Launch • PR IT • personal brand
SberAuto
How we launched an innovative service through the authority of an expert’s personal brand to avoid being seen as "just another product"
Client
SberAuto, part of the Sber ecosystem
Challenge
Launch a radically new product for the Russian market"SberAuto Subscription." The key hurdle was overcoming public skepticism toward another "product from the Sber ecosystem." Our goal was to build confidence in the service's reliability and value, not through corporate messaging, but through the personal brand and expert status of SberAuto's CEO, Oleg Golubtsov
Objectives
- Communication strategyTo build a communications strategy where the main ambassador and guarantor of the service was Oleg Golubtsov a recognized innovator in the auto industry rather than a faceless corporate brand
- Personal brandTo create a media narrative where the launch was framed as a logical extension of Oleg Golubtsov's expertise and vision, not just another product release
- Publications in business publicationsTo secure maximum media coverage featuring Oleg Golubtsov's quotes, making his voice the primary channel for communicating the benefits of the subscription model
- Key USPTo clearly convey key product messages, leveraging the audience's inherent trust in an expert
Impact in Numbers
- 800+media features positioning Oleg Golubtsov as the key expert
- 75M+total audience reach, achieved through the lens of his leadership
- Forbespartnership piece where Oleg Golubtsov unveiled his vision for transforming the auto market
- 200%the growth of the service's audience
How we Did it
We understood that for a groundbreaking product, trust in a person is more powerful than trust in a brand. Our entire strategy was built around Oleg Golubtsov as the primary asset and driver of communication
An Expert Launch, Not a Corporate One
We moved away from the format of "Sber launches a service" to "Oleg Golubtsov introduces a game-changing service." His personal expertise and reputation became the core of our storytelling
Opinion Leadership Over Advertising
Instead of dry product presentations, we offered exclusive interviews and bylined articles from Oleg Golubtsov. In them, he positioned himself as a visionary explaining the future of the automotive industry. His quote, “We see the future in developing the subscription model…” became the central message of the entire campaign
Consistently Building Expert Status
We didn't stop at the initial launch. Every new milestone of the service like the launch of the C2C model or chatbot integration was highlighted through Oleg’s commentary, maintaining his presence in the media as the leading ideologist of the market
Results
- Trust Through RecognitionOver 800 publications featured Oleg Golubtsov not just as a news source, but as the author and ideologist of the product. This helped the innovation feel like "a service from Golubtsov," avoiding the typical rejection of "just another Sber product"
- Expert Legitimacy in ForbesA key achievement was a co-authored piece in Forbes, where Oleg Golubtsov, alongside the CEO of Sberbank Leasing, presented a new model of car ownership. This solidified his status not just as a top manager, but as a thought leader and industry reformer
- Shaping the NarrativeOver 65% of the media coverage was built around his expert comments and forecasts. This first-person perspective made the complex financial model of a subscription feel more accessible and trustworthy
- Clear Communication Through AuthorityKey messages about the service's benefits, delivered through Oleg's authoritative voice, were perceived as professional recommendations rather than advertising, significantly boosting interest and conversion
How it was
Launch SberAuto and new features of the service
- Kommersant"Consultations via chat are more comfortable than intrusive conversations in real life", said Sberbank's Head of Classified Services Oleg Golubtsov on SberAuto.Read the article
Sberbank launched its own service for fully remote car sales, including used cars. Oleg Golubtsov, CEO of Sberbank's classified services, spoke to Kommersant about the first months of SberAuto's operation during the quarantine, financing used car transactions without viewing, and interactions with dealers. - ForbesHow SberAvto is changing the way people buy carsRead the article
"SberAuto's collaboration with automakers is the next step in creating unique conditions for profitable car purchases through our service," explains Oleg Golubtsov, CEO of Sberbank's Classified Industry. - AIM GroupSberBank launched SberAuto, its auto marketplace app. Headed up by Oleg Golubtsov, SberBank’s head of classifiedRead the article
services, the pilot-stage app promises to be the country’s first fully transactional car-buying service in both used and new cars. - sberproAre people ready to buy cars online?Read the article
Oleg Golubtsov, Chief Executive Officer for the Classified Industry at Sberbank :
"Before self-isolation, many things worked and were perceived differently. Online car purchases and delivery seemed like something out of the future. When we talked about launching our SberAuto service, many people didn't believe it could work. But demand exceeded our expectations. Cars are sold online via chat and delivered to customers' homes. After self-isolation ends, buyer behavior patterns will likely shift to the online sphere. I'm confident that our service will radically change the customer experience in buying and selling cars."
The Bottom Line
By making Oleg Golubtsov's personal brand and expertise the central tool of the launch, we didn't just introduce a new product. We endowed it with immediate trust and authority. This allowed "SberAuto Subscription" to avoid being perceived as "another unnecessary service" and instead be welcomed as a serious, valuable innovation from a trusted market leader