Borislav Stefanov, Executive Director of the InvestBulgaria Agency, has announced that a 3-month-long campaign promoting Bulgaria as an investment destination will be launched in March.

Stefanov, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), announced Wednesday that ad space had already been bought in media outlets such as The Economist,  The Financial Times, BusinessWeek, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as on their websites and on two TV stations.

He pointed out that the print ads would be devoted to Bulgaria's advantages as an investment destination or to concrete industries like mechanical engineering, electronics and electrical engineering, the food industry, and outsourcing.

Stefanov made clear that the ads would share a common vision consisting of a key fact and supporting graphic messages.

He said that the ads would be approved by a group of around 100 experts, among them economists, businessmen, and specialists in advertising, marketing.

The CEO of the InvestBulgaria Agency explained that the advertisements would not feature photos of people or places or company names, unless the firms had a very specific contribution to the given industry.

Stefanov noted that the InvestBulgaria Agency would also organize a series of investment forums parallel to the promotional campaign in cooperation with the Financial Times, with round table discussions scheduled to take place in Chicago (February 19), New York (February 20), and San Jose (February 26), and an international conference to be held in new York (February 21).

He informed that the InvestBulgaria Agency, once again in cooperation with The Financial Times, would also organize a series of investment events in Seoul, Hong Kong, and Tokyo in March.

Stefanov said that the agenda included a meeting with representatives of three major industry groups, including electronics and electrical engineering and transport and logistics.

He claimed that the events were aimed at promoting opportunities for developing medical tourism and businesses in the spheres of food industry and agriculture in Bulgaria.

The InvestBulgaria Agency chief also drew attention to a conference on the chemical industry, transport, and logistics scheduled for end-March in Brussels.

He made clear that Bulgaria's investment advantages would be presented by large companies which had already invested in Bulgaria in the respective sectors.

Stefanov also pointed out that the funding for the promotional campaign for Bulgaria as an investment destination would run out in the early summer of 2013.

He explained that the money had so far been provided under the Competitiveness OP, adding that no funding for such institutional beneficiaries had yet been earmarked for the next programming period.

Stefanov reported that a total of BGN 16 M had been allocated for marketing and advertisement under the program, with BGN 4-5 M of the total earmarked for the overseas promotional campaign.

He argued that a total of BGN 5-10 M were necessary to organize a good overseas advertising campaign.