Ukrainian Mikhail Koroteev on how to conquer the US advertising market, working with Google and why Megan Fox and Andy MacDowell save forests

Having moved less than four years ago, creative director and director Mikhail Koroteev managed to work with world giants like Campbell's and Starbucks, Verizon and Mars, become a jury member of the international Webby competition and even get his own office in the prestigious Dumbo. In an interview with Forum, the Ukrainian said that he was waiting for the US advertising industry in the coming years and why emigration is often compared to the loss of a close relative.

Photo: Mikhail Koroteev personal archive

1. Misha, you are an interactive creative video director with a long list of international awards. Tell us what interactive means and why an unsophisticated person to know who it is? And, finally, where do you have so many international awards in the profession, which we hear about for the first time?

The easiest way is to figure it out point by point. The creative director is in charge of coming up with advertising. A video director is essentially the person who films what the creative director comes up with.

“Interactive” refers to the type of video I make—namely, stories in which the viewer interacts with the video in one way or another.

The simplest example in this case is the choice of the hero’s behavior when there is a fork in the plot - you go right, you lose your life, you go left...

An example of the most difficult option is when I force the viewer to get off the couch and go to the client's store to watch a key scene of the film in AR format.

I spent some time before choosing an example for the most difficult option, because there are a lot of them and they are all different. This is an extremely exciting segment of advertising, which is relatively few who are engaged, because this profession requires both creative and technical skills.

Awards for me are a sign of passion for an issue. If your projects resonate with more people, the industry notices.

2. Which award projects are your favorite and why?

Probably the most favorite experiments we did with Google Glass for Eleks. We were faced with the task of making a project in which the desktop version of the site resembled the format of using Google glasses. As a result, we implemented voice interactivity, which mimics the famous: “ok, Google” to launch the next phase of the project.

3. Your profession is unique in Ukraine, but what are things like in America?

Even in America, I am in a rather explosive position. The number of companies that are still engaged in projects of this nature can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Smartphones appeared only about eleven years ago. And without them, there was no talk of either VR or AR, because only thanks to such a massive device is it possible to attract the required number of users.

And even though we often hear abbreviations with the word Reality, only this year the first company appeared, which will deal exclusively with mobile first content.

And although this is only the first step in the direction of how I imagine the future and what I can and would like to do, it is undoubtedly a good step, since the first investments were in the region of a billion dollars.

Photo: Mikhail Koroteev personal archive

4. Tell us how it all began and what led you to such a unique profession?

It all started 9 years ago when I started making commercials for the Internet as part of the VGNC advertising agency. Since before that I had worked in management positions in marketing, I had a very good idea of ​​what to offer the client to accept the video. Pretty quickly, the production of videos exclusively for youtube became uninteresting to me, and I began to look for additional benefits in order to stand out in the growing competition among advertisers and directors.

So I became interested in interactive projects. At that time, we adopted the idea of ​​“medium is the message”, which essentially meant that our projects should make the most of all the possibilities of the Internet. This is how the first project appeared in which the user controls the video voice. It is now with the advent of Alexa that seems self-evident, and then the video that talks to you looked like a miracle. This project got google sandbox.

Another interactive experiment for which an interactive museum was built, earned the Adobe Cutting Edge Award. The market was obviously ready for new breakthrough projects.

And the further, the more I looked for more and more complex and ambitious projects and ideas, until I was faced with the psychological problem of consuming this content. It turned out that the audience did not want to interact so actively with the film, as I originally imagined it to be.

This is how the term seamless interactivity appeared - interactivity in which the user takes part without realizing it. One example of this is the technology Disney now uses to rate its film releases. Cameras located in cinemas recognize the faces of spectators and read their emotions while watching a film, and AI analyzes what is reflected on their face. Having thus received a genuine reaction from the audience, the filmmakers set off to finalize the film.

In my profession, I see how the same thing can happen in real time, and when it becomes a reality, it will change everything. For example, for starters, it will completely solve the problem of piracy, because all films will be unique depending on how you react to them.

And it seems to me that this is a very promising start.

