tool is useful for strategic planning, problem analysis, budgeting, and social mobilization campaigns.

Finally, the Similarity Diagram, developed by Dziro Kawakita, is a tool for systematizing and organizing ideas, customer requirements, and problem-related expressions by members of groups. It helps to understand unsolved problems, establish invisible links and connections between individual pieces of information, and analyze unsystematic oral opinions. It is often used to create a business model canvas, strategy canvas, and customer profile.

Expanding the Quality Function, also known as Quality Function Deployment (QFD), is a method for refining existing products and creating new ones. It was developed by Akao and Mizuno and is committed to creating products that meet the future needs and demands of consumers. The Lexus brand was created using this method, which involves converting customer requirements into manufacturer requirements for a product/service throughout its life cycle. The House of Quality is a graphic part of the method that combines customer requirements and their ranking with product characteristics and correlation of goals and priorities.

In summary, these Japanese management techniques are valuable tools for businesses to improve their competitiveness and meet the needs and expectations of their customers. By adopting these techniques, businesses can create new products, refine existing ones, optimize production management, and make effective decisions based on thorough analysis and understanding of their problems and customers' needs.