The Marketing Bag

Our panel of marketing experts might not know everything, but then again, Einstein was never able to come up with his long sought-after Unified Theory of the Universe.

It's for sure, however, that with a little help from other marketing, advertising and PR professionals from across the region, they'll answer your questions with the skill of a game show contestant going for the gold.
So, if you have a question, send it in to Oksana.Yerofeyeva@twg.com.ua.  In the meantime, check out a few questions our panel was recently asked:

Is it better to name a new business by its initials or by its full name?
      
We're really prejudiced on this one. Our publisher hates acronyms. He changed the name of his company from The Willard Group to Willard because people kept writing TWG.
We mean, take a look at that grand old name Hewlett-Packard. It had history. It had awareness. It had class, and then some dullard came along and changed it to HP.  Now it sounds like a brand of motor oil.

Locally, Pack Shot Boys had one of the coolest names around. It was distinctive. It helped separate them from the gaggle of production companies. And now what?  Well, the other day we saw PSB written on the side of one of their cars. Jeez.
We know what you're going to say (in unison now): What about IBM? Well, what about it?  It came along before God invented dirt, and is now so ingrained in the public's consciousness that it causes migraines. Besides, International Business Machines was a pretty unexciting handle.

We in the ad business should know better, but take a look at all the alphabet ad and PR agencies out there, from DDB Worldwide to JWT to FCB to TBWA Chiatt-Day, agencies better known by their initials than by the honorable folks who founded them. 
In general, don't let your valuable company or organization be known just by its initials. Unless your name is the Confederation Of Official Laplanders, and then COOL might be an OK acronym.

Hey genius, how many advertising agencies and PR agencies are there in Kyiv?

That's not exactly a softball question. Some days, it seems one can pick up a rock and toss it in any direction and hit a PR or ad agency. They sprout up like mushrooms after a summer rain.

However, we went to the headhunters for this one, specifically, the company HeadHunter, a recruiting agency. They tell us that 252 companies provide public relations services in Kyiv and that many of them offer advertising as their marquee talent. 
With ad agencies, there's some capital equipment to buy - such as powerful design computers - and you have to bring on board more support people. But with public relations, you basically need a hammer, a nail and a sign that says PR.

Is it possible to shoot a television commercial for under $25,000?

Does a cat have a tail? Of course you can. You can shoot one for peanuts, but you'll get results that only monkeys would appreciate.
We asked Darko Skulsky, executive producer of the Radioaktiv Film production studio this question, and we liked his answer:
"You can shoot a commercial on almost any kind of budget - though it is important for production to come up with an intelligent solution on how to treat a concept.  It is even more important for the creative to understand the budget and the brand message, and to write ideas that fit within those parameters."

Okay, Darko, this is your shot. Where is your commercial message?  Darko continuing: "This year, Radioaktive Film shot many jobs within that budget range, one of which went on to win the grand prize at a festival in Russia, as well as awards at the Kyiv Ad Festival."
Darko says the average production cost for one-day shoot in Kyiv is between $45,000 and $80,000, depending on the director, location and a number of other factors. 

We believe that the secret is to be smart. If the client wants a cozy little cottage house of a spot, don't offer the mansion version. If you can recreate a Mediterranean scene on the banks of the Dnipro, go for it.
And if you can't afford Spielberg, we have a friend named Igor who is a good director and will give you a great deal.  He needs the work.