The concept of digital transformation, which refers to the use of strategically managed digital technologies to achieve various economic and social goals, is increasingly visible in various development programs of the European Union and Latvia. The aim of the digital transformation is to create a society, economy and public administration that purposefully uses the existing and creates new opportunities of digital technologies, improving the quality of life for every individual and society as well, raising the competitiveness of the country and economy. The National Development Plan of Latvia for 2021-2027 also identifies the further development of digitalization as a pervasive element for all sectors, especially in such areas as innovation and science, education, health care, inclusive society and labor market, infrastructure, regional development, security, as well as also environment and energy. In order to do this, the “Digital Transformation Guidelines for 2021-2027” have been developed, which set out the goals, directions and tasks of the digital transformation policy. One of the basic conditions for digital transformation is a digitally skilled society. To develop the rural environment, including through digital solutions, an initiative supported by the European Commission – ‘Smart Villages’, has been in place since 2016. It is a relatively new concept in EU policy-making and includes a vision for the future of rural areas. ‘Smart’, in the sense of this concept, means the development of new forms of cooperation – between farmers and other entrepreneurs in rural areas, between municipalities, the private and public sectors, and cooperation takes place from the bottom up and from the top down. Smart village strategies can ensure that the digital needs, priorities and capabilities of the rural population are addressed at local level and can help to link these core activities to national and regional digital strategies. The aim of the research is to study the development opportunities of smart villages and their potential in the process of digital transformation of the rural environment. The study carried out an analysis of the rural and regional policies, as well as digital transformation strategic documents. The article also examines examples of the use of digital solutions in smart villages in European countries. The study concludes that the introduction of the concept of smart villages is an effective tool for digital transformation in rural areas, both processes have a common goal and tasks, the most important of which is to take actions to prevent working-age persons from leaving local areas, moving to the capital city Riga or leaving Latvia.

Today experience marketing is attracting greater attention of researchers and practitioners, considering it an innovative approach to be used by companies and brands for development and retainment of their competitive advantage. This experience can develop online or as a result of offline activities. It is widely thought that many marketing instruments can be used in experiential marketing as long as they guarantee high engagement of consumers. The main instruments for sales promotion include mobile content and exclusive online content. Under the following topic, these can be special groups in social networks, mobile applications, websites of higher educational institutions etc. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on consumer experience and its management in higher education, especially about education obtained abroad, as well as the usage of experiential marketing for attracting foreign students to Latvian higher educational institutions. These factors explain the importance and rationale of the chosen topic. The aim of the research is to evaluate the contents, availability and usage of foreign students’ interactive communication websites for attracting foreign students in Latvia in experiential marketing context. Method of research: content analysis of foreign students’ groups in social networks, websites and social network profiles of higher education institutions. In general, it can be concluded that the number of interactive online groups for foreign students in Latvia was insignificant, mainly the groups were inactive, the members of these groups provided negative comments or reacted openly to different publications. However, it is important to admit that personal publications received more “likes” and comments indicating the necessity of building a personal dialogue with students on websites.

The film industry is an important part of the culture of any country and is inseparable from its cultural development and growth, both locally and internationally. Any film created or even its idea is a product which is being promoted and sold on the market similarly as with other types of products. In doing so, many traditional and not-so-convenient communication tools are used in order to reach the required audience and supporters to the viewers for the finished product – the film itself. In order to achieve support and gain popularity, there are certain marketing tools absolutely necessary which are specifically tailored to foster the film promotion. On the international scene, particularly in the major film markets – with the key players being Hollywood, Bollywood and South Korea – it is difficult for the film producers of the smaller countries to break into these markets, therefore a specific approach is needed to attract the attention of supporters and the viewers.Comparatively the Latvian film industry is very small, but this is not a reason why it would be impossible to achieve good results in promotion of films on the international market and attracting supporters. Compared with Estonia and Lithuania, in various indicators Latvia is somewhat lagging behind of its direct neighbours on the international scene. One reason for this is the ineffective use of marketing in order to attract the attention of the international market. The methodology of the research includes analysis of documents and interviews. There were data and statistical rates analyzed from the National Film Centre and five representatives interviewed of the film industry from Latvia. As a result of this research three basic problems appeared that prevented film marketing in Latvia: a lack of understanding the necessity of film marketing, a lack of the film marketing skills and a minimal budget for the industry. In order to promote the development of film marketing in Latvia, there is a necessity to create a film marketing agency that could do a film promotion in the local and in the international level.

There is intense competition in the modern education market, which forces higher educational institutions to choose a market‐ oriented strategy. As local student numbers shrink, universities are actively recruiting foreign students. Therefore, it isimportant to determine the factors shaping the experiences of international students while obtaining higher education abroad, and the impact of these factors on the development of higher education exports. The aim of thisstudy isto assessthe factorsforming the experience of international students in the export of education. Surveys, frequency analysis, calculations of central tendency measures, and correlational analysis were used as the research methods. This study concludes that among the factors surveyed, students considered the following asthe most important ones: opportunity to travel to different countries during the studies, price level in the country, safety level in the country, good opportunities for leisure and entertainment, and the friendliness of locals. The most important factors for higher educational institutions included quality of education, interesting student life, good relationships with local students and with other foreign students, good relationships with academic staff, and interactive lectures. These results are important for higher educational institutions because they help to determine how to shape positive experiences for the development of higher education export.

Nowadays, experientialmarketing is of greatinterestto researchers and practitioners. The use of experiential marketing helps to promote brands, because consumers take into account the experience when choosing a particular brand, product, service. Experientialmarketing, which involves conceptssuch assatisfaction and loyalty, can influence the recommendation messages that customers distribute. With the rapid development of social media communication, the amount of recommendation messagesin the Internet environment has also increased. This is also very relevant in the field of higher education. It is on social networks that loyal foreign students can share their impressions and experiences with other potential foreign students about Latvian universities and Latvia as a destination for higher education, thus becoming distributors of marketing messages. The aim of the research is to investigate how the experience of foreign students studying at a university in Latvia is reflected in their communication on social networks, and what is its connection with the formation of loyalty. Research methods:survey, descriptive analysis technique crosstabs, T‐Test. The study concludes that foreign message publishers have a higher average level of loyalty to the country of study than those who do not engage in such social network communication, as well as a higher average level of loyalty to their university. The potential of the recommendations in this group is quite high, and it can be used to promote the recognition of the country as an educational destination and its universities.