brand room: what lies behind a strong business and how strategy shapes the brand

Our branding agency ICU continues to expand its educational formats by introducing new approaches. We decided to complement our lectures with discussion-based sessions, where two speakers engage in an equal dialogue and address pressing and relevant topics from the industry—diving deep into the heart of branding. This format not only conveys the speaker’s true experience but also reveals their views on the market, the branding world, and the profession itself.

The name came to us instantly: Brand Room is an honest conversation between two people passionate about their craft and eager to share their knowledge with the audience.

The first session took place on May 14 in the lecture chat, where our CEO Alexander Rusin and brand strategist Kirill Samaray discussed the topic: «What lies behind a strong business: the impact of strategy on branding».

In an open conversation, the experts reflected on:

- the role of brand strategy;

- how to start work on a new brand;

- how strategists should interact with the creative team;

- what trends are shaping the market today.

At the end of the session, Kirill was asked what he finds most exciting about his job:

«The variety. If you’re churning out advertising creatives like on an assembly line, you’ll eventually burn out. In fact, burnout is common in the ad industry because there’s constant pressure to stay sharp and generate killer ideas. It wears you down. Sometimes you just want to retreat into something methodical and structured. What I love is the balance — building trust with clients, talking to respondents, identifying insights that even surprise me, and shaping structured, analytical thinking. This mix is what excites me the most».

That’s exactly what Brand Room is all about: revealing not only the speaker’s expertise but also their emotional depth. We invite professionals from different fields who are ready for open dialogue.

This was just the first session — more powerful ones are on the way! Follow the lecture chat so you don’t miss the upcoming episodes we’re already working on for you.