5. How difficult was it to continue practicing your profession in America?

In America, as a rule, the research and planning stage is quite lengthy. Despite the fact that the largest players in the interactive world are located in this country, the market is still at fairly early stages of development. Therefore, the fact that I have awards from leading festivals in this category is a huge bonus. And I'm lucky to work with studios that are ready to take the next step forward. The same seamless interactive film for a mobile phone will be the first in history. That is, the strategy of participating in foreign festivals bears fruit from the very beginning - the status of a leading professional does not depend on borders.

6. You have won enough awards to be offered to become a Webby judge. What are the main mistakes in the videos you notice from year to year?

Advertisers think that viewers want to learn something about their product. This is not true. Viewers want to understand how their lives will change if they buy the same product. This is a significant difference, thanks to which I manage to work today with global brands that understand this, like Maybelline or Make Up For Ever.

Photo: Mikhail Koroteev personal archive

7. Few people would dare to move. Can you advise something?

It seems to me that I can and, moreover, should. Those who wish to relocate initially need to think about what their undeniable advantage is. What exactly can their unique niche be and whether they will be able to offer the market something original.

I was fortunate to be successful in Ukraine in a fairly unique category and continue to do the same in America, so my advice is to match your strengths to market trends.

In addition, psychologists often compare relocation with the loss of a close relative. This is a difficult process of adaptation to a new culture and people and the inevitable loss of contacts with friends in Ukraine.

8. You have extensive experience in the Ukrainian and American markets. From the point of view of such exclusive specialization, who was more ready to experiment - Ukrainians or Americans?

Oddly enough, the Ukrainians were more ready for experiments, but there was one big “but” - they were not ready to invest the necessary budgets to develop high-quality experiments. Americans, in turn, are less risk-averse, but if you convince them that everything will go as you promise, they will be able to provide you with more financial opportunities.

Thus, choosing where I can express myself more and, accordingly, to get an opportunity to move the whole category of seamless interactivity forward, I chose the States.

9. Tell us about working with famous actresses Megan Fox and Andy McDowell. You, probably, one of the few, have the opportunity to compare work with Ukrainian stars and American ones.

I have been in love with Andy since the time of the Four Weddings and the Burial. It was an exciting day.

But the project was actually very worthwhile - we helped the National Forest Foundation attract investment to save trees in national parks. As one of the characters in the video said: “Why do I want to save trees in national parks? Let me think, oh, yes, I like to breathe.” I also really like to breathe.

Previously, I had a different point of view, but now it seems to me that the difference is not where the stars come from, but who they are originally from. Some Ukrainian stars behave very strangely, and American ones are very natural and simple. And completely the opposite.

Therefore, my unique answer is that everything is relative.

Photo: Mikhail Koroteev personal archive

10. What about advertisers? You have worked with leading Ukrainian brands and with such giants as Campbell's and Starbucks, Verizon and Mars - what is the main difference?

Advertisers in America should take into account in their messages a lot more subtle points than in Ukraine. The issue of race and diversity is not in principle in Ukraine. Here, on the one hand, we must try to give a platform for statements to all members of the American population, and on the other hand, have enough tact to offend no one.

Until I moved here, I did not know how thin the ice is.

As for my profession directly, then, as I said, if you managed to win the respect and trust of clients, they will be ready to allocate resources for stunning projects.

However, even at a very banal level, when I was making 360 video for Campbell's, in which it was necessary to see the Jedi speech in time, this is some kind of very strong and exciting feeling. It feels like you are developing a story you know from childhood, like no one else could have now. There is a feeling that you are involved in the important.

11. What American project that you did would be impossible in Ukraine?

The one about which, unfortunately, I cannot tell you now, it is under the NDA. This is a full-length interactive film for a mobile phone based on a classic work. This will be a new word in storytelling, I am sure of that. And if you take into account the caliber of my partners, then not only me.

12. What do the next five years look like in the interactive video category?

Oh, the industry is developing so rapidly that I can only talk in terms of the next 2 years, because after that the market may veer in an unpredictable direction. Next year, 5G Internet will be introduced - speeds will increase significantly - and no one will be left out of the mobile revolution. Content producers will understand that young audiences, who are gradually getting money, watch almost everything on a mobile phone screen, and budgets will open up.

Mass audience will bring massive money, and at this moment the niche category of interactive content for a mobile phone will explode with incredible projects. I am sure that this will be a revolution, and as in the case of any avalanche-like change, it is very difficult to imagine what this will lead to.

One thing is for sure, it will be very interesting.

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