Lukoil and Gazprom vs. Teremok and Sochi

The interviews conducted revealed several intriguing trends and directions as to what industries “the best Russian Brand for the world” may come from. First of all, gas and oil producers were named, followed by airlines, a well-known alcoholic beverage brand, a mineral water producer, food brands and a destination brand (Sochi). In fact, Sochi is the only Russian destination brand that was admitted to have any potential as a global resort because of its great competitive advantage: it is the location of the next Winter Olympics.

It is worth noting that the most frequently mentioned brands that respondents considered to be likely to succeed in global expansion have already gone international and are quite powerful – such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Aeroflot and Russian Standard. All these huge organizations were chosen because of impressive possibilities of internal investment in their global branding activities and international logistics.

In contrast to the “national” brands, some of the Russian companies mentioned by respondents are powerful and internationally accepted companies with high level of brand awareness and don’t need connotations with Russia. Among the companies that be successful without any support of their 'origins' are Gazprom, Lukoil and Baltika, for example.

Interviewees also insisted on the opportunity to cream on the country of origin effect. Such brands as Russian Standard, Teremok, Talosto and Essentuki have a fair chance of becoming successful representatives of Russian cultural myths, superstitions and traditions all over the world; taking into account that these perceptions are quite strong and popular, country of origin may become a handy resource in global marketing strategy for Russian brands.