Comments on: Two weeks on a Ukrainian river boat.

By: Lois Geller

Lois Geller — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:26:50 +0000

Well, Elja…I never knew any of the things you just wrote about that region. Thank you for taking the time to write about their circumstances.

As a marketer, I was “itching” to help them try some new products and new techniques in selling their wares. We went to a monastery one day and they had amazing relics there…but the gift store closed at 3pm, and we missed it! They missed us too.

So nice to hear about this Elja…imagine large European retailers owning the markets.

By: Elja Daae

Elja Daae — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:05:29 +0000

Hi Lois, thanks for sharing this. I lived in Central Europe (bordering the Ukraine) for a while and miss it a lot. I came to love the culture, the folklore, the food, the people. Your story and the pictures make me think back on that time.
I am afraid the answer to some of the marketing issues you mention is quite simple: it’s quite probable that in fact, there is one person owning the tourist market! Those people selling tourist gifts probably work for one and the same ‘company’, which tells them what to sell. Power, entrepreneurship and wealth are divided quite differently there.
As for national brands, not to be a cynic (I’m not, you see), but in many countries in that region, after the regime ended and everything was privatized, all assets were sold off to (foreign) investors. And for those companies not sold off, as soon as the market opened to outside influence, I imagine they had not much chance of surviving. Where I lived, it was the big European retailers, telecom, food brands etc. that owned most of the market.
As for customer friendliness – recognizable. I never quite got my head around that one. I always figured that it was because people were trying to get by under very hard circumstances and out-right poverty. Working seemed to be considered just another part of that struggle. The younger generation is definitely different though, and things are changing fast.
Anyway! I could go on and on! Thanks for sharing!

By: Lois Geller

Lois Geller — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:03:10 +0000

Hi Terri,

Yes, I wanted to get everyone working on more interesting products…right then and there!

So frustrating about the sameness..like they all received the same memo from Russia years ago.

Yet in Moscow a few years ago, they were being so creative in sculpture, art and products…just hasn’t trickled down to the Ukraine yet.

Nice talking to you, Terri in more than 140 characters. I think of you as a good friend!

By: Terri Maurer

Terri Maurer — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:08:01 +0000

Thanks for sharing more details, Lois. Getting the occasional 140-character bits just wasn’t doing it. Must have been awesome to actually see the places of historic events we only hear about in high school history classes. Did touching Churchhill’s chair send a tingle up your arm? Sounds like you had an awesome ‘guide’ to fill you in the history. Unless they can make it all come alive, it can be pretty boring…sorry, Ted!

Can’t believe you didn’t start a marketing seminar there on the spot. You are right about the limited ‘tourist’ products. There was a team of Russian pilots with their aircraft at the Cleveland Air Show a few years back. They were selling exactly the items you mentioned here in the US. I think we paid $10 for our set of nesting dolls….don’t bother telling me how much they ripped us off right here in the US.

By: Lois Geller

Lois Geller — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:37:33 +0000

Ted, you make me laugh. You’re right I am a “non-history” type. But when I stood on the top of the hill and looked down to watch where The Charge of the Light Brigade happened…it took my breath away.

And above the Yalta Conference rooms, was the homeo f the Romanov’s. Their story was so sad to hear ( though I’d read it before), and their photos were beautiful.

Their son was so handsome, and they fought to keep him alive…then of course all perished.

Yes, you would have loved this trip. I did, because the head of Russian Studies from Dartmouth lectured to us before each stop…and was a great storyteller.

Thanks for checking in, Ted!

By: Ted Vinzani

Ted Vinzani — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:15:47 +0000

As a history major I could drive you nuts asking questions, but you did a creditable job for a non-history type (read “doesn’t bore others with history” like I do.)

I did enjoy the marketing insights. A trip into an equivalent region in China would have given you loads of quaint local marketing anecdotes, but then China has a centuries and centuries old tradition of entrepreneurship.

By: Lois Geller

Lois Geller — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:07:19 +0000

Yes, Kim…it was a hand-made instrument of some type and he sang beautifully. Never saw anything like it, and the people couldn’t tell me the name…as no one spoke English there!

Thank you for dropping by, and it is good to be home.

By: Kimberly Castleberry

Kimberly Castleberry — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:29:34 +0000

This looks like it was an absolutely delightful trip! You’re comment about the subs made me giggle though! It reminds me of the oxymoron of “military intelligence”! There is a picture of a man standing at a table (?), what is that? That’s rather interesting as its legs seem to be limbs. Is it an instrument?
Glad you had a blast and made it home safely!
Kimberly