Socialism in Russia is booming again but this time around the country of vodka and Matryoshka is mastering a new form of the ideology: digital socialism. An opportunity that shouldn’t be missed by brands wanting to tap into the minds, hearts (and wallets) of 141.8 million people.
So how do you (or your clients) make the most of the Russian digital craze?
1. Forget Facebook
Russians are the most engaged users of social media in the world, spending an average of 9.8 hours on social networks. This is almost double than the global standard (Comscore, 2010). However it’s not Facebook but its local equivalents – Vkontakte.ru, Odnoklassniki.ru and Mail.ru – that keep users excited. Vkontakte.ru or ‘VK’ as Russians call it, is the number one social network in the country and currently has over 98 million members according to the official counter of the page.
Case Study: Clearasil used Vkontakte to engage Russian teens and encourage them to use the face-cleansing product on a regular basis. Check out the video here: Clearasil goes social in Russia
2. Focus on blogger outreach
Blogging is big in Russia. There are 7.4 million Russian speaking blogs with a readership of approximately 23 million, according to the Russian Association of Electronic Communications. Livejournal, the most popular blogging service has almost five million registered accounts. Since 60% of bloggers are urban women, outreach programmes offer an invaluable opportunity for luxury brands targeting a female audience.
Case study: Yves Rocher generated online buzz for its Serum Vegetal product line in Russia by inviting key beauty bloggers to a lavish launch party. The brand offered bloggers make up and product training and generous gift packs. Not surprisingly, they fuelled the Internet with raving product reviews afterwards.
3. Stay away from location-based marketing
Westerners may be eager to become the mayor of their local coffee shop but not Russians. They take great pride of where they eat, shop and hang out, however there’s still a significant resistance about sharing their whereabouts with the world. 70 years of socialism certainly doesn’t disappear without a trace…
4. Only use mobile if you market a luxury product
Although the number of smartphone and tablet users is likely to reach 18 million by the end of 2011, it only offers access to 10% of the population. On the other hand, mobile might be ideal if you want to reach the rich and trendy.
Case study: Volvo launched XC60 by directing Russian luxury car lovers to a mobile website, featuring a 3D game “City Rally.” It offered users the chance to test the Volvo XC60 and see it for themselves why it’s called “the safest in Volvo’s history”.
5. Offer exclusivity
There’s only one thing Russians love more than luxury and that’s exclusivity. And it’s no different, when it comes to online communities. Forum.awd.ru for example is a social network of elite Russians who enjoy traveling to exotic locations by themselves. Due to the social status and high net worth of the members, car manufacturers and banks are eager to offer exclusive value-add services to the privileged group.
And if you still don’t believe how precious digital life is in Russia, check out the these people playing with Russian Standard Vodka’s new Facebook Russian Roulette app. They look just as scared, if they had to say dasvidaniya to their real one.
Russian Facebook Roulette App
Russia: the dreamland of social brands
Socialism in Russia is booming again but this time around the country of vodka and Matryoshka is mastering a new form of the ideology: digital socialism. An opportunity that shouldn’t be missed by brands wanting to tap into the minds, hearts (and wallets) of 141.8 million people.
So how do you (or your clients) make the most of the Russian digital craze?
1. Forget Facebook
Russians are the most engaged users of social media in the world, spending an average of 9.8 hours on social networks. This is almost double than the global standard (Comscore, 2010). However it’s not Facebook but its local equivalents – Vkontakte.ru, Odnoklassniki.ru and Mail.ru – that keep users excited. Vkontakte.ru or ‘VK’ as Russians call it, is the number one social network in the country and currently has over 98 million members according to the official counter of the page.
Case Study: Clearasil used Vkontakte to engage Russian teens and encourage them to use the face-cleansing product on a regular basis. Check out the video here: Clearasil goes social in Russia
2. Focus on blogger outreach
Blogging is big in Russia. There are 7.4 million Russian speaking blogs with a readership of approximately 23 million, according to the Russian Association of Electronic Communications. Livejournal, the most popular blogging service has almost five million registered accounts. Since 60% of bloggers are urban women, outreach programmes offer an invaluable opportunity for luxury brands targeting a female audience.
Case study: Yves Rocher generated online buzz for its Serum Vegetal product line in Russia by inviting key beauty bloggers to a lavish launch party. The brand offered bloggers make up and product training and generous gift packs. Not surprisingly, they fuelled the Internet with raving product reviews afterwards.
3. Stay away from location-based marketing
Westerners may be eager to become the mayor of their local coffee shop but not Russians. They take great pride of where they eat, shop and hang out, however there’s still a significant resistance about sharing their whereabouts with the world. 70 years of socialism certainly doesn’t disappear without a trace…
4. Only use mobile if you market a luxury product
Case study: Volvo launched XC60 by directing Russian luxury car lovers to a mobile website, featuring a 3D game “City Rally.” It offered users the chance to test the Volvo XC60 and see it for themselves why it’s called “the safest in Volvo’s history”.
5. Offer exclusivity
And if you still don’t believe how precious digital life is in Russia, check out the these people playing with Russian Standard Vodka’s new Facebook Russian Roulette app. They look just as scared, if they had to say dasvidaniya to their real one.
Russian Facebook Roulette App
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