Hakuhodo in Russia is a bit like the bogeyman—everyone respects and is afraid of us without ever actually having seen us. Although, I concede, the bogeyman is perhaps the more well-known… Despite having massive brand power in Japan, Hakuhodo is still building its name in the Russian market.

Hakuhodo’s strength is well-known to the Japanese management of Japanese companies established in the Russian market. But this cannot be said about the local staff of those companies, or, even more, non-Japanese companies, both Russian and foreign. These companies require a great name and clear points of differentiation.

Although the Hakuhodo brand is still a bit of a secret in Russia, Hakuhodo Rus itself has a lot of experience. Hakuhodo has been present in the Russian market since 2005 through a partner agency, and opened its own office at the invitation of Honda in 2008. The Hakuhodo Rus team has been at work in Russia even longer. I, myself, have been engaged in advertising since the very beginning of the industry in this country in 1990. Fortunately, other Hakuhodo Rus members are much younger, giving us a good balance.

One really strong point of differentiation we already have is our brilliant client service based on renowned Japanese foresight and attention to detail. This advantage is recognized even by highly demanding Japanese companies. But this is clearly not enough, and we are working hard to make our imprint on the market.

The current economic crisis and recession in Russia requires us to be very careful with our clients’ money. All efforts need to be targeted and concentrated on sales results. Hakuhodo Rus’ targeted communications approach leverages Hakuhodo’s sei-katsu-sha analysis expertise, enabling us to create IMC strategies that focus on activations that lead to sales.

Despite our small team, we have the strength to realize even highly ambitious projects, including big media placement. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and we established a unique Joint Team co-working structure that allows us to leverage the resources of our partner agencies’ networks to our clients’ benefit.

It is my pleasure to invite you to Russia. To win your business and become your partner. We are Hakuhodo Rus.

Roles and titles current when this article was published in September 2017.