Market leaders set the key benchmarks for marketing: a look back at the MRKTNG Marathon 2026
9 June 00:38
On June 3, 2026, the MRKTNG marathon “Highlight the Essentials,” organized by MMR —a leading media outlet covering marketing, communications, and creativity—in Kyiv brought together over 500 marketing professionals, communications specialists, brand leaders, and creatives for a full day of non-stop lectures from 40 industry leaders, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
The focus was on marketing in a reality oversaturated with data, channels, tools, trends, and circumstances. The event’s dynamic atmosphere was set by Ruslan Sharipov, host of 1 1 media, and Lyudmila Barbir, host of the “1 1 Ukraine” TV channel.
Mykhailo Shapovalov (Admixer Advertising) spoke about how marketing brings order out of chaos. He analyzed the logic of GMP hubs as a new architecture for working with data.
Yulia Zhmakina (“1 1 Ukraine”), Natalia Vovk (“1 1 Ukraine”), and Yegor Gordeev (“1 1 Ukraine”).
Tetyana Kolesnyk (FUIB) and Alona Koshuk (Adsapience) demonstrated how social initiatives become part of the culture and change behavior in the “Teplokrovni” project, where donation becomes a daily habit.
The panel discussion “Adaptation, New Benchmarks, and Horizons for Marketing. What to Do When Old Strategies Don’t Work and There Are No More Ready-Made Instructions” brought together market leaders: Boris Tsomay (RIEL), Vladimir Sobolev (“Kovalska”), Yaryna Skorokhod (DTEK), Dmitry Danilovich (ALVIVA GROUP), and Victoria Shapron (AB InBev Efes Ukraine). The participants shared a common view: the market no longer offers ready-made formulas, and marketing is returning to the center of business decisions—not as a service, but as a strategic function.
Dmytro Sudak (Teva in Ukraine) spoke about the team’s resilience: chronic stress and multitasking erode the quality of thinking, and recovery depends on the basics—sleep, breaks, and a normal work rhythm that doesn’t erode the ability to think.
In 2026, OOH will no longer be about the number of contacts, but about the context in which the brand appears. Viktor Ivanchenko (Megapolis) spoke about this; at the heart of his presentation was attention, which matters more than reach.
The panel discussion “Transformations in Advertising in 2026” with Oksana Belyaeva (OMD Optimum Media Ukraine), Olena Plakhova (KERNEL), and Gennadiy Karlinsky (WOG) raised the key question: what actually works in advertising today, when there are no longer any universal answers and attention is the scarcest resource.
Collaboration as a way to bridge different worlds was the focus of Daria Cherkashina’s (HAVAS Red) presentation. Strong partnerships are born not from brand similarities, but from ideas that force these worlds to intersect where it initially seemed impossible.
Serhiy Kostya (Bolt) explained how a brand ceases to be an external message and becomes part of the daily context of a person’s life. Here, culture functions as a medium for communication, not merely a backdrop.
A reputation that isn’t just declared, but confirmed every day through actions. This was discussed during the panel discussion “Social Projects Without Instructions: How to Combine Action, Business, and Real Impact in 2026” with Tetiana Sherman (DTEK Academy), Anna Zakharash (“Darnitsa”), Ivanna Slaboshpytska (“KYIV24”), Yulia Dalibuk (robota.ua), and Tetiana Boyar (L’Oréal).
Storytelling without a stage or a “format” was discussed during a podcast on stage with the hosts and founders of the “Off the Record” project, Anna Davydenko (Let Them See) and Oleksandra Pogorila (U Agency). The guest of the conversation was director, producer, and creator of the film “Killhouse,” Lyubomyr Levytskyi.
Vladimir Gaidash (“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih”) presented an industrial brand without “industrial jargon” and demonstrated the transition of complex systems to human communication without losing scale.
Iryna Metnyova (Vandog Agency) analyzed creative PR as a mechanism for ideas that don’t end with the campaign, and discussed how virality is born and why the strongest ideas outlive the brief.
Daria Sukhenko (Trembita PR), Olga Divushchak (Foundation Coffee Roasters), Dmytro Samolyuk (“We Are Ukraine”), Vladyslav Dunaienko (Ministry of Defense of Ukraine), Denis Zelenov (Channel 24), Olga Gutsalo (Kyivstar.Tech), and Danilo Povar (blogger, comedian, artist) discussed the topic “The Hunt for Attention: Which Channels to Use, What to Pay For, and What Actually Delivers Results” and shared insights on how to manage attention on social media, whether you’re a media outlet, a small, medium, or large business, or a blogger.
Elina Kochenko (Flyer One Ventures) presented AI as a “second brain” that integrates work into a unified system—from tools to the architecture of daily processes, where data, communications, and tasks function as a single entity.
Olena Tsysar (international CX expert) wrapped up the day with a discussion on customer experience as a framework for business. At the core: empathy and a genuine understanding of customer needs.
During the event, the winners of the X-RAY Marketing Projects Competition were honored—a project that annually brings together the strongest case studies in Ukrainian marketing.
An important part of the MRKTNG Marathon 2026 was a charity fundraiser in support of the “Spalah” Unmanned Systems Battalion of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Event participants managed to raise 43,173 UAH. With these funds, the unit will purchase two Starlink Mini devices, which are necessary for stable communication during combat missions.
The MRKTNG Marathon “Highlight the Essentials” demonstrated that marketing and communications no longer operate in a realm of ready-made answers. Here, the winners are not those with a perfect plan, but those who know how to choose exactly what to emphasize in the moment and not lose sight of the essence when there is too much going on at once.
The organizers, the business/media bureau Ekonomika and MMR, would like to thank: the general partner—FUIB, the general media partner — 1 1 media, and the main partner—“Teva.”
Event partners: AB InBev Efes Ukraine, Motorola, hospitality partner DTEK Academy, security partner Sheriff, coffee partner Foundation Coffee Roasters, water partner “Morshynska,” confectionery partner ALVIVA GROUP, alcoholic beverage partner AZNAURI, and kombucha partner “Otaka Kombucha.”
Media partners: “We Are Ukraine,” “We Are Ukraine,” advertising holding “Megapolis,” “KYIV24,” Live Marketing, ADV.expert, Channel 24, Infovision, media holding “Apostrophe,” Mediafusion, trueua, BigBoard, VS Media, HiTech Expert, Kyiv1, Logist.fm, “Kommersant Ukrainian,” “Business Capital,” Burda Media Ukraine, Glavkom, ProfBuild magazine, CIAU, Creativity.ua, Marketer.ua, Founder, Economist, budynok.com.ua, 44.ua, CASES, “Economic News,” “Expert,” “First Business,” Mind.ua, speka.ua, mc.today, inweb, Ant Media, the European Business Association, and the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers of Poland.
Read us on Telegram: important topics – without censorship
