On 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan, U.S. PR exec introduces real Kazakhstan to Americans

On anniversaries, most people send cards or a simple gift. Not Glenn Selig, the public relations executive from the United States, who, in honor of Kazakhstan’s 25th anniversary of independence from the former Soviet Union, produced a video and created a content marketing campaign for the Republic of Kazakhstan and its President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Highly impressed by what he saw during a recent business trip to Kazakhstan, Selig decided that he wanted to do something to help since the country’s image in the United States and North America.

He even delivered the video, called #kazakhSTANDINGSTRONG, to the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he gave officials a private screening.

“Kazakhstan is a beautiful, progressive, technologically advanced country that is completely misunderstood in the United States,” says Mr. Selig, president and CEO of Selig Multimedia, Inc. “Sadly, when most Americans hear Kazakhstan, they think of it as one of the ‘stan’ countries or Borat.”

A sore subject for Kazakhstan, Borat is the title character from the 2006 mockumentary feature film Borat that stars a fake, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic “Kazakh” reporter. Borat is played by comedian/actor Sasha Baron Cohen, who was so believable that many Americans thought he was real. Sadly, by extension, many also largely believed that most Kazakhs were like that too, resulting in an image that stuck for the next decade. Coincidentally, the movie is celebrating its 10th anniversary as Kazakhstan marks 25.

Despite significant preparation before his visit, Selig admits he was still shocked by how modern the city is and how progressive Kazakhs are… due in large part to the film’s portrayal of the country.

“I know how important public perception is and it saddened me to know that an entire country has been unfairly viewed for 10 years through no fault of its own,” says Selig. “I wanted to help any way I could.”

It was this feeling that led to the creation of the #kazakhSTANDINGSTRONG campaign.

While still in Kazakhstan, Selig drew on his previous journalism experience and began recording footage with is iPhone that he and his team would later use to create a video and content marketing campaign designed to impact how Americans view Kazakhstan.

The sentiment touched particularly close to home for one Selig Multimedia, Inc. employee.

“I encouraged him to help influence how Americans view my country and I am so happy he did,” says Elvira Raziyeva, who hails from Kazakhstan and is his business development executive at Selig Multimedia, Inc. (the parent company of both The Publicity Agency and the press release newswire and content syndicator PR NewsChannel).

The video, released on YouTube, features Mr. Selig narrating, and him on camera in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital and on a plane. The video contrasts the real Kazakhstan with the fake portrayals from the Borat movie with the purpose of beginning to enlighten Americans about the real Kazakhstan.

“I must say I enjoyed doing this. And I really wanted to salute Kazakhstan and the Kazakh people,” Selig says. “They deserve the kudos. What President Nursultan Nazarbayev, known in Kazakhstan as the Father of the Nation, has done for his country is nothing short of amazing.”

Watch video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O27sFhFmSUU

To boost exposure and interest in the #kazakhSTANDINGSTRONG campaign, his team also launched a content marketing effort.

“I hope this campaign goes a long way in helping the Republic of Kazakhstan shake its Borat image and that the American public forms an accurate picture of this incredible country.”

Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O27sFhFmSUU

For more on the campaign, please visit: http://thepublicityagency.com/kazakhstanding-strong/

MEDIA CONTACT:
USA, Asia and Europe
Adam Farragut, Project Manager
Phone: (888) 399-5534 x7778
Cell/Text: (770) 881-3034
Email: