An interview with Dmitry Krivtsov, Development Director of Omnes Imperium Group in Moscow

Omnes Imperium Group is a new member of Public Relations Boutiques International, the global PR agency network which Bridge helped found. Among the firm's areas of expertise are financial PR, government relations, corporate social responsibility and media relations. Bridge interviewed Dmitry Krivtsov, the firm's development director, about how PR is practiced in Russia:

With tensions between the American and Russian governments, as well as the financial crisis in Russia in the news, our colleague Dmitry Krivtsov and his Moscow PR firm, Omnes Imperium Group, has been on our minds. We wondered how recent events have affected them and their PR practice. Following is Part II of our interview with Dmitry, with an update on the current situation in Russia and its effect on Omnes Imperium's PR business.

Bridge: Have the recent economic turmoil, or the political tensions involving Georgia, affected the work you do for your clients? How?

Dimitry Krivtsov: Political tensions around Georgia have not affected our business. We deal strictly with the commercial side of things and we've had no business with Georgia for quite some time. As for the economic crisis, people talk about it everywhere and all the time, but perhaps here in Russia things are not as bad as in 1998 (the year Russian economy almost collapsed). It wouldn't be true to say people are in a panic. However, people are thinking of cutting down on budgets, including PR budgets, so the market is quite slow. Also almost everyone who was planning an IPO or was "IPO hopeful" has decided to postpone it for a while, which affects us since we are always looking for a chance to do another IPO campaign. There will be a lot of changes in the financial market after the crisis, which we think could give us extra opportunities to find new clients later on.

Bridge: How competitive is it to get media attention to the launch of a new product?

DK: A lot depends on the quality of the product or project. The media definitely perceive any activity to promote products aimed at the general public as an advertising attempt. For consumer products, in Russia, PR still has a somewhat subsidiary role to advertising. However, with the development of the Internet this trend is slowly changing. But some products or projects are magnets for the media because they know the public will find them interesting. Moreover, within each segment of mass media there is a lot of competition for exclusive information and the right to deliver it first. PR agencies often use this competition to secure interest in clients' products.

Bridge: Can you give us an overview of the Russian media?

DK:The media can be divided into groups - TV, radio, the Internet, information agencies, print media.. TV channels' news/information programs are carefully watched by the state. However, that absolutely shouldn't be taken stereotypically as direct control or orders from the state. It rather should be understood as mutual silent agreement on what can or can't be shown on TV news. Regarding all other types of broadcasting, TV channels set their policies completely on their own without consulting the state. It should be noted, though, that TV programming is very mass-oriented and there are almost no programs in Russia for premium audiences.

The Internet and information agencies work absolutely independently and have no pressure from the state. However, theiraudienceisstillrelativelysmall. For instance, around 15-20 million people regularly use the Internet in Russia, while the country's population is 145 million.

The print media is very diverse. There is a large block of 'yellow press' with a huge circulation and very specific content, making it impossible to use it in serious PR work. The business media are few in numbers but totally independent. Some of them are quite influential in the business world.

Bridge: Is the Russian media unbiased or are they heavily influenced by advertising expenditures and political pressure?

DK: There is really no single answer to that. The state doesn't try to control all media, only those with the widest audiences. That includes TV channels where the state is directly or indirectly involved in ownership. The press, with the exception of perhaps two or three publications, is not pressured by the state at all. There is a constant dialogue where both sides express their ideas and are always able to find compromises. As for advertisers' influence on media's editorial policies, of course, there are cases when companies offer to advertise in exchange for the media's loyalty. Moreover, a media outlet often initiates such agreements itself to increase revenues. But that is definitely not a widespread practice and most respected Russian publications do not engage in it.

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