Gazprom-Media Sales House, in collaboration with the Moskovskiy Kartofel chips brand, presented a case study at the Russian Retail Week

On May 29, Eduard Ayrapetyan, Managing Director of Licensing at Gazprom-Media Sales House, and Denis Kosarev, Sales Director of Moskovskiy Kartofel, presented the results of their joint licensing project at the 10th International Forum of Business and Government, Russian Retail Week 2024.

In cooperation with the Fire Media (Ogon Media) advertising agency, Gazprom-Media Sales House executed a large-scale 360 promotional activation for the Moskovskiy Kartofel chips brand on the country’s main sports TV channel, Match TV. A line of licensed branded chip packaging was developed specifically with sports fans in mind. The new brand line incorporates the channel’s identity and the self-explanatory hashtag #everyonetothematch. As part of the promotion, participants could activate a promo code from the packaging on a dedicated website and submit their questions to popular sports commentator Georgy Cherdantsev, their favorite soccer player, or any of the channel’s experts. Over 27,000 users signed up for the special project on the dedicated landing page moskart-matchtv.ru during the seven weeks of the contest activation on Match TV resources, asking more than 20,000 questions to soccer stars, presenters, and channel experts. The number of unique users of the landing page exceeded 650,000. The placement on the channel’s digital resources reached over 9,200,000 people, while social media posts generated 2,750,000 views¹. The interactive TV mechanics reached more than 900,000 households (more than 2,000,000 people)². And the TV outreach of the advertising campaign on Match TV amounted to over 10,000,000 people³.

Eduard Ayrapetyan

Managing Director of Licensing at Gazprom-Media Sales House

Large domestic brands are still cautious about any collaborations, fearing “competition” and striving to develop their own ecosystems independently. However, global experience has demonstrated the high efficiency of licensing programs. Companies leverage the synergistic effect to enhance the experience of their products. As a result, those Russian brands that are the first to adopt integrations with media franchises, be it advertising sponsorship or packaging licensing, will achieve the greatest results in terms of both sales growth and increased customer loyalty. The most compelling evidence of this is the successful collaboration between Moskovskiy Kartofel and the federal sports channel Match TV.

The comprehensive marketing mix enabled the brands to attract the focus target audience, increase the reach of the message, and maximize efficiency. The campaign included sponsorship of broadcasts of the most popular soccer game among Russian viewers, the Russian Premier League and the Russian Soccer Cup, an exclusive section and program integrations, graphic options, and augmented reality. It also featured Georgy Cherdantsev as an ambassador for the campaign and interactivity in Smart TV with the use of QR codes. The game mechanics, which featured a branded product, proved to be a key element in connecting with the consumer.

Denis Kosarev

Sales Director of Moskovskiy Kartofel

Moskovskiy Kartofel, a legendary brand with a distinguished history, marked its 60th anniversary last year. To sustain brand knowledge and drive growth, we employ an omnichannel marketing strategy to promote our products and engage the consumer at every stage of their journey. We leverage media and create 360° special projects to delight chip lovers across generations. This year, we focused on the male audience, a decision that has yielded significant results. The campaign “Big Soccer with Moskovskiy Kartofel,” implemented jointly with Match TV, proved highly successful, with sales of chips increasing by 42%.

Gamification and QR codes for access to games and giveaways have entered the TOP of the most attractive promos among buyers over the past year. This suggests that today game mechanics is one of the most effective and adaptive forms of communication. Utilizing different types of game elements helps to maintain an emotional connection with the consumer, while also enhancing the entertainment effect and the sense of uniqueness associated with both the purchasing process and the product itself. Furthermore, building loyalty programs and other sales incentives around these elements addresses the audience’s need for engagement and prolongs the pleasure of interacting with the content and product. 360° licensing as a tool for effective promotion provides companies with an out-of-the-box solution to increase brand awareness in addition to driving sales.

¹according to Yandex Metrics, March–May 2024

²according to GetShop.TV and Teletarget, March–May 2024

³according to Mediascope, March–May 2024, All 18+, Match TV, Russia 100+

Gazprom-Media Sales House and Match TV channel are part of Gazprom-Media Holding.