Web users who have been craving up-to-date information about Ukraine's burgeoning entertainment scene now have a site where they can find the latest information about nightlife, restaurants and show business.
The site (http://www.prokiev.com), which went online March 1, strives to be what http://www.weekend.ru is to Russia – a one-stop site where users can find out what's happening around town and beyond.
'There was a niche on the Ukrainian e-market that we wanted to fill,' said Kirill Dobrolyubov, manager at the Internet agency o+K.
Dobrolyubov said his agency had been mulling the idea of such a site for some time, but there was just one thing that got in the way of implementation: funding.
Enter Kraft Jacobs Suchard. The Western food giant decided to sponsor the site's launch, which is the first step of the Korona brand Web site development project. Visitors would be attracted to the main Korona brand site through proKiev.com as the major entertainment news source.
Starcom, media division of Leo Burnett, developed the concept of Kyiv's online guide and won the tender organized by Kraft Jacobs Suchard in October of 1999.
'What makes the Web site stand out is that it will offer Internet users ample databases of Kyiv's restaurants, bars and cafes in addition to a wide range of articles,' said Dmitry Pilipenko, editor of the project Prokiev. 'Internet users will be able to search a bar on the basis of 30 criteria ranging from the location of the bar to the availability of non-smoking areas there.'
The Web site's creators view it as an online publication with an editor and staff writers.
'We plan to hire journalists from all over Ukraine to contribute articles,' Konstantin Striukoff said, project manager at Starkom.
Although the site is called Prokiev, it aims to cover the whole country. The site's sponsors hope that, in addition to providing much-needed entertainment options, prokiev.com also will lead consumers to Korona products.
Currently, the Korona ad appears at the top of the page. Users can click on the Korona box and go directly to the Korona Web site, which is now under construction. The sponsor hopes the Web page will be popular enough to reach a big chunk of their target audience.
Kraft Jacobs Suchard chose to sponsor a Web site as a way of advertising because it can provide exposure to a plethora of consumers simultaneously – and it's exclusive. The clutter of ads, characteristic of traditional media, can be avoided on a Web site.
The o+K agency officials expect prokiev.com to draw a lot of hits – and potential buyers.
'We strive for the attendance rate of 1,000 unique host hits per day,' Dobrolyubov said.
Striukoff says there is clearly a connection between the average Internet user and those who would be interested in Korona products.
'It is quite natural to eat chocolate while surfing the Internet,' he said.
– Olena Nikolayenko
