Russian Standard Vodka and Maxim Media Join Forces to Bring the Beauty of the Miss Russia Pageant to U.S. Consumers

Russian Standard Vodka and Maxim Media Join Forces to Bring the Beauty of the Miss Russia Pageant to U.S. Consumers

Multi-Channel Content and Marketing Program to Give Exclusive Look at Russia's Most Beautiful Women, Most Iconic Cities and Exciting Nightlife

America's First Look at Miss Russia 2008

#1 Russian Vodka Brand Targeting Core U.S. Vodka Consumers

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia and NEW YORK, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian Standard Vodka, the #1 premium vodka in Russia, today announced a multi-channel branded-entertainment program with Maxim Media, the largest men's lifestyle media brand in America. The multimillion dollar program will introduce the beauty of the Miss Russia Pageant to U.S. consumers for the first time and provide an insider's look at Russia's most popular cities, cultural heritage and legendary nightlife.

Officially launched on September 25th, Russian Standard and Maxim will introduce U.S. consumers to past and present contestants of the Miss Russia Pageant through unique content such as photos, behind-the-scenes-videos and one-on-one interviews. The program will also introduce U.S. consumers to the iconic beauty and excitement of St. Petersburg and Moscow through travel blogs and first-hand stories appearing on Maxim.com. The program will culminate with exclusive coverage of the 2008 Miss Russia pageant on December 21, 2008 taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Content generated during the course of the five-month program will be leveraged across all Maxim properties targeting core premium vodka consumers, males 21-39. The program will also be leveraged by Russian Standard Vodka throughout its U.S. retail and wholesale distribution channels with in-store POS marketing, on- and off-premise promotions and local events hosted by previous Miss Russia Pageant finalists in major markets across the United States.

Roustam Tariko, founder of Russian Standard (which also operates the Miss Russia Pageant) said, "Russian Standard was founded on the mission of bringing the best of Russia to the world and we are proud to share with America the beauty of modern Russia through this innovative entertainment program. This program highlights the vitality of our brand, our people and our country -- no other vodka brand in the world could bring such an authentic Russian experience to U.S. consumers."

Andrew Beaver, Chief Marketing Officer of Russian Standard Vodka, USA said, "This integrated program is a terrific combination of strategic brand development, engaging entertainment content and targeted tactical sales promotions. The Miss Russia Pageant is a perfect match for the Russian Standard Vodka brand, reflecting both Russia's heritage and beauty. This truly unique entertainment program provides strong appeal and brand awareness across our distribution, retail and consumer audience and will be delivered via every marketing channel available to us."

Anthony Flaccavento, Maxim Advertising Director said, "Maxim is the best lifestyle media brand to deliver this type of content to Russian Standard's core target audience and we are excited to partner with Russian Standard to bring this program to the U.S."

The Miss Russia entertainment program will be comprised of 7 integrated initiatives:

1. "Girl on Film Introduces the Girls of Miss Russia": Photos taken by Maxim.com's photographer Kelly Stuart will introduce a new Miss Russia contestant every Thursday on Maxim.com beginning September 25, 2008. The photo galleries, shot on location in Russia, will be updated to feature a new Miss Russia contestant every week through January 2009. Behind-the-scenes videos and one-on-one interviews with the contestants will also be available on Maxim.com. The photos and video were captured during Ms. Stuart's ten-day photo shoot with former Miss Russia contestants in Russia, and will feature the most iconic locations, finest restaurants and trendiest nightclubs in both Moscow and St. Petersburg including Red Square (Moscow), Palace Square (St. Petersburg), The Hotel Astoria (St. Petersburg), the canals of the Neva River (St. Petersburg), Stroganoff Palace (St. Petersburg), the Russian Standard Vodka distillery (St. Petersburg), Kalina Bar (Moscow), Tiffany Cafe (St. Petersburg), Turandot Restaurant (Moscow), Soho Rooms nightclub (Moscow) and Lumiere restaurant (St. Petersburg).

2. "72 Hours in Russia" Travelogue: Maxim.com will explore two of the world's most cosmopolitan and dynamic cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, in a condensed 72 hours. Via blogs, video and photos, readers will receive a guided tour with five former Miss Russia finalists. Readers will learn what it is like to walk in the steps of Russia's billionaires and get a glimpse into the culture, food and the exciting nightlife of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

3. Miss Russia hits the Road in the U.S.: At the end of October, five former Miss Russia finalists will travel to the U.S. for a nine-city nationwide tour. Traveling to Los Angeles, San Diego, Texas, Las Vegas, Chicago, Florida and New York, the pageant finalists will participate in a range of Russian Standard Vodka consumer and trade marketing programs and events, including retail sampling events, distributor sales meetings and consumer events at on-premise nightclubs.

