Current Clients: Lufthansa, Aeroflot, DIRECTV, Moneygram, CMS Forex, Thai Airways
Born: Tblisi, Georgia (Former Soviet Republic)
Innovation Engenders New Ideas, New Solutions and New Companies… In 1999, Givi Topchishvili opened the doors of Global Advertising Strategies at 55 John Street in downtown Manhattan’s Financial District with just 3 employees. Today, after almost a decade of 50% per-year growth, the company is one of the few that is successfully bridging multicultural and international marketing. Now with an additional presence in Chicago, Toronto, Europe and Russia, the New York office alone boasts over 60 employees.
At the center of Givi’s vision is helping those brands that seek entry into some of the most developed consumer markets. To do so, he has utilized an interesting combination of right-brain and left-brain tactics. By initiating a proprietary methodology, (Quantum-Economic Analysis [QEA],) he created a powerful tool in devising brand development strategies. The 2000 Census announced that over 20 million Americans identified themselves as Eastern European, and this group had a collective buying power in excess of $280 billion per year. Givi pursued new avenues in targeting these consumers, and provided marketers with a greater return on investment than they had ever anticipated.
Transition to Global Growth. At its beginning, Global Advertising Strategies focused exclusively on the Eastern European market within the U.S. This became the platform for the implementation of Topchishvili’s methodology of the quantitative and industry structure analysis now at the core of Global Advertising Strategies’ success.
While traditional multicultural and international agencies build their business by highlighting the cultural differences between people, Global, driven by Givi’s insights into world cultures, seeks to find the common ground shared by consumer segments regardless of race and ethnicity. This approach allows marketers to focus on creating universal campaigns in an efficient manner — thus ensuring the campaign’s better integration with operations and a shorter developmental time.
The agency now provides advertising and marketing services to global brands interested in seamlessly integrating their general, multicultural and international marketing efforts. Services offered include creative development, media planning and buying, research, public relations, events and grassroots marketing, strategic planning and interactive support.
Other International Facts: Givi began his career as a physicist in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and also completed a Doctorate Program at the Moscow Institute of Chemistry and Technology.
According to Givi, “In my life, as a multicultural specialist, I have come to appreciate cultural differences, and I would not have achieved so much without some early lessons.
When I was a student in my native Georgia, I was sent to a tiny farming village in the Vologda Region of Russia with a group of my student buddies as part of an educational process. The goal of the trip was to help locals build an infrastructure. Apparently, in order to be well received by the communist leader of the village, it was customary for locals to test a newcomer’s ability to handle hard-core grain alcohol produced in the village. I was the young group leader from a gentle wine country, who found himself at a table with a massive bottle of a local spirit and just
12-ounce glasses and pickled cucumbers. I was unwell for two days after that traditional
binge-drinking hour, but our student group was assigned the most interesting work project as a result of my bonding session with the villagers who did not regard us as snooty city boys anymore.
And, today, I still prefer wine.”
