Carpathian regional and local products as an element of heritage: the analysis of producers’ selected promotional activities

Purpose The purpose is the analysis of promotional activities undertaken by Carpathian producers from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. The main emphasis was placed on the marketing communication used by Carpathian producers and the use of the components of the definition of a regional and local product in the contents of marketing messages. It was important to evaluate the promotional channels (traditional and online), as well as the content analysis of media vehicles (mainly websites) used for promotional activities. Design/methodology/approach The analysis evaluated promotion as well as the content of media vehicles (mainly websites). Identifying the main characteristics of local products (traditionality and locality) which producers use in marketing messages was crucial. The subject of the study concerned marketing communication (content, channels, the sender’s intentions) undertaken by Carpathian producers of both food and non-food products. The study included five leaders from each country selected for analysis due to their recognition and importance in the local and regional economic system. Findings The study of Carpathian producers indicated that in the promotion of their products they are more likely to reach for customs, history, locality of the production and resources as well as traditional recipes and nomenclature. They tend to demonstrate concern about the local environment or non-massiveness of the production much less often. Both aspects of a local and regional product: tradition and locality are present almost equally in the messages; however none of the subjects of study used the theme of Carpathianness as a unique argument in favor of the localness they represent. Originality/value Until now, the producers of Carpathian local and regional products from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine have not been studied in regard to marketing communication. Qualitative analysis made it possible to investigate not so much the intentions and goals of producers in communicating with customers, but to capture what ultimately reaches the potential customer and how the various components of product definition are used in marketing messages.