“We will see new brands”: the government will allocate 500 million rubles to advertise Russian goods

For the first time, the Russian government will subsidize advertising of domestic goods on television.

This was announced on Tuesday, June 7, by the Minister of Industry and Trade of the country, Denis Manturov, as part of the Russian Retail Week.

According to him, in 2022, it is planned to allocate 500 million rubles for these purposes.

Thus, the authorities want to increase the recognition of Russian products and create conditions in the country for the development of their own brands.

“This does not mean that we will squeeze foreign brands out of the country.

Moreover, Turkish, Chinese, Indian, Brazilian, Iranian partners are now knocking on our door - and our market is also open for them.

However, Russian brands should finally receive significant preferences,” Manturov said.

As the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade noted, today goods with Russian names are sold worse than foreign ones.

Against this background, domestic manufacturers often produce their products under brands in foreign languages.

• Denis Manturov

• © RIA Novosti / Alexey Danichev

Support from the state in the promotion of Russian goods will be especially relevant in connection with the departure of many foreign companies from the Russian Federation, Alexander Kalinin, president of the All-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses Support of Russia, said in a conversation with RT.

In his opinion, advertising promotion today is primarily necessary for brands involved in import substitution.

We are talking about new product and product lines, which are now replacing foreign ones in Russian stores.

“These are, in particular, goods for children, cosmetics and household chemicals.

Also, assistance in promotion will not interfere with new companies and startups in the late stages of formation, which have just begun to produce goods,” Kalinin said.

Moreover, many regional producers can take advantage of the government's initiative, the specialist believes.

According to him, today such enterprises have the opportunity to increase output and bring their products outside their own region, and advertising should help with this.

A similar point of view in the RT commentary was expressed by the head of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade Vladimir Gutenev.

“Thanks to this support, we will see new brands that were not previously presented or were known only in their regions.

We believe that Russian consumer goods should be promoted most actively.

The most popular will be advertising of domestic light industry, as well as food products, ”the deputy suggested.

However, experts interviewed by RT consider the 500 million rubles allocated by the government to be a relatively small amount for the promotion of Russian goods.

In this regard, according to Alexander Kalinin, the spending of funds will become targeted, and brands will be included in the list of applicants for state support on the recommendation.

“For example, the selection procedure can take place through the Innovation Promotion Fund or through the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

On the whole, the idea of ​​advertising goods on television seems reasonable, since the majority of Russians still receive most of the information, including advertising, through television and less often through the Internet,” Kalinin added.

wide access

In addition to support in the field of advertising promotion, the government is going to remove a number of barriers to simplify the sale of Russian products in retail.

In particular, the authorities intend to develop alternative trade formats such as fairs or markets.

“Now we are starting practical work to create modern wholesale food markets in the country.

This will significantly reduce logistics costs and intermediary chains, simplify and speed up the movement of goods,” said Denis Manturov.

• AGN "Moscow"

• © Lyubimov Andrey

At the same time, the development of Internet commerce will continue in Russia.

However, this will require additional adjustment of legislation in connection with the legalization of parallel imports, the minister added.

“It should be clearly understood that parallel imports are not at all gray imports, and certainly not counterfeit.

This is the right to import branded goods not only to those whom the manufacturer himself has indicated as an official distributor.

The product will still be original, having passed customs clearance and certification,” the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade explained.

Recall that at the end of March, against the backdrop of Western sanctions, the Russian government decided to legalize parallel imports.

We are talking about importing foreign products into the country without the consent of the copyright holders.

As explained in the Cabinet, in the face of external restrictions, such a measure will help to provide the domestic market with demanded goods and will help stabilize prices for them.

As Artyom Sokolov, president of the Association of Internet Trade Companies, told RT, after the departure of foreign companies from Russia, the country experienced a shortage of some commodity items, especially in the electronics segment.

However, the legalization of parallel imports and government measures to support business should improve the situation, the expert is sure.

“We will see results in the next two months.

And new suppliers will come to the market.

But already now there is a wide range of products on the market, including Russian ones.

There are currently no barriers for domestic companies to enter trading floors.

In the meantime, the consumer is already beginning to less often divide goods into Russian and imported, for him the main thing is quality and affordable price, ”concluded Sokolov.