The money set aside for the first stage of Brand Estonia - 1.5 million kroons ($83,300) - has prompted outrage in some sections of the media and criticism that little new has been learned.
Consequently, the new coalition government of the Center and Reform parties is talking about diverting funds away from the project's next stages into regional development.
People from Germany, Britain, Finland, Sweden, Russia and Estonia itself were questioned in a 45-minute interview about their impressions of the country.
All had visited Estonia, either on business or for pleasure.
Ulle Parnoja, a specialist from the Emor research company, which carried out the Estonian part of the survey, said it was an essential first step.
"We have to know what people know about Estonia and what Estonians think of themselves," said Parnoja.
Interbrand, which has been commissioned to head the Brand Estonia project, says it will come up with its conclusions from the survey by Feb. 14.
Evelin Int-Lambot, Brand Estonia's project manager, pointed to a lack of basic knowledge about the country as the first hurdle.
"Estonia is a surprising discovery, a place where people often come after getting information from their friends. Otherwise it's a little known country, set aside, kept secret from tourists and investors. Changing that is one of our major challenges," she said.
She also noted that the symbols mentioned by respondents - such as the national flag, Tallinn's Old Town, song festivals, swallows and cornflower - have little to do with contemporary cosmopolitan life.
The survey also revealed striking differences between Estonians' perceptions of themselves and how they are perceived by the outside world.
Estonians themselves say what they value most in life are quiet natural surroundings and historical sites - settings in which they can reflect. They also claim to be Nordic people who have little in common with their Latvian and Lithuanian Baltic neighbors.
People questioned in Sweden, however, said Estonia was a Baltic country that looked pretty much like Finland - not necessarily a positive attribute in the eyes of some.
"Outside Tallinn everything is so gray," said one Swedish respondent.
The Swedes also worried about safety and the language barrier outside the major towns in Estonia but listed cheap hotels and Estonia's physical closeness to Sweden as arguments for visiting the country.A Finnish respondent told an interviewer, "Estonia is a nice place worth visiting, especially for its beautiful architecture, good food and shopping."
But another Finn with experience of doing business in Estonia was not so upbeat, "The state is still not organized, the customs procedures look like they did in the Soviet times, and twisted licenses that apply to procedures hamper business."
People from Russia consider Estonia a great place to spend a vacation if you can't afford to visit Denmark or Germany, but complain of some hostility toward Russians in general.
"Estonians all speak Russian, but they do their best to conceal it," said a respondent from St. Petersburg.
Germans, meanwhile, stressed they had many things in common with Estonians, including the way people decorate their houses and dress themselves.
British business people mentioned the zero percent corporate tax as one of the main reasons for investing in Estonia.
A second survey, which is quantitative rather than qualitative in character, was also completed last month and encompassed 250 people in Estonia and 300 people in each of the five foreign countries.
The results of the quantitative survey have yet to be made public. The total cost of the two surveys is 3.3 million kroons.
Expensive brand
In 2001 the Brand Estonia project was allocated 10.4 million kroons from the state budget. This March another 27.5 million kroons are due - provided the next stage of the project wins government approval.
Most of that sum will be spent on promotional campaigns in Britain, Germany and Sweden (5 million kroons each), Russia (4 million kroons), Finland (3 million kroons), Denmark (2.5 million kroons) and Latvia (1 million kroons).
The remaining 2 million kroons will be spent on developing an information technology system for the branding project.
A poll commissioned by the Brand Estonia project and carried out in December showed that 61 percent of Estonian taxpayers support the project.
Meanwhile, state institutions are already making a greater effort to get their country known.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry recently launched an online quiz called "Come and See Estonia" at their Web site www.vm.ee/quiz. The first prize is a free trip to Estonia and tickets to the Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Tallinn on May 25.
Other prizes include tourist packages to rural areas and nature reserves, as well as a trip to Parnu, the seaside resort.
Efforts are underway to ensure Estonia gets maximum positive publicity from Eurovision. The Ministry of Culture is planning a hectic round of events. Local galleries will be stuffed with exhibitions on Estonian national culture and arts. A "medieval" market will take place in Tallinn's Town Hall Square, and people unable to get into the Eurovision auditorium can follow the event on a large video screen in the square.
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