Banda Agency, a leading Ukrainian creative agency that ranked as the most effective independent agency in 2020 by the global Effie Index awards, announced on Aug. 14 the opening of an office in California, its first branch outside of Kyiv.
Yaroslav Serdyuk, the agency’s co-founder and strategy director, has already moved to the Golden State to oversee all operations in the brand-new market, according to Banda’s Facebook post.
The idea of expanding abroad has been a point of discussion for some time now, Pavel Vrzhesch, another co-founder of the agency, told AIN.UA news website. Vrzhesch says that the global shutdown was an opportunity to showcase the strength of Ukrainian creativity when other agencies have been struggling to adapt to the market’s volatility.
“America is a country destined for business – the entrepreneurial spirit is practically embedded in every child’s DNA as early as preschool – hence the abundance of businesses with remarkable ideas and growing demand for marketing and brand consulting,” Vrzhesch says.
The Ukrainian creative agency looks to build on its history of successful campaigns here in Ukraine, such as the one credited for reviving the popularity of the National Art Museum of Ukraine or the Red Dot Grand Prix award winner for a Ukrainian chain of service stations.
After an eleven-year maturation period of globally-acclaimed awards and world recognition, Vrzhesch is convinced that his agency is ready for the next step – penetrating the vast U.S. consumer market.
“We already have four ongoing projects in the U.S.: designing a brand identity for a promotional campaign of a Hollywood film, brand creation for two investment funds, and we are also preparing to launch a new campaign for a cannabis brand,” Vrzhesch said.
The bigger picture, according to Serdyuk, is establishing an “independent global agency” with headquarters in Kyiv and branches worldwide.
