PR trends in Russia

PR

Offline On-lineCooperation

Traditional tools: MR, GR, IR, CSR, Sponsoring, etc.

Social Media, Blogging, RSS, Podcasts, SEO, etc.

Supplement

Public Relations Today

Offline and online sectors supplement each other. % sharing between them is 70/30

Offline

The role of offline PR activities in Russia is still high:

•Russian people opt television and press to get the information

•Internet is an additional channel for obtaining news

•Growth in trust to Mass media in recent years can be highlighted (Federal television: from 27% (2008) to 36% (2012), Federal press: from 19% (2008) to 23% (2012)

Based on the research by WCIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 2012): http://wciom.ru/index.php?id=459&uid=112941

Media Relations

• Russian Mass media are under the influence of the government

• Mass media’s attention is mainly targeted at the elites and their interaction. They take less notice of Russian industry development

• Mass media in Russia are highly commercialized. Publication of articles costs more expensive than, for example, in Europe. Simple mentioning of a product can be interpreted as ad

Government Relations and lobbyism

The Government especially supports nuclear power and mining industries

GR importance for business in Russia is backed by the fact that the government shares in:

•Transportation – 73% (including railways and pipelines– 100%)

•Aerospace and shipbuilding – 57%

•Gas-producing industry – 48%

•Oil-producing industry – 23%

•Telecommunications – 14%

Conducting of an informational support programs in Russian business has to take GR practice into consideration

Lobbyism is substituted by GR tools

Investor Relations

IR has been rapidly developing since 2008 and experts predict that this process is not going to slow down

• Different sectors of Russian economy is vitally interested in investments

• Russian business occasionally carries out IPO on global markets

• Russia has joined WTO and interested in entry on Global markets

Obstacles:

• Shortage of practicing professionals

Corporate Social Responsibility

• Representatives of Russian big business have initiated long-term CSR programs (“Gazprom to children”, “Green Subbotnik” by Megafon, etc)

• Russian business prefer to lend aid directly to beneficiaries avoiding non-profit organizations. The overall amount of such aid is about $500-600 mln/year

• The main reasons to grant any beneficiary are target-oriented expenditure of aid and possibility to carry out financial control over it

• CSR programs is also used in reputational management

Like in the rest world Russian business pays attention to social, educational and ecologic problems. Traits:

Sponsoring

Business readily sponsors sport and cultural activities both in Russia and abroad perfectly understanding the great significance of sport achievements for Russian society. For example, Gazprom is a sponsor of FC Zenit (Russia), FC Schalke 04 (Germany), FC Crvena Zvezda (Serbia).

Territories image-makingPositive image building is an important tool for investment prospects improvement. Russia actively

competes for the right to host different international events. A number of international activities has already been arranged for the period 2012-2018 and they will take place in Russian regions:

• APEC Summit – 2012 in Vladivostok

• G20 Summit – 2013 in St.-Petersburg

• Universiade – 2013 in Kazan

• Winter Olympic Games – 2014 in Sochi

• World Soccer Cup in 2018

These actions are considered as a effective mean for territories image-making

Online

Online PR in Russia is an extension of offline PR-activities. Companies use every possible platform in the Internet to inform Mass media and the audience about recent actions or relevant information: blogs, corporate cites, on-line editions of mass media, news agencies, etc

PR in Social Media is on a fast-moving track

•There are more than 70 mln. users in Runet (Russian Internet) today (1st place in Europe). 38% of them use the Internet everyday*

•71 % of Runet users are searching the information in the Internet, 59% - chatting in Social Media, 53% - reading news

•Russians prefer to use national Social Media (Daily audience of vk.com is 33 mln. users, daily audience of odnoklassniki.ru – 29 mln.)

•Sufficient growth of Russian e-commerce segment (+29% in 2011)

*Based on the research of WCIOM: http://wciom.ru/index.php?id=459&uid=112716

• Blogging is utterly popular in Russia

• Facebook is only 3d, LinkedIn is known only in professional circles

• Russian Business is actively coming in Social Media and prefer to use Twitter, Facebook and Vk.com

Social Network Users (2011)

Users (2012)

vk.com 56 mln 108 mln

odnoklassniki.ru

35 mln 87,5 mln

facebook.com

3 ,223 mln 6 066 160

linkedin.com

346 819 833 910

livejournal.com

2 400 000 2 611 643

Social Media in Russia

Level of Russian Business penetration in Social Media

• From Top-57 retailers: 35% have an account on Twitter, 35% on Vk.com, 32% on Facebook

• From Top-40 banks: 58% have an account on Facebook, 43% on Twitter, 30% on Vk.com, 20% on Livejournal, 10% on Odnoklassniki.ru

• From Top-40 companies (vol. of sales): 28% have an account on Facebook, 25% on Twitter, 10% on Vk.com

Conclusions:

• Russian business structures acknowledged preferences of being presented in global Social Networks

• The level of business penetration in SM is especially high in areas of consulting, banking, beauty

industry and IT

• From Top-10 consulting companies: 80% have an account on Twitter, 80% on Facebook, 20% on LinkedIn, 20% on Vk.com

• From Top-10 Insurance companies: 50% have an account on Twitter, 50% on Facebook, 20% on Vk.com

Based on: http://www.marketing.spb.ru/mr/media/smm_ru.htm

Conclusions

• State positions in economy are still strong. GR tools are necessary

• Business development of Russia stimulates IR branch to grow

• Runet (Russian internet) is 1st in Europe with 70 mln users and has good prospects

• Russian Social Networks (Vk.com and Odnoklassniki) surpass Facebook and Twitter in Russia

• Russian business is coming into Social Media but yet prefer to use global Networks (Facebook, Twitter) though the role of Russian Social networks is increasing

•Offline PR + Online PR = Cooperation, Interaction and Supplement

•Russians mostly trust to non-web Mass media (Federal TV and Press)

•Mass media are highly commercialized and more interested in politics than in economics