The Conference “Brand 2022: Key Trends in External and Internal Communications”, organised by the Corporate Communications Committee of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce in hybrid format, was held for the first time on 4 February 2022. The event was attended by approximately 100 representatives of international and Russian businesses.
Matthias Schepp, Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the conference participants and highlighted the work carried out by the Corporate Communications Committee.
Ekaterina Leonova, Head of Marketing at ADVANT Beiten in Russia, and Chair of the Corporate Communications Committee of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, moderated the panel discussion “External Brand Promotion: Current Trends and New Challenges”. Marketing and communications experts participated in the discussion, including Anton Romanov, Marketing Director at KUKA Robotics, Ekaterina Kolesnikova, Head of Communications for Russia and the CIS at Merck, Sergey Vereykin, Vice President of Creative Development and Innovations at IMARS and Dmitry Sidorin, General Director of Sidorin Lab.
The experts focused in the discussion on the current distinctive features of brand promotion in 2022: the instruments used by companies, the specifics of the media mix, namely the appearance of “digital marketing noise” which makes it hard for a company to reach its target audience, the appearance of new brand agenda components (ethical elements, social focus, ESG experience, business transparency), the diversity and complexity of consumer brand assessment criteria.
Ekaterina Leonova noted: “The pandemic triggered adjustments to promotional methods and showed us how easy it can be to do certain things online and at the same time demonstrated how people still want to communicate up close and personal. We have learned how to use new technologies and apply them effectively in communications with clients and colleagues.”
Discussions on the influence of personal brands on a company’s reputation and anti-crisis communications issues evoked particular interest.
In the second panel discussion Natalia Bogdyl, Head of Internal Communications at Siemens, Daniela Abramenko, PR Manager at Bilfinger Tebodin Rus, and Sergey Elnikov, Head of PR and Communications at VEKA Rus, discussed the influence of internal communications on the promotion of a brand in 2022, and the specific instruments that they use at their companies, exchanged information on interesting cases and solutions, successful workshops and motivators for colleagues.