[Table] IamA Marketing Specialist in Coca-Cola, Russia. AMA about Coke or work in Russia!

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Date: 2015-01-28

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Questions	Answers
Do they still sell Cola in glass bottles in Russia? I know that they didn't sell it in glass bottle in some parts of the world.. Did Cola in Russia distribute it to other countries as well? or just limited in Russia? I realize that Russia is huge! In which part of Russia did Cola got consumed most?	Yes, we still sell in glass bottles, especially in cafes or restaurants is always used a glass bottle. Here is how it looks. We have lots of plants, almost in each country, so as far as I know, we don't distribute Russian produced Coke somewhere else. Of course, most of beverages, that are better to drink cold, are better sold in southern parts. Our South is very hot in summers, so the consuming volumes are very-very high.
What are the critical differences/strategies between marketing the product in the Russian market and for arguments sake say...America?	Well, for Russia it's very important to inform people that Coke is not a "poison with some black dye". Especially older people often criticize youngers for drinking this kind of beverages. Our "great mission" is to let people know, that this is just a sweet soda, nothing else. Now our new strategy is also to make more Coke consumption with food at home, because home consumption in Russia is still low.
If this is the case then a "Clear Coke" should do the trick.. it worked a treat with VODKA in Russia.	We can drink Sprite instead and in fact some people drink it just because of this reason! And Coke is so much associated with black color, that clearness ruins everything :)
How are the sanctions effecting coke as a business and a western brand in Russia? First!!!	Sanctions are not affecting us as much as a company, because we have 11 plants in Russia and we are a Russian producer. The other thing is people's mind. After all the sanctions of course there are people that do not want "to pay some American brand" and prefer some local beverages. But these people always existed. So I can't say that anything much changed.
Do you live in a fancypants hirise condo/apartment in Moscow (or somewhere)? Buying or renting?	Originally I am from Sochi (where Winter Olympic Games took place), the very South of Russia, where lived for 17 years. Then I moved to Rostov-on-Don, it's far from Moscow. I rent an appartment, but plan to buy some soon. My app is quite modest.
What is the Russian population's general attitude towards Americans? I always hear they don't like the USA. Have you experienced or heard of this? Is it mainly government to government or do their citizens portray this mentality?	Well, young people are absolutely open to anything from anywhere. Some older people are of course against American products, though sometimes they use them without noticing where is it from. I think it's more govermental, because from TV we can hear only that "Obama doesn't like Russians. New sanctions announced." In general we are Ok with any people.
"In general we are OK with any people." Unless they are gay... Or not white. Source: I'm Russian. (I am not suggesting either I or OP agree with this, simply stating that the country has an alarming amount of racism and homophobia)	That's true. I have 2 gay friends and though my other friends are fine with it, other people often react to emotional and even cruel...
RUSSIA DOESNT LIKE THIS, PUTIN HATES THIS! it's almost as if the media is trying to do the best to brainwash both sides.	That's why I prefer not to watch or read much news, because you won't know the true story anyway.
I always wanted a Russian friend. No idea why.	When you need some "crazy Russian", PM me :D.
How popular is Coke in Russia? Do you sell more in Russia than America?	Of course not. America leads in selling Coke, it's their national property somehow :) But still Coke is very popular in Russia, every kid or older people know it. Christmas time is always connected with Coke-commercial, literally everyone waits for it and loves it!
I wouldn't have thought it would be very popular considering it's American made and there's that whole communism against capitalism.	It was in the past. The first appearence of Fanta was at the Olympic Games in Moscow in 80s. After that people began to drink it. Now, I think as in many countries, people are more open to everything. For examle, I really don't care much who produced the chocolate I eat or anything. We, as consumers, want to try more, want to have choice, so we buy foreign products as well. Half of cellphone users have iPhones and so on. Very few people amoung my friends say "Oh! It's American, I won't buy that!"
How often do you have meetings with people in the headquarters? Is it annoying that it's late at night for you?	We meet them very rarely, mostly when they come with some visits to us. They can write us letters and that's pretty enough. We don't feel a strong need of meeting them. We know our work priorities and plans and just follow them.
How retro ... letters ;)	I mean e-mails :P.
Are your bottles in cyrillic? Кока Кола?	No, "Coca-Cola" must be always written in English. But here's, for example, our bottle during the "Share a Coke" campaign.
Isn't CocaCola written in the Arabic alphabet in countries where the writing system is based on the Arabic alphabet?	I was talking about Russia. In other countries, especially Arabic, there can be logo in other writing.
What determines this? The specific country's laws, or is it market research?	The peoples' loyalty to foreign brands and of course laws. Yeah, and also on the ability of citizens to read English.
How's the devaluation of the ruble effecting you?	For company: our business plans are in US dollars, so after devaluation we have to sell more, to achieve those goals in dollars. For me: foreign products got pretty more expensive, from food to electronics...
Do you ever get like really tired of soda?	Well... Although at work we can drink as much Coke/Sprite/Fanta as we want, usually I drink not more than 1 glass a day. So I can't say I'm tired of it. Yet :)
What tool/ thing do you use most at work. That does not have a computer in it?	Of course I live with my laptop near me like always. But if not computer-thing...hmm...Then my notebook, where I plan everything or some marketing materials we produce.
Do you have a dash cam? And do you get free coke?	No, I don't have a dash cam. Yes, I can drink Coke, Fanta and Sprite for free. Sometimes we also get free packs of other brands.
Do they ever make you destroy pepsi or Dr.pepper?	In fact Dr.Pepper is sometimes distributed by Coca-Cola. We don't take it as a big competitor. Still we try not to destroy anything, because Pepsi or other companies will start to destroy our things in revenge. :)
Good, Dr.Pepper is great. Pepsi, not so much.	Btw, we don't produce Cherry Coke in Russia, so Dr.Pepper is popular among cherry-lovers :)
I have two questions. 1) What demographic in Russia consumes the most Coke and soda? 2) What did you eat for breakfast today? :)	Hi! 1) Age 14-30 most, I can say. 2) As I have no time to have breakfasts at home, I usually drink my morning coffee and eat some kind of a bun, while checking my e-mail :)
How is Russian Coke different from American Coke?	There's no difference in ingredients. The difference in taste makes water. E.G. Ukrainian or Cambodian Cokes are less sweet than Russian or American.
How much of this video do you see on a regular basis in Russia?	What do you mean by "regular basis"? I don't watch TV, so I saw this only on YouTube. Though many people find this song offensive, I find it funny.
Вау, здрастьте :) Как потребитель ваших продуктов хочу спросить, будет когда нибудь виноградная Фанта?))) Во всем мире есть блин, у нас нету. UPDATE: Погуглил, оказывается продавалась у нас такая, странно что убрали с производства.	Привет! Очень странно, что вы ее не застали, она продавалась довольно долго... А вы из какого региона? А вообще у нас планируются сезонные запуски разных вкусов. Виноград возможно вернется, но пока не могу сказать когда.
I once heard that Irn Bru (a sweet Scottish form of hydrochloric acid) was extremely popular in Russia. Is this true, and are they a serious competitor?	About 10 years ago it was really extremely popular, but now it's almost gone and I can't even remember when I saw a bottle in any store for the last time...
What's pricing like is it a cheap or expensive drink in Russia?	It's more expansive than Pepsi, for example. But still not a "premium" beverage. A bit above the avegare.
Are the ingredients that make up Coca-Cola in Russia different than that in the US? Or is the same?	The same, no differs. The slight differences in tastes in countries makes water.

Last updated: 2015-01-28 17:18 UTC | Next update: 2015-01-28 17:28 UTC

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