Challenge

After the rebranding of Vimpelcom in 2006, one of the main tasks for the company's press service was expanding its pool of loyal media. To accomplish this, Vimpelcom brought in Polylog to:

1. Create Russia's first corporate press club, valuable and interesting for journalists
2. Expand the company's thematic range in media coverage
3. Further develop telecom journalism in the regions

Solution

Press club meetings are organized using the results of a study targeting telecom journalists — gatherings of colleagues joined by industry experts to strengthen the informational content of the discussions. At each meeting journalists are given a press kit with materials on the main topic of discussion. Meetings are held at popular beer gardens and, in addition to informational content, include entertainment and club events.

Tools	Description	Functions
Club events	Club charter, club cards, membership procedures, etc.	Establish the press club as a community of like-minded professionals
Thematic events	Main themes presented during a number of speeches, with questions and comments from guests	The speakers' credibility reflects positively on Vimpelcom, which learns industry players' views on key topics
No Rules discussion	Each guest is given the chance to speak; discussions usually last 30-40 minutes	Each guest feels like an equal participant with industry experts and Vimpelcom
Entertainment events	Concerts, football match viewings, sports tournaments	Building club member loyalty

Journalists participating were never specifically asked to write articles on club events or initiate any special monitoring and understood that the club's goal is dialogue, not exit publications.

The club has its own LiveJournal weblog, with content created and moderated by Vimpelcom.

Results

1. By end-2007, the club's members included most top journalists covering the telecoms sector; the club has about 100 active members, with average attendance of around 30 at each event;
2. An influential, LiveJournal-based channel was created, allowing the company to provide its target audience with important information on a regular basis;
3. A positive attitude among journalists towards the press club and Vimpelcom;
4. The company's reputation as one of the most media-transparent players in its sector was enhanced; according to research by PRP Group, in July 2007 Vimpelcom's press service had the following ratings (on a 10-point scale):

   Category	Score	Rank among competitors
   Press service friendliness	8.7	1
   Press service creativity	8.1	1
   Speaker accessibility	8.3	1-2 (tie with Euroset)
   Information transparency	7.9	1