Case study of social media based on example of one of the Russian Travel/Educational company

1. Marketing Communications
Social Media Mini Case
“International Exchange Center” –
“global social networks don’t work for us!”
By Victoria Gnatoka
RBS, Riga, November 26, 2012

2. IEC background
Back in those days:
Founded in Riga, 1989
Introduced “Work and Travel in USA” in 1990
First office in Moscow in 1994
Now:
More than 100 offices in 14 countries
150 000 students participated in programs
#1 program in “Work and Travel in USA” in Russia

3. Work and Travel in USA
18-25 years old
Enrolled in university
Good knowledge of English
Active/ adventurous/ love travelling
$900 - $2120

4. Work and Travel in USA

5. Problem
2007 – drop in number of participants for
almost 20%!
Shift to “online”
Methods of communication become
outdated
Symptoms

7. http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/06/10/facebook-is-eating-the-world-except-for-
china-and-russia-world-map-of-social-networks/
Facebook is eating the world,
except for China and Russia!

14. http://youtu.be/Cpc308kMdzo

16. Recommendations
To measure how many users of Exchange are “Work and Travel” participants and how
many are external users. Measure the ROI.
Create a survey on why students would prefer Exchange to Vkontakte or other social
networks
Update the interface and using menu of Exchange
Integration:create a possibility to share content from Exchange (e.g. photos, blogs) on
other social media sites where the user is already registered
IEC has to market its own network Exchange.
Engage all IEC customers, not just “Work and Travel in USA” students

17. THANK YOU!