On May 28–29, 2026, the scientific and pedagogical staff of the Department of Marketing and higher education students of the specialty D5 "Marketing" took part in the annual project of the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition Ukrainian Creative Stories 2026, which united representatives of the advertising, marketing and communication industries of Ukraine. The event traditionally combined the competitive component of the Ukrainian Creative Awards and the 27th Kyiv International Advertising Festival, becoming an important platform for professional development, exchange of experience and acquaintance with the best creative practices. Participation in the event was made possible thanks to the support of the head of the Union of Advertisers of Ukraine, Yevhen Romat, and Maksym Lazebnyk, General Director of the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition, head of the Ukrainian Creative Stories project, one of the leading representatives of the advertising and communication industry of Ukraine.
Over two days, higher education students and teachers of the Department of Marketing attended a rich program of seminars, master classes, panel discussions, professional meetings and award ceremonies. The event brought together leading specialists in the advertising market, marketers, designers, brand representatives, communication agencies and media, who shared their own cases, tools and vision of the future of the creative industry. The seminar program, dedicated to current trends in the field of creative communications, branding, design and marketing, aroused particular interest among teachers and students. Participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with practical cases of successful Ukrainian and international campaigns, learn about modern approaches to building brands, using digital tools in communications, creating effective creative content and evaluating the effectiveness of advertising projects. The speakers paid special attention to the transformation of marketing communications in the context of dynamic market changes and new challenges for business.
The first day of the seminar program was dedicated to issues of creativity, design, branding, senses, AI and military advertising. Participants got acquainted with the latest approaches to creating creative concepts, reviewed successful cases of brand development and learned about the tools that shape modern creative communications. Among the key speeches of the first day: a report by Kirill Chistyakov, creative director of idealers, on the topic “Creative effectiveness: how to create an unfair advantage for business in the market?” The speech discussed how creativity can work not only for recognition, but also for a real competitive advantage of business. Olya Mykhalets and Ira Pavlova from Postmen spoke on the topic “Touching Ideas: craft as a way of designing experience”. The speakers focused on the role of high-quality execution, design and craft approach in creating a holistic experience for the audience. Dmytro Trotsko and Sasha Bobrytska, representatives of Dysarium, spoke about “How Dysarium became Dysarium and what it will be like next,” sharing their experience in developing the creative community and its future directions. Dmytro Yermolenko and Taras Bratchenko presented the topic “How to stop being a logo: three Bolt cases, where the metric is not reach, but a cultural footprint.” The speech was dedicated to how brands can go beyond standard advertising and leave a noticeable cultural impact. Oleksiy Morozov and Nataliya Baranovskaya talked about how to be noticeable in a world where everyone scrolls further and considered cases with creators who have become the new centers of attention. Oleksiy Repik, Head of Design Starlight Media and ECD Starlight Creative, spoke about the topic “AI scales. Humans create meaning.” The focus was on the role of artificial intelligence as a scaling tool, while the creation of content, ideas, and value remains the responsibility of humans. Dmytro Bolsunovsky, creative director of dentsu Creative, in his speech “How to reanimate the senses in the era of white noise” emphasized the importance of strong ideas in an oversaturated information environment.
A separate block of the first day was dedicated to military advertising. The “KLYCH” team of the Unmanned Systems Forces Recruitment Center - Andriy Gorovyi, Oleksiy Veduta, Pavlo Karelin, Maksym Bondarenko - presented the topic “Military advertising - a new full-fledged market that you have missed (maybe)”. The speakers spoke about the formation of military advertising as a separate direction of communications. Andriy Klymenko, a military serviceman and creative director of the “Cultural Forces” platform, spoke on the topic “Client: a nation fighting for survival. What should brands learn from military communication?” The speech focused on honesty, accuracy, responsibility and social significance of communications in times of war. Volodymyr Degtyarev, presoficer of the 2nd corps of the Charter State University, presented the topic “Make service great again: how the Charter builds an employer brand in the army”. The report was devoted to the formation of the brand of a military unit as an employer and service communication as a conscious choice. There was also a round table “Military advertising: in-house or outsourced?”, moderated by Dmitry Fedorenko, head of the Military Advertising Committee of the Military University, founder and head of SEVENTEAM. Andriy Klymenko, Andriy Gorovyi, Volodymyr Degtyarev and Ilya Pochkun joined the discussion. After the military block, Yevhen Ignatyuk and Svitlana Dobrovolskaya from Creative Practice spoke on the topic “We need the unconscious. How creatives can see what helps them grow”, focusing on the professional development of creatives. The seminar part of the first day was concluded by a panel discussion from Klekit “Grow or Attract: How Agencies Attract New Talent and Develop Their Teams?” The moderator was Svitlana Stepanenko, and the participants included Olena Bakum-Ramola, Ed Ivakin, Natalia Morozova, Iryna Mushtina, Vladislav Polonsky, Ruslana Kostrytsa, and Renata Antonyuk. During the discussion, the training of young professionals, team development, and the interaction of the market with education were discussed.
The second day of the seminar program focused on the development of marketing communications, their transformation under the influence of digital technologies, work with content, media, creators, brands, and new formats of interaction with the audience.
Among the key speeches of the second day was a report by Anna Zaitseva, COO of VIVID digital agency, on the topic “How to build an ecosystem of creators, not one-time integrations”. The speech was about long-term cooperation between brands and creators. Hryhoriy Shevchenko, producer of the Mamakhikhotala studio and CEO of Manifest production, spoke on the topic “When advertising ceases to be advertising, or How to create an impact, not just a video”, emphasizing the importance of the content and impact of the advertising product. Nadiya Sperchun and Anna Bereza from the TET TV channel talked about how to revive formats that are becoming an event again, focusing on working with content that has the potential to return to the audience in a new format. The panel discussion from Radio NV “Media vs. Brands: Who Really Wins the Battle for Attention?” brought together Oleksiy Tarasov, Serhiy Grabchak, Serhiy Kostya, Andriy Partyka, Borys Tsomaya and Ihor Yashchuk. Participants talked about the competition for audience attention, the role of media and brands in the modern information space. Yelizaveta Nechet, Project Manager PRoector, presented the topic “Monetization of Ukrainian athletes: how to attract business partners, brands and media”, revealing the potential of athletes’ personal brands. Daria Cherkashyna, CEO HAVAS Red, spoke on the topic “Case studies: when creativity goes beyond communications and becomes business solutions”. It was about creativity as a tool for influencing business results. Oleksandr Rolsky, CEO newage., spoke about where to look for an audience when classic digital is no longer surprising.
Sofia Babyak, Head of PR at MOKO agency, presented the topic “How to communicate about what hurts: 10 tips from MOKO agency”, paying attention to sensitive topics and responsible communication. Yevgeny Gutnichenko, Head of Marketing SharksCode, spoke on the topic "Speed as a competitive advantage: how to launch marketing in days, not months." Vladyslav Polonsky and Mykyta Petrov from Rockets. Growth R&D revealed the topic "Don't look up: what's changing in the work of creatives and why they don't talk about it out loud." Volodymyr Pedorich and Anna Tkachenko presented TAVR Media + Wantent insights in the speech "Why does the creative you like not always work?", focusing on how advertising causes action. Viktor Ivanchenko and Maria Fedorova from Megapolis+ talked about creativity in the city, testing OOH advertising and the interaction of outdoor advertising with urban space. Kyrylo Yezhov, Commercial Director of Kantar Ukraine, spoke on the topic "More content - less effect? How to scale creativity and not lose the brand." Oksana Tkachuk, Marketing Director of IDS Ukraine, spoke about the topic “Beyond Water: How Morshynska Forms a New Category Through Idea, Design, and Senses”. Natalia Korshun and Elsa Sagura spoke about the topic “The Power of Design in a Delicate Category”, emphasizing the role of design in sensitive product categories. An important component of the event was the award ceremonies for the winners of the ADC*UA Awards, Ukrainian Design: The Very Best Of, CRAVE Awards, Brave Awards, and the Kyiv International Advertising Festival. During the ceremonies, participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the works that define modern standards of the Ukrainian creative industry. Participation in Ukrainian Creative Stories 2026 became a valuable opportunity for representatives of the marketing department to expand their professional competencies, gain new knowledge from leading industry experts, get acquainted with current trends in the advertising market, and establish new professional contacts. The experience gained will contribute to further improving the educational process and training competitive specialists in the field of marketing.
We sincerely thank Yevhen Romat, Chairman of the Union of Advertisers of Ukraine, as well as Maksym Lazebnyk, General Director of the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition, Head of the Ukrainian Creative Stories project, for their support, openness to cooperation, and inspired contribution to the professional development of higher education students. Thanks to your involvement, experience, and consistent support, young future marketers not only get access to leading creative practices, but also the opportunity to feel the pulse of the modern advertising industry, see the power of ideas in action, and be inspired to create their own professional success stories.
01.06.2026
