NEWS

11 October 2006

ISKRA: 2 in 1

The appearance of a new player on Ukrainian ad market is always a big event. Especially when this player presents itself loudly, ambitiously and originally. The news about ISKRA’s birth caused intense interest. “Reklamaster” always tries to satisfy readers’ “informational hungry”, so we’ve met with new agency’s founders.

The first impression is that ISKRA is an agency with great personal attitude.
This impression is biggest because of well known in ad society figures which are the agencies’ founders. Irina Demidova and Bogdan Kravchenko are like-minded persons in life and advertising.

RМ: Lets start with the name. ISKRA encodes as Irina and Kravchenko?
I.D. (with smile) You are quick-witted!
B.К. In fact, ISKRA is a separate name with an original idea.
I.D. Our slogan is IDEAS WITH ISKRA (Means in translation “Ideas with Spark”). It means that ideas should be with spark, charm, charisma to expand the brand and attack consumers. ISKRA is more than only a name of the company also it is our attitude to our work.
B.K. ISKRA also means the moment of ideas birth. It’s an ideas’ push which can give a
powerful incentive to projects evolution and in result it can be realized as something global, like a world wide ad campaign. 

RM: As we talk very figuratively we can say that spark is always being “cut from something”. From what have you “cut your Spark”?
I.D. From a 7-year-old creative experience. Our creative tandem became “father and mother’” of some successful brands. During the latest 3 years we’ve realized our ideas in “Adverta Communications” and it was successfully for us and for this agency. We are cooperated as like-minded. It was logical decision to create own agency. 

RM: But still, what initiate you to change stable job in acknowledged big system agency to the risky “free trip”?
I.D. The idea to create own agency was born not yesterday. We felt certain professional growth for this. Opening our own agency is a result of several reasons. The first and the main is in our common views on advertising. We felt well being top-managers in famous agencies, but we were depended on a fixed agency format which is typical full-service foreign agency. We respect this format and it deserves it, but it doesn’t have flexibility inside, causes low quality and clients’ dissatisfaction. Iskra launched on the market with a good offer and it can satisfy growing requirements.
B.К. The main credo we stand by is that good idea must be in the start. We tried to follow this statement when we created and developed Adverta Communications. It should be admitted that in ADV Group we had enough freedom for a productive job and we took out this company among the best 5 creative companies during latest 2 years.
Nowadays this agency changed the name and format. We are true to oneself, but in the framework of our separate entity.
We continue to realize key direction to create high-quality creative for local clients.
Also we realize in practice many projects and it permits us to place our own segment on the market. 

RM: Let’s talk about it. As you are professional in ad you should know what is USP and its importance for successful advansement on the market. What is your USP? What unique can ISKRA offer to the advertiser?
I.D. First of all we are Ukrainian-American agency. We have been studied USA ad market and made friends there. We had an opportunity to work in American ad agency. But we decided to offer our service in Ukraine and USA. As a result we got an order to create some products for local American clients. 

RM: Are you sure that your ideas will be successful perceived on American market? Don’t you believe in the difference in mentality?
I.D. We are sure that there are not borders for graphic language.
B.K. As an example, pictograms are very good communication instruments.
I.D. Great idea is understandable in many languages, it doesn’t have language and mental borders. 

RM: Such bright statement is in your release: “ISKRA is not a creative boutique oriented to the festival creative, it’s not a multiple-discipline and slow agency.” What is ISKRA according to this statement?
I.D. If we are talking about our service, ISKRA means an ad agency of brand development and creative strategy. If we are taking about ISKRA’s format nowadays it is above the ranking, by the way in the West there are a lot such agencies. ISKRA is an agency which produces our consumer’s projects. Producer of the project directes all process from “a to z” and has to be qualified in creative, administrative and finance aspects. Our agency based on a few such producers-professionals and a few teams of managers and creators. We decided to create such structure not spontaneously but from the client’s insite. Many people know the situation when the cooperation with agency starts with top-manager who is qualified in all aspects and ends with account manager, who is not qualified in creative aspects or with creators who can’t solve administrative tasks. This multilevel bureaucratic style initiates slowness, we are being talking about.
B.К. One client is being cooperated with a wide line of company’s employees in such a agency system. The ideas on this long way are often lost or distorted beyond recognition.
I.D. You can add big amount of energy, which is spanned to the intercommunication, conferences. We are trying to reduce this chain to the minimum, and to create a big matrix of producers’ transactions. This style is very effectiveness in production-houses and show business. 

RM: We should understand that agency’ structure will be consisted of some autonomous, all-sufficient groups.
I.D. Yes, about it. Any group will have representatives of all classical subdivisions such as managers, creators and others.
B.К. At the moment there are two groups concentrated around me and Irina. It’s a start cast. Their will be more in future. It is flexible and mobile structure but the main is that our clints need it. It allows creating and realizing original and affective creative solutions. 

RM: Do you consider that local brands on which you headed on are more open to perceive new non-standard ideas.
B.К. Of course, it is very prestige to cooperate with big foreign company, but on the other side, it can cause loss of time, in consolidation of a slogan in Geneva, for example.
I.D. We are not engaged in every ad service, but we are the best in our service, and we can sell it successfully.
B.К. We follow on different solutions. That’s why we are making budgetary and low-budgetary projects such as chip animation and serious pictures. 

RM: You have admitted in your release you are going to cooperate wit some luxury brands. Are you going to orient on premium goods ads?
I.D. The range of brands and goods which needs ads is very wide and there’s no sense to diminish it. We have advertised “Mercedes” and cheep sausages, also “Bilenka” and premium class vodka.

RM: And the last question. What are your creative ambitions?
I.D. They are simultaneously optimistic and realistic.
B.K. At the moment, we are creating 3 new brands in the rank of food, also several ad. campaigns for local clients.