From creative action to creative industries: the role of brand projects in managing the region’s cultural policy

The relevance of the study is due to the high social significance of discussing the problem of expanding the cultural field in the regions of Russia as a space for choosing life strategies in the context of the development of the creative economy. The results of the implementation of pilot brand projects in the field of culture require a comprehensive analysis. The purpose of the study is to analyze the conceptual content and practical results of the implementation of brand projects that update the cultural resources of the territories and influence the pace of development of the project management system of the cultural policy of the region. Materials and methods. The results of theoretical works of foreign and domestic scientists devoted to the problems of «creativity» in the field of economics and management were used in the study. The use of the content analysis method made it possible to determine the range of main sources on the conceptual content and measures for the implementation of the Perm cultural project, brand projects in other regions of the Russian Federation. The study used methods of comparative data analysis, cultural and formal-legal methods, as well as methods for assessing project solutions in the field of territorial branding. Research results. In the course of the analysis of the conceptual content of the pilot brand project in the Perm region (the Perm cultural project), its ideological and theoretical core was established – the conceptual views of foreign scientists on the role of creative industries in the environment of an urbanized territory (R. Florida, D. Hawkins). In the Kirov and Sverdlovsk regions, ideas about the creative action of C. Landry were found in the content of culture-oriented brand projects. In the first quarter of the 21st century, Russian scientists, experts, and administrative management teams considered the economocentric attitudes as the most important message for the expansion and transformation of the cultural environment of cities and regions as a whole with a focus on the parameters of the «new» economy – post-industrial «creative». In discussions about the relationship between creativity and novelty in the territories, ideas about the purpose of creative and cultural industries were formed. Project management methods were actively introduced into the sphere of state regional and city (municipal) management. It was revealed that practical actions to implement the goals and objectives of brand projects were not always based on the project management methodology, and their socio-economic effect was achieved by process-operational techniques within the routine work of management bodies and departments. The presented data show that the Perm Territory has now completed the transition from creative actions of local significance to creative industries, which act as a kind of driver for the development of sectors of the experience economy. Conclusions. The analysis of the best practices in the implementation of brand projects allows us to distinguish between the areas of use of creative, cultural industries and useful forms of cultural and creative activity. The former are most widely used in such sectors of the experience economy as tourism and the hospitality industry, the latter – in the implementation of territorial branding strategies, including geocultural branding. Understanding this aspect allows modern specialists to competently determine the trends in the development of creative economy sectors in the regions of Russia.