Branding as a tool for expansion: cases for entering the US, UAE and Israel

Brands entering the international market is often perceived as a complex and lengthy process that requires large-scale investments, marketing strategies and support from large agencies.

However, practice shows that if a personal brand and reputational platform are properlyestablished, it is possible to achieve broad reach and audience trust even without large budgets — and within just a few months. Ekaterina Baranova, founder of the project “SVETI,” which has helped many projects enter the global market, shares her experience in scaling brands.

When the brand has earned a reputation in the domestic market, the founders are considering how to further scale the project. Some choose to expand the range of services or activities. And others decide to enter the markets of new countries and re-gain the trust of a foreign audience.

Firstly, in addition to increasing profits, the new brand geography makes it possible to diversify risks. When a business operates in several countries, it is less dependent on the economic and political situation in one country. This is especially true in unstable conditions and constant volatility of currencies in the CIS countries.

Secondly, a brand represented on the international stage is automatically perceived as moreauthoritative and sustainable. This opens the door to new investments and internationalpartnerships. In addition, markets in different countries are forced to adapt to new businessprocesses and projects are becoming more flexible. Flexibility is important in the context of an ever-changing political and social environment.

However, in order to enter the international arena, it is not enough just to create a domain and open an office somewhere abroad. It is necessary to completely rebuild brand positioning and adapt the product and marketing to new conditions.

Branding is the process of creating and managing the perception of a company or individual in the minds of an audience. It forms the image with which people associate your brand and answers the question: 'What makes us different and why do they choose us?'

Ekaterina Baranova, brand strategist and founder of SVETI, helps projects break into international markets by conducting extensive marketing campaigns. "My approach combines production, product packaging, and deep analysis," says Baranova.

"My clients already have professional expertise but want to enter new markets or secure more stable niches in their home countries. The work format includes strategic sessions, positioning development, visual and conceptual packaging, as well as media reputation management. I don't simply create covers or make videos. I integrate experts or projects into their environment so that they start being seen, heard, and recognized as authorities in their respective fields."

In 2021, Ekaterina Baranova launched the SVETI digital project, where she began recordingvideos with ordinary people - doctors, psychologists, visionaries. The project quickly found aresponse from the audience in the CIS due to the fact that it combined useful interviews and the disclosure of the bright personalities of the heroes.

Today, the specialist is building bridges between experts and the global market - in the USA, Israel, Turkey or the UAE. In such a way, in the framework of cooperation with Tatiana Ermeshkina, the owner of the Terra Nobilis real estate agency in Dubai, Ekaterina not only developed a communication strategy, but also organized filming for an interview in Zurich, Switzerland. This issue focused on a comparative analysis of markets: despite the steady interest in European real estate from residents of the CIS countries, it was Dubai that was emphasized as the most dynamic and promising direction for investment. The interview helped strengthen the positioning of Tatiana Ermeshkina and her agency in the international arena and became an important element of the new communication strategy.

Developing identity, meanings, history, and mission for a brand enables immediate success when working with any audience. This means that the product does not merely sell 'cold'. Potential customers become acquainted with the values conveyed by the project and embrace its idea.

When Ekaterina moved to Israel, her project "SVETI" quickly found a response there thanks to a well-chosen strategy. The format of interviews with experts was not yet familiar to the market, but quickly there were those who wanted to take part in the project. Ekaterina adapted the already familiar tools (positioning, expert promotion, image creation), while maintaining the usual quality in directing, style and production.

In such a way, Ekaterina Baranova became one of the pioneers in the Middle East market in her direction and other market participants quickly began to copy her approach to work. The specialist has shown that video content can be both attractive in appearance and useful at the same time.

Her clients include Yulia Nativ, Svetlana Smolyansky, and Victoria Liberman—each of whomachieved significant media coverage, audience engagement, and now stand among the most prominent names in their respective fields.

According to Ekaterina herself, anyone can be interesting because each one of us is unique. What matters most is the right context that will reveal one's personality and show them authentically.

"We accomplish this through interviews where the guest speaks about what they know best, and we use modern tools to package this content attractively before presenting it to the audience," explains the PR producer.

At the end of 2024, Ekaterina received an offer from the international technology startup Intelsoft, which wanted to enter the US market. In 2 months, the brand producer has fully developed a presence strategy and positioning for the new country.

Using the example of a startup and Ekaterina's work, you can draw up a step-by-step plan for effectively entering the market of any country. First of all, the following were created:

- Website and speaker media kit design;
- Creation of presentations and video materials;
- Development of positioning for a new target audience;
- Organization of authorial events to meet key industry players;
- Social media strategy planning;
- Establishment of partnerships and mentorship programs;
- Registration at specialized exhibitions.

The result was the receipt of instant applications from customers and a smooth transition to work in a new country from scratch.

In addition to this startup, the brand strategist helped such companies as LookVerse.AI,SuperDuper.AI, etc. with PR promotion. Due to the fact that brands chose the right niche andpositioned themselves on the same wavelength with the buyer, now they are gaining a largeaudience and easily attract investment.

As Ekaterina says, in this world it is not those who are higher who win, but those who are deeper. Now the specialist is developing her own approach to creating brands and in parallel is working on initiatives of female leadership around the world.

By Dmitrii Lee