Palo responded to questions from the parliamentary groups of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) as well as the Free Party on Monday, explaining the total cost of the new visual identity.

According to the minister, €200,000 were spent on a total of nine workshops with some 400 participants in 2015. Last year, €110,000 were spent to pay designers, and €47,880 on a public tender to create a unique typeface for the brand.

Justifying the costs, Palo quoted examples out of the European marketing and advertising industry, where a brand’s Internet assets can easily cost in excess of €50,000, and the creation of a unique typeface some €100,000. In the face of such sums, Estonia’s spending on its new brand had been entirely reasonable, Palo said.

She also pointed to the previous “Welcome to Estonia” label, which in 2002 cost the state some 13 million Estonian kroons, or €830,000. For this money, all Estonia had got was a label, Palo said.

The new visual identity would last Estonia 15 to 20 years, the minister added. The effort had produced a virtual working environment for the country’s branding efforts, the main target group of which would be exporters, including those making Estonian culture known abroad.

Other target groups included companies, the start-up sector, tourism businesses, the public sector, and the physical and virtual access points to Estonia, she added.

The result met the task, Palo said. “We have a central story, a unique typeface for Estonia, we have a virtual service environment with Estonia.ee, we have the stories and messages, and we have Brand.estonia.ee, where the brand manual can be found, and where we have media to download as well,” she added.

The minister described the concept as durable, differentiating, dynamic, easy to develop, and as the work of Estonia’s foremost designers and creative professionals from different agencies.

How successfully Enterprise Estonia could be promoting the brand and setting up the online environment for its use, only time would tell, Palo added.