4. "Meet Miss Russia" Consumer Sweepstakes: Beginning in September, Russian Standard Vodka and Maxim will launch a consumer sweepstakes supported by advertisements in Maxim and on Maxim.com. The winner of the sweepstakes and a guest will receive an all expenses paid trip to St. Petersburg and exclusive VIP access to the Miss Russia Pageant and festivities, including backstage access to the pageant where they will meet the contestants. The winner will also receive a VIP tour of St. Petersburg and the Russian Standard Vodka Distillery.

5. Miss Russia 2008 Reality Series: On November 21st the fifty 2008 Miss Russia contestants will move into a hotel complex in St. Petersburg and begin their preparation and training for the December 21st pageant. The month-long beauty boot camp will be the subject of a weekly reality show on CTC, one of Russia's biggest private TV channels. Maxim.com will offer exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of pre-pageant rehearsals, preparation and drama. In addition, Maxim.com will cover the pageant itself, being the first news outlet to introduce Miss Russia 2008 to the U.S. audience.

6. Advertising Component: The integrated program will be accompanied by print and online advertising for Russian Standard Vodka. Brand and sweepstakes ads will run in Maxim Magazine and banner and rich media ads will run on Maxim.com. Total expected Maxim target consumer impressions will exceed 60MM.

7. Holiday Off-Premise POS Program: To coincide with the program, Russian Standard will rollout a holiday POS program targeting the off-premise trade to drive consumer and retailer awareness and sales of Russian Standard during the holiday season. The POS program will feature a life-size Miss Russia standee and other breakthrough POS materials.

The launch of the program coincides with an acceleration of Russian Standard Vodka's expansion into the U.S. market. The company is rapidly growing its U.S. staff and distribution infrastructure, positioning the brand for continued growth. Russian Standard has already generated significant attention in the U.S. spirits market, where it was just named "Best New Product" in the spirits category by Market Watch Leaders 2008, a group that consists of the U.S. beverage industry's most powerful retail players.

The program also runs parallel to continued marketing investments in Russia, where the brand is the #1 premium vodka, and strong growth in Russian Standard Vodka's export markets including China and Western Europe. Russian Standard Vodka was ranked by IMPACT magazine as the 4th fastest growing spirits brand worldwide in 2007 and is currently available in over 50 markets, with additional market launches planned before the end of the year.

About Russian Standard Vodka

Russian Standard Vodka is the global leader in authentic Russian premium vodka. The Russian Standard vodka portfolio dominates the premium segment in Russia with a 60 percent market share and sales of over 1.9 million cases in 2007 in Russia and more than 50 export markets across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Roustam Tariko, the founder of Russian Standard, introduced Russian Standard Original in 1998 as the first authentic Russian premium vodka. Russian Standard vodkas are made with only the finest Russian ingredients, uniquely conforming to the formula for vodka established in 1894 by famed Russian scientist Dimitri Mendeleev for Russia's Czars. Two years after launch, sales of Russian Standard Original surpassed all imported premium vodkas on the Russian market, leading to broad international expansion and the launch of Russian Standard Platinum in 2001, and Imperia Vodka, the company's luxury brand, in 2004. www.russianstandardvodka.com

About Miss Russia

The Miss Russia Contest is Russia's national beauty pageant which draws contestants from over 70 regions throughout Russia and serves as a springboard to national and international fame for Russia's talented and beautiful women. The annual Miss Russia winner receives a $100,000 cash prize, free use of an apartment for a year, a university stipend and a modeling contract. Tens of thousands of Russian women apply to take part in the contest. Fifty finalists are selected to compete in the month-long semi-final. The nationally televised star-studded finale is held every year in December.

www.miss-russia.ru

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Russian Standard Vodka

CONTACT: International, Preston Mendenhall, Russian Standard Vodka,
+7-495-967-0990, pmendenhall@russianstandard.com; or U.S., Kate Finn, The
Abernathy MacGregor Group, +1-212-371-5999, kkf@abmac.com

Web Site: http://www.miss-russia.ru/
http://www.russianstandardvodka.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment