Effie Russia II International Forum "Purposeful brands: Winning the hearts of tomorrow's consumers"

In the modern world sustainability is known as the so-called new ’digital’. By the established delivery date of 2030 which represents the planning horizon for 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the modern world will transform, and the market structure will get altered. The main societal trend will be the interplay between creativity, leadership, technical innovation and sustainability – all utilised for solving the most pressing social and environmental problems. For the most forward-thinking and responsible companies, sustainable business strategies represent not the foreseeable future, but their current reality.

Once their action space within the sustainability agenda is identified, companies start facing the next challenge – how to integrate social and environmental principles into their business processes in practice, going beyond corporate social responsibility. The sustainability pioneers are successful at building super-brands which organizational values gain trust from consumers and the surrounding world. Leading companies remain ahead of the pack by developing innovative products and creating market niches, integrating sustainability into the business core and utilising influencer-marketing in the sustainability context. 

Effie Russia, the representative office of the world’s leading marketing effectiveness institute, is organizing the event for the second year in a row, which will gather senior managers of global and Russian companies to support the brands with the following objectives:

●To understand the complex sustainability agenda;

●To find the action space in the process of sustainability transformation;

●To acquire the tool kit for developing sustainable business strategies;

●To apply the branding and communication platform effectively and lead the public;

●To change the world and make profit simultaneously

What expects us behind the door of tomorrow, where we are now and what we need to do to get to our desired destination? All answers are available at II International Forum — Purposeful brands: Winning the Hearts of Tomorrow’s Consumers.

EVENT PROGRAM

9:00 – 10:00

Registration and welcome coffee

10:00 - 10:15 

Welcome speech

Ekaterina Son, Effie Russia, CEO

Alexey Kornya, MTS, President

Sergey Glushkov, PepsiCo Eastern Europe, Vice President Corporate Affairs

10:15 — 11:00 Public Talk. Leadership during transformation. Business transition in response to new challenges

• Role of the leader during the transformation journey
• Observing, sensing and making sense of self and the surrounding world
• Leading public, companies and society
• Maintaining ‘sustainability’ in the long run

Speakers:

Alexey Kornya, MTS, President

Stephane Zweguintzow, Enel Russia, Chairman of the Board of Directors — Director for Sustainable Development

Regina Kuzmina, CEO Unilever in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus

11:00 — 11:30 Coffee-break

11:00 — 13:00 Session 1: What awaits us tomorrow? Russia vs. World. Russia & World/ Implementing sustainability business strategies

Global business community is enthusiastic about its key role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, as business leaders are committed to making our world a better place. However, in their sustainability journey many companies often experience practical difficulties with ‘greening’ business operations and processes. 

• Do global trend-watching marketing agencies detect this ongoing transition towards sustainability?
• How can agencies support their business clients in the creation of super-brands?
• How should sustainability values and principles be integrated into Russian business practices on the basis of the experience of global companies?
• Case-study. How should a user-friendly and attractive-for-the-consumer business model be created?
• How can sustainability be incorporated into the processes beyond marketing, e.g. product design, supply chains, business models?
• Money and profitability: what are the material benefits for business from implementing sustainability practices?
• How to measure effectiveness of impactful initiatives for brand and society?

Moderator: TBC

Speakers:

Rodney Collins, McCann Truth Central, Regional Director

Joanna Yarrow, IKEA, Healthy & Sustainable Living Leader

Vasyl Latsanych, VimpelCom, Chief Executive Officer

Rachel Howard, Adidas CIS, Vice President and Brand Director

Igor Korotetskiy, KPMG in Russia and CIS, Partner, Head of Operational Risk and Sustainability

Irina Korshunova, McDonald’s in Russia,  Senior Director for Quality Control and Sustainable Development

Representative of Danone*

14:00 — 15:00 Lunch

15:00 — 16:30 

Session 2: Where are we today? Marketing in the sustainability context in Russia: overcoming skeptical attitude to win long-lasting loyalty/How to create a close bond with the consumer and win his/her trust?

It is often assumed that business main rationale for incorporating sustainability agenda is pure PR and creating positive brand image – however, external communication of accomplishments is vital for any company.  

In the new paradigm the key to success of any super-brands is the combination of constructive and positive actions + creative storytelling. It is important ‘to act’ in a trustworthy manner, so that the underlying good intentions of a company are never challenged. But it is also fundamental for business to empower consumers to start making a positive impact.

• What are the consumer expectations for responsible brands today?
• How can a brand stop wasting its money for dead-end ideas and find its own big idea? How can we distinguish a worthy idea from profanity?
• How to close the communication gap between the consumers and sustainable brands.
• Who is the ‘lead’: business or consumers? Does the business become more responsible in response to consumer expectations, or it defines the sustainability agenda for the consumer who then follows?
• How can big vision be translated into the applicable strategy?

Moderator:

TBC

Speakers:

Presentation of winning cases in 2019 Positive Change Awards – best practices in impactful communications

Rodney Collins, McCann Truth Central, Regional Director

Philippe Rogge, Leroy Merlin Russia, deputy CEO

Sergey Glushkov, PepsiCo Eastern Europe, Vice President Corporate Affairs

Ekaterina Aksenova, Bushe, Head of Environmental Projects

Tori Carter, KFC, Global Public Affairs

Representative of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO *

Representative of S7*

16:30 – 17:00 Coffee-break

17:00 – 18:30

Session 3: How should we act to arrive to bright future? Interactive sustainability session for marketing practitioners and senior management

It seems the world has gone mad about green and fairtrade goods. The list of brands ‘killed by millennials’ gets more names which failed to demonstrate that that they share new values of environmental and social responsibility. Experts concur that this is not a temporary trend.

This session will be structured in the interactive format where workshop participants will be able to reflect on the key takeaways, assess how these insights can be applied in daily business activities to launch the process of sustainability transformation within one’s company, in the market, and hopefully at the country level.

Moderator

Alyona Yuzefovich, Blekinge Institute of Technology Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability program graduate, Effie Sustainable Development Goals consultant.

18:30 – 19:00 Networking session: cocktail party

For further information:

Daria Makarova, d.makarova@effie.ru, +79166033151

For participation and tickets:

Elena Panarina, e.panarina@effie.ru, +79162228401