The Diversity

What The Diversity does

The Diversity is a private Russian marketing communications agency headquartered in Moscow, founded in 2007 by three industry professionals (Светлана Соколова, Дмитрий Малеев, Александр Сурков) with prior BTL agency and manufacturer experience. The firm operates as part of The Diversity Group and employs approximately 170 specialists, delivering B2B services across five core verticals: Point of Entry (university and student engagement programs), Consumer Promo (brand activation and sampling), Shopper Marketing (in-store and retail activation), Digital (CRM, database, and email marketing), and Trade (trade marketing and pharmacy quality verification). Its client base includes major Russian and multinational enterprises such as Pyaterochka/X5, Tetra Pak, Heineken, Bayer, Astellas, Takeda, Bionorica, Yandex Market, T-Bank, VK, Lukoil, and Fonbet.

The agency's technical platform combines a proprietary 200,000+ point institution database (segmented across parks, festivals, HORECA, hypermarkets, business centers, universities, and schools) with three proprietary innovation tools: Semplomats (automated sample delivery machines reporting 2x lower cost-per-contact than direct sampling), Interactive Photo Stands (Instagram-connected automated gift-dispatch systems), and Gamification Mechanics (behavioral engagement systems co-developed with psychologists). Supporting infrastructure includes a Design Thinking Laboratory, the Diversitet training program, Category A/B warehouse centers, and PCI DSS / ISO 27001 / Russian personal data processing certifications. The agency reports coverage of 1,800 settlements, 15,000 stores, 13,500 schools, 500 universities, and 10M+ samples and consultations delivered annually across 70 communication channels.

The business model is professional services B2B with project-based pricing, targeting enterprise marketing budgets across FMCG, pharmaceutical, retail, technology, telecom, banking, and gaming verticals. Distribution is direct enterprise sales through a Moscow-based field team, with client acquisition supported by industry rankings (#1 Event/MICE agency Adindex 2024; #1 Marketing Services Agency Adindex 2021; #2 Event agency RAMU/REMA 2022; #1 Trade Marketing Agency INFOLine 2021; Effie Award recipient). Operating geographies are confined to Russia, with documented presence in Moscow, Central Russia, and Northwestern Russia and no global footprint claim. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

The Diversity

Legal name

The Diversity

Website

https://thediversity.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Diversity is a Moscow-based marketing communications agency, founded in 2007, providing event, shopper, trade, and digital marketing services to enterprise clients across Russian FMCG, pharmaceutical, retail, technology, and telecom verticals. It employs 170 specialists and operates proprietary sampling, gamification, and database technologies across 1,800 settlements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Communications Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B/ABM Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAI)

Keywords

• Marketing communications agency
• Shopper marketing services
• Event marketing agency
• Trade marketing programs
• Consumer promotion campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Moscow

HQ country

Russia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketing Communications Services: B2B professional services including event management, trade marketing, shopper marketing, consumer promotions, digital marketing, and point of entry campaigns for brands across Russia

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Diversity is a Russian marketing communications agency that plans and executes B2B promotional campaigns across point of entry (university/student programs), consumer promo, shopper marketing, digital (CRM, database, email), and trade marketing (including pharmacy quality verification). It supplements these services with proprietary automated tools — Semplomats, Interactive Photo Stands, and Gamification Mechanics — plus a 200,000+ institutional data asset and warehouse/logistics infrastructure for nationwide rