PR MRTHN “In the Mirror of Reality”: results of the event that set new standards of honesty and trust in communications

3 November 17:00

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This year’s PR MRTHN “In the Mirror of Reality” by MMR.ua in Kyiv became a community space for more than 40 communication experts and more than 500 participants – professionals who shape the voices of brands on a daily basis. Speakers talked about rebooting communications in times when uncertainty has become the norm, and the speed of reaction is no less important than the message. Brand communications have become a language of meaning and trust, born of honesty to look in the mirror of society. Olena Tsyntyla and Mykyta Mikhalev, hosts of the We Are Ukraine TV channel, created a professional tone and dynamics of the event.

Sasha Trachuk and Natalia Bokiy (Publicis Ukraine) opened the marathon with a case study of the MMR online media redesign.

Viktor Ivanchenko (Megapolis) demonstrated how ambient advertising can develop a community in urban space.

Alina Smyshlyak-Boroda (Kormotech) spoke about how reputation is formed in FMCG, and her main point was that the company brand and the product brand should not compete but work for the same name.

To be more than a bank – this is the philosophy presented at the event by Ksenia Sikorska (FUIB):

We live in a time when the impossible is simply not yet tried. In a world where the rules are constantly changing, set your own.

The panel discussion “Anti-Crisis Communications 3.0” moderated by Olena Tsyntyla (We Are Ukraine) brought together an expert team: Olena Osypchuk (SOCAR Energy Ukraine), Yana Lyakhovych (1 1 media), Olena Plakhova, Artur Malinowski (Firma), Anna Zakharash (FC Darnitsa) and Anastasia Zrazhevska (MHP). They were united in their opinion: the crisis is not a punishment, but a test of humanity, where truthfulness and speed are important.

Oleksandra Hnatyk(EVA ) spoke about how to launch a social project that resonates with millions of Ukrainian women using the example of the Mission of Life case.

And Yulia Solovey (Ukraine WOW, Gres Todorchuk) demonstrated the power of partnerships between business, government, and culture – when all parties benefit because they are united by a common sense.

In their presentation on reputation strategies, Yevhen Yelenskyy and Pavlo Mishustin from DTEK shared the principles of creating a lovemark on social media, while Yevhen Astashov (Guys Who Shoot) explained how video can create the best emotional contact.

The panel “The Future and Present of the PR Market”, moderated by Oleksandra Pogorela(U Agency), brought together leading experts in building brand voices: Olga Divushchak (Coffee Roasters Foundation), Oleg Davydenko (Metinvest Group), Kristina Ivchenko (NOVUS) and Svetlana Konar (PrivatBank). The panelists agreed that Ukrainian PR has matured – it thinks strategically, acts flexibly and is not afraid to speak up.

B2B should be humane, and business also has a voice, assured Volodymyr Sobolev of Kovalska in his speech.

Volodymyr Gaidash (ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih) shared his experience of communicating support for the families of deceased employees as part of corporate ethics.

If you chase coverage, you can lose your meaning and identity, emphasized Dmytro Samolyuk (We Are Ukraine) in his presentation “Algorithms that kill brands”.

The Social Responsibility 2025 panel, chaired by Sergiy Kostya(Bolt), brought together Yana Goncharenko (Starlight Media), Gleb Strizhko (Starlight Media), Tetyana Kukhotska (Heart of Azovstal), Lia Metreveli (Alviva Group), Iryna Shynkarenko (Epicenter K LLC), and Maksym Nezvietskyi (Aurora). The main message of the discussion was that CSR is no longer a PR ploy, but a way of thinking for business.

Andriy Zdesenko (Biosphere Corporation) told how the company quickly and responsibly built communication after the missile strike.

Iryna Metniova (Vandog Agency) shared how the combination of creativity and branding makes PR campaigns effective, saves budget, and turns communication into an unforgettable experience.

At the final panel “AI in PR”, Tatiana Sherman (DTEK Academy), Kateryna Doroshevska (BECOME), Orysia Khimyak (military holding), and Olena Dalska-Latoshevich (WhitePress Ukraine) searched for a balance between automation and humanity and made sure that technology should be tamed.

Daria Nagaieva(Gradus) presented a recent study on how Ukrainians consume news and how their emphasis has changed.

At the end of the event, the winners of the PR Case Competition were awarded. This special project demonstrated how brands reflect values, build trust, engage in a dialogue with society and open up new standards of professionalism in communications in the face of challenges and instability.

PR MRTHN “In the Mirror of Reality” showed that communications today is an ethic of action, the ability to hear and respond, to create meaning where the world oscillates between information and truth. And the main thing is a reminder: every brand, every person can be a mirror of reality. You just have to be willing to look at it honestly.

The organizers, Ekonomika business/media bureau and mmr.ua online media, are grateful to our partners:

the general partner – FUIB.
general media partner – We Are Ukraine.

We also thank the creative partner Saatchi & Saatchi, the partner AB InBev Efes Ukraine, the security partner SHERIFF., the coffee partner Foundation Coffee Roasters, the water partner Morshynska, the hospitality partner Academy DTEK, the alcohol partner Jack Daniel’s, the sparkling partner San Mare, the sweet partner ALVIVA GROUP.

Media partners: “We are Ukraine”, Mediafusion, Starlight Media, live markwetting, 1 1 media, ADV.expert, Apostrophe Media Holding, Infovision, Kyiv 24, Megapolis Advertising Holding, VS Media, dsnews.ua, kosht.media, UA.news, True.ua, 44ua, UNN, Burda media Ukraine, HiTech Expert, Kyiv1, Liga Zakon,, Marketer.ua, Economist, Founder, Liga.net, Cases, Glavkom, Kommersant Ukrainsky, Expert, Economic News, Pershyi biznesovyi, Mind.ua, European Business Association and Creative Industries Association of Ukraine (CIAU).