The World: Insider's view - Russia

strategic decisions.

Their methods aren't scientific, and it's been shown that they don't
lead to success in the mass market. No Russian companies are investing
in research that's worth the money.

Research agencies are not adopting clear standards, which lead to
results that can be used to build sales and services. And this goes back
20 years.

At that point Russia had no concept of advertising, so Western
technologies were used to make up for this. Unfortunately, Russian
marketing and ad specialists have not always adopted the best
developments from Western cultures. Focus group technology, to which no
mathematician would put their name, is often used by Russian
companies.

The failures of market research are leading to brand blunders that even
a child could avoid. A prime example concerns Russia's biggest mobile
service provider, MST, whose rebranding was greeted with indignation and
derision by subscribers.

For years, MST was the country's most popular service provider.

The company was particularly known for its long-running ad campaign that
showed a silver mobile phone in a tuxedo pocket. The TV spot
unambiguously expressed the provider's leading position.

Suddenly, MST decided to change its image. It chose an ordinary white
egg to be its new symbol; and the new campaign caused mass public
bewilderment. It's still not clear why the company decided to change.
This would not have happened had the new advertising been tested.

Every so often Russian marketing specialists will claim their surveys
haven't worked. But a closer look will uncover flagrant mistakes in the
process of qualitative research.

Often the technology is wrong. Just one mistake made in the technology
cycle can cost you success. Research should not end with vague
recommendations, but with a well-grounded positioning.

Also, the situation is not helped by the fact that Russian clients don't
often permit agencies to finish the marketing cycle. After getting the
agency's recommendations, they may assign the development of the
advertising to somebody else.

This isn't just related to branding. It's common in other spheres of the
Russian market, and to all the post-Soviet countries, where debate over
the need for research continues.

It doesn't make sense. It's impossible to market with a high level of
professionalism without real communication with customers.
Unfortunately, this is still far from the case in today's Russia.

- Gene Zarkin is the founder of Zarkin & Partners Brand Consultancy in
St Petersburg.