40+ Experts, 500+ Participants and Endless Insights: How MRKTNG MRTHN 2025 Went
On June 4, Kyiv lit up with new meanings - this is where MRKTNG MRTHN "Under the Sun of Insights" took place, organized by online media about marketing, communications and creativity MMR together with the business/media holding ekonomika+. More than 40 experts - representatives of leading brands and agencies - gathered on one stage to talk about the main thing: how to keep the consumer's attention in conditions of information overload, how to extract real insights from context and turn them into working strategies, and how not to get lost in the marketing field.
More than 500 participants of MRKTNG MRTHN and representatives of the marketing community gathered in the innovative space UNIT.City. The event was hosted by charismatic presenters: Iryna Prokofieva - the face of 1+1 Marathon and a special correspondent for "TSN. Week”, and Volodymyr Rabchun — host of 1+1 media TV channels.
The marathon was started by Igor Volovy, CEO & Co-founder of the Internet marketing agency Elit-Web, who presented the results of a study of the needs of online buyers.
Anna Gladirevska, head of the digital products department of the EVA and EVA.UA chain of stores, spoke about the creation of a virtual makeup and hair color fitting service and business results. The speaker noted that the service became a supplement, not a replacement for a physical consultation, and also helped reduce the workload on consultants.
“A city is not just a collection of billboards, but an environment in which an impression of a brand is formed,” said Viktor Ivanchenko, head of Strategy & R&D of the Megapolis + holding, during his speech. Together with Oleksandra Baydikova, head of the creative agency of the Megapolis + holding, they talked about cases when outdoor advertising became part of the urban space.
Serhiy Grabchak, Marketing Director of Oschadbank, spoke about bold investments in culture during the war. He shared cases of unexpected collaborations of the bank with Ukrainian brands: fashion legend Litkovska, culture and design studio MAKHNO, and jewelry brand Tsvite Teren. In addition, Serhiy announced a new art project of Oschadbank, which will unite the voices of Ukrainian artists.
“Insights are still needed, but they should not be turned into a cult,” said Borys Tsomaya, a marketing specialist with 20 years of experience, during a panel discussion. How insights are born and what factors influence it were discussed together by Viktoriya Shapron, Marketing Director of AB InBev Efes Ukraine, Dmytro Lyuty, Creative Director of Bickerstaff.420, Serhiy Biloshitsky, Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine, and Maksym Nezvietsky, Vice Director of Marketing of the Aurora multimarket chain.
Roman Gurbanov, Creative Director and Co-Founder of the Taktika agency, shared how limitations can become a catalyst for creativity, why frameworks are not always enemies, and how the right questions help break them.
How to find a message that resonates in an oversaturated category? Lyudmila Kvyatkovska, Marketing Manager of Bolt in Ukraine, using the example of the company's communication launch in Ukraine, told what they focused on and how it affected the effectiveness of the campaign.
“The audience wants to be heard, but not feel intentionally monitored,” said Volodymyr Horshkov, Chief Commercial Officer at Admixer Advertising. During his speech, he shared the principles of building advertisements and examples of strategies for personalized creativity.
Volodymyr Zavadyuk, Head of Big Brave Events 1+1 media, and Nataliya Vovk, Marketing Director of 1+1 Ukraine TV channel, spoke about creating content that gives hope, warmth, and a sense of belonging using the examples of the projects “Christmas. You are not alone,” “Club %1,” and “Wheel of Fortune.”
FUIB Marketing Director Ksenia Sikorska spoke about the bank’s rebranding and the results that were achieved thanks to it. “Beauty is not enough, there must be meaning. A bright shell without meaning no longer works,” Ksenia noted.
How marketing, creativity and brand strategy help attract regular donors and build trust was discussed at the panel discussion by Oleksandr Alimov, co-founder of TWID agency and head of the fundraising department of “Da Vinci Wolves”, Oleksiy Pokryshen, CEO and creative director of TWID agency, Oksana Bondarenko, senior officer of the information and communications department of the 1st corps of the Azov Military University, Serhiy Todosan, partnership manager of AZOV.ONE | 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” of the Azov Military University, and Oleg Shulga, creative director of the 20th separate regiment of unmanned systems “K-2”. The speakers shared how to define the audience in military marketing, what KPIs are set during campaign development and how they are looking for new ways to scale the audience. The discussion was moderated by Vitaliy Kapustyan, who professionally asks interesting questions.
Does every brand interaction really have to have an impact, and are likes and creating a positive mood superfluous? Olga Divushchak, marketing specialist at Foundation Coffee Roasters, Alina Smyshlyak-Boroda, director of reputation management and CSR at Kormotech, Yana Merkotan, marketing director of the Kachorovska brand, Polina Tolmachova, marketing director of ICTV and ICTV2 TV channels, Valeria Tolochyna, CMO MEGOGO, and Kateryna Zakharash, corporate communications director at L’Oreal Ukraine, shared examples of how brands influenced their audiences through projects. The panel was moderated by Olena Plakhova, director of reputation management and marketing at Nova Poshta Group of Companies.
Roman Kominyarsky, project manager at Continental Farmers Group, talked about how to make a CSR project media-oriented and how to attract allies in a win-win format.
"The true art of marketing communications can only be created by people who have motivation and shared values," said Anastasia Lyvynets, Head of the Marketing Communications Center at MHP. The speaker shared the philosophy and principles of MHP's marketing communications.
Svitlana Popova, Head of Marketing at AFINA Group, explained why a distributor needs its own brands and why it is important to support a Ukrainian manufacturer.
Daria Malikhatko, Director of Publicis Groupe Data Science, talked about approaches to finding insights through visualization and the stages of their creation. She noted that insights are born when we interpret and apply them.
Vasyl Yatsyshyn, Director of Mass Market Brand Management at Kormotech, explained why even classics need changes using the example of updating the Meow! cat food brand.
Practical advice on working with analytics and BigData and why it is a necessity for modern marketing was shared by Natalia Yevdokimova, Sales Director Nexinsight.
Marianna Konina, Founder & CEO Reputation City, told what online reputation management is and how it works.
Taras Matsypura, Vice President of Marketing at PJSC Carlsberg Ukraine, spoke about the principles of forming, developing and retaining effective employees who generate results.
Iryna Metnyova, founder of Vandog Agency, told why the state needs a brand, shared a checklist of an effective working brand from the state, as well as how to create a working brand for a state institution.
How to build niche industry marketing, why culture has become the new “fashion” and how brands can become part of this wave were discussed during a panel discussion by Valeria Rusanenko, Marketing Director of Pandora in Ukraine, Viktoria Sereda, Marketing Director of Sense Bookstores, Katya Taylor, founder of the agency and NGO Port of Culture, and Svyat Zagaykevich, founder of “Underground Standup”. The speakers discussed what art is in their business, recalled their own cases, and also concluded that art is a driving force of marketing, but not a must-have. The discussion was moderated by Serhiy Kostya, Marketing Director of Bolt in CEE and Asia.
The MRKTNG MRTHN also hosted the awarding of the best X-RAY marketing projects.
At the MRKTNG Marathon 2025, creativity became not only a tool of strategy - but a real front of support. The organizers organized a collection for tens of kilometers of communication for the 5th OShBr, holding a raffle of merch from the brigade and gifts from ekonomika+. Each donation is a meter that benefits the front line.
The organizers, the business/media bureau Ekonomika+ and the online media mmr.ua are grateful to the partners:
General partner - Oschadbank
General media partner - 1+1 media
