ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / April 1, 2000

LAPLACE – The Russians are coming. The Russians are coming.Well, actually, the Russians have come and gone in St. John the BaptistParish.

For the past two weeks the LaPlace Rotary Club has been host to a group of 11 Russian advertising executives.

The Russians are touring the United States in the hopes of learning more about marketing and advertising. It is all part of a plan called theProductivity Enhancement Program, which is operated by the Center for Citizen Initiative out of San Francisco.

Ever since the fall of communism in Russia, the country has been going through some enormously difficult transitions. Officials are trying to changetheir economy from one that is centrally-planned to a free market economy.

The PEP is trying to make that transition as smooth as possible for Russian businessmen.

In the same way the Marshall Plan re-started the European economy at the end of World War II, PEP is trying to do the same thing for the Russians. Byshowing Russian business people how a free-market economy operates, the CCI hopes to stimulate Russia’s domestic manufacturing, production and services to ensure economic and political stability. This is vital for America’sfuture trade relations and strategic welfare.

The CCI finds civic clubs like Rotary and Kiwanis to sponsor Russian delegations. These clubs are made up of dynamic, connected citizens of thecommunity and can help the Russian businessman look at local businesses.

Advertising and marketing are very new concepts to the Russians. In acentrally-controlled economy, there isn’t much need for focus groups, demographic studies and mass advertising.

“I didn’t even know what marketing was,” admitted Natasha Ivanova, who is on her third trip over here. Ivanova runs a human resources department back inRussia. “We Russians need to learn how to keep our employees motivated.”Alexander Golubin, who owns an ad agency in St. Petersburg, said thatlearning a free-market business has problems in Russia.

“We have problems in organizing our new companies,” said Golubin. “This triphas taught me how to organize my company structure, to give it some hierarchy.”He said he also learned some valuable rules about advertising and where and when to advertise and when not to advertise. Golubin deals mostly withoutdoor and print advertising.

For Alla Kalinina, the size of Russia makes doing business very difficult.

Kalinina owns an agency in Vladivostok in the eastern end of Russia, near Siberia.

“Each region of Russia has its own problems and it own needs,” said Kalinina.

“What I do in eastern Russia may not be wanted in other parts of the country.”Also, because of the remoteness of eastern Russia and the scarcity of population – there are only three million citizens, Kalinina has a hard time getting advertisers to even come to her office.

“So, we have to depend on our own local advertisers who do not have a lot of money to spend on advertising,” Kalinina said.

The LaPlace Rotary Club tried to show the Russian delegation what they can do to make their jobs easier.

They were lectured by marketing experts from the New Orleans Zephyrs baseball team and the New Orleans Brass hockey franchise on how to get people to notice their products. The delegation was taken into New Orleansand toured Peter Mayer Advertising/Public Relations Firm, where they were shown step-by-step how Mayer developed the advertising and marketing campaign for Harrah’s Casino.

Zehnder Communications showed the Russian ad people how to pick different media for different messages, then they were taken on a tour of the WWL- TV studios and advertising departments. They were shown the differencebetween internal and external marketing and hospitality marketing from the people at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in downtown New Orleans.

Of course there was time for fun and relaxation. On their last weekend herethe Russians were taken out to Blind River for boating, swimming and dancing. And John Adams of Entergy sponsored a big fish-fry at the Entergyoffice on Airline Highway, where the Russians sampled the finest in River Parishes catfish and cajun cuisine.

The Russians said they felt very welcome here and learned a lot.

“The people here are ready to answer any of our questions,” said Kalinina.

“We are very grateful to you for making us feel so welcome.””Yes,” agreed Golubin. “I find you very kind and clever people.”

Return To News Stories