Abstract:

The world is coalescing: why should we regard Russia separately from the rest? Take Russian children, for example. They watch The Simpsons, listen to Justin Bieber, aspire to have 'gangsta style' and say 'hey' instead of 'privet'. They might appear to be similar to their Western peers, however this is merely a pitfall for international brands aiming to directly export Western marketing communication to Russia. Because the differences are not obvious from the outside, it is more important than ever to go beyond the surface and listen to cultural specifics. The paper presents a holistic view of Russian kids between the ages of 5 and 8 years from both the perspective of an insider and by contextualising this culture with that of Western Europe. This presentation shows how Russian cultural specifics (as well as its growing similarities with the West) can be successfully considered and implemented into multinational brand strategy through a case study of the Danone kids' brand Rastishka (known as Danino or Danonino in English speaking countries).