This Is Russia

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This is a very good work, this video ad explains in short what to expect from working with Russians.  

This is Russia

Tochka Opory

Russia: A Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby

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In order to understand how to market to Russians, you need to get a cultural understanding of Russia. Russia is very diverse and multicultural. Russia is not Moscow and Moscow is not Russia. Russia is its people and people have different faces in Russia.

This is a very good DVD about Russia that covers many Russian cities and explores Russian lifestyle. It was very interesting to see how Russian cities are that far away from Moscow and St. Petersburg, however, this DVD doesn't cover Southern part of Russia, which is very different from the rest of Russian cities. Overall, this DVD can be a short introduction to the Russian culture.

"In television's first comprehensive journey through the vast and varied landscapes of Russia, the resourceful Jonathan Dimbleby makes an epic journey from one end to the other, killing cliches and revelling in the unpredictable. Across nine time zones and through all extremes of weather, he seeks out the people of this strange and extraordinary land. From the Arctic Circle where the summer sun never sets to the subzero wastes of Siberia, from white witches to hirsute masseurs, from oil wells to shamans, Dimbleby's journey by boat, train, truck and foot is heart-warming, entertaining and compelling. From outside, Russia is both forbidding and enticing. Inside it becomes an exhilarating adventure," Source, (c) Image source (see link). 

• Release Date: 16/06/2008

There are some episodes from a Journey with Jonathan, have a look

Location @Arctic Circle

Location @Ekaterinburg,  in a Russian pub

Location @Siberia, plays computer games in Academgorodok

Location @Moscow, in a Russian bath/Баня

Click here to see more video episodes 

Great Product for St.Patrick's Day !!

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Today is St. Patrick's day which came to Russia from Ireland.

In Russia you can get green beer but why not continue the green tradition with food. Try Georgian home made organic sauce called 

Tkemali (Ткемали), it is usually made of green and red wild plums.

It has savory taste and is usually eaten with meat and is added to soups.

Yummmmmm

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

(c) Image source1   (c) Image source2 

To see the recipe click here

Foreign Food Service Chains Growing in Russia

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Source

Customers of all shapes and sizes selecting yogurt on Tuesday at Pinkberry’s first cafe, located at Moscow-City.

Research by frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry (see link), which shows that Russians are increasingly inclined to watch what they eat, helped convince the company to open its first outlet in Moscow on Tuesday, adding another American franchise to the city.

"Moscow has a large consumption market with room to grow," Pinkberry chief executive Ron Graves said at the cafe located at the Moskva-City business complex.

Other U.S. chains have also taken notice of the healthy eating trend — Baskin-Robbins's newest product is a reduced-fat and sugar-free ice cream.

Pinkberry, which is known for its health-conscious frozen treats and modern design, is the latest entrant to Moscow's booming franchise market.

Cinnamon roll bakery Cinnabon (see link) has seven franchises in Moscow and will spread to other Russian cities, such as St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and Vladivostok, in the near future.

The Papa John's pizza  (see link) chain opened 17 franchises in the capital and continues to grow. 

Dunkin' Donuts (see link) opened nine shops in Moscow, with more promised.

The steady growth of American snack and coffee shops will continue for the next several years, Deutsche Bank chief economist Yaroslav Lissovolik said. Increased household income levels and consumer demand make a favorable environment for the growth of such businesses.

"The Russian consumer is ready to graduate to the higher level of consumption," Lissovolik said.

Another reason for the steady growth is lack of competition. Pinkberry is the first frozen yogurt venue with a sit-down cafe format in Moscow. Redberry and Freshberry serve products similar to Pinkberry, but they are kiosks in shopping centers and cinemas.

Although there are some kiosks where doughnuts can be purchased, Dunkin Donuts is the only chain coffee shop that focuses on the fried delights.

The ruble's increasing value makes Russia more attractive for foreign companies because of higher profit margins, Lissovolik said.

Pinkberry will open another store in Moskva-City in late spring at Afimall, also known as the Mall of Russia.

To attract clients, the chain will market their brand via social networks, like many other companies reaching out to Russia's growing population of Internet users.

"The Moscow consumer is sophisticated," Graves said.

The continued presence of these chains on the market will contribute to better quality of food and lower prices because there will be more competition, Lissovolik said.

Moneks Trading  (see link)— a franchise company that represents U.S. and British brands that include The Body Shop, Mothercare, Payless and M.A.C — is Pinkberry's partner for the Moscow rollout. Moneks is also the joint-venture partner for Starbucks in Russia.

Local Pinkberry prices are about the same as in the United States. A small cup of yogurt with toppings costs 175 rubles ($6), while a large cup costs 313 rubles ($11).

Pinkberry has 113 stores, mostly in the United States and the Middle East. The chain is starting to expand to other locations. The next location will be Istanbul, and later Europe and Asia, Graves said, but declined to give specific details.

Source: The Moscow Times, 16 March 2011 (see link)

English Language Influence

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In everyday life these English words have been adopted by Russians without translation.

supermarket, hypermarket, provider, user, drive, hosting, leasing, brand, manager, producer, marketing, headhunter, HR, PR, consulting, supervisor, startup, transfer, snack, smoothie, entrepreneur, fresh, pasta, hamburger, fish, creative, usability and many more !!

© Personal observations

iBlin, Sausage.ru and Ёmobile

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I have noticed a certain pattern in naming products.

The first observation is that by adding a symbol "Ъ", (hard sign) - which was used in the old days in Russia - certainly creates an image of "still in business since the old days".

Adding the russian symbol "Ъ" (see link)

 

Source: Newspaper КоммерсантЪ/Kommersant; Shoe shop - ОбувѢ/Shoe shop; ЧайкофЪ/Chaikof; Ложкаревъ/Logkarev; Пушкинъ/Pushkin

Secondly, you can find many name examples where English language is used or mixed with Russian language. The reason behind it is  to make the product more appealing, "in-tune", with the modern and young generation. 

Mixing Russian language with English

Beer.Ka; iБлин/iPancake; Sausage.ru

Interestingly, iБлин/iPancake ads are surprisingly similar to iPod ads (see link), by Apple. 

Thirdly, the use of adding "i" in front of the brand and ending with OFF

Source: iGlobe.ru, iRobot, i-Travel.ru

Source: Kolbasoff, Opohmeloff, Myasoff, Smirnoff, Tinkoff, Natyagnoff

Finally, the use of  "Ё" (see link) (pronounced as "Yo"). 

For example,  the brand  Ёmobile sounds like saying  "Your mobile."

According to this (see link) practice of starting a word with a nonstandard letter is similar to brands that starts with i (for example, iPod, iTunes).

More info about Ёmobile/Your-mobile, translated from Google in English can be found here 
(see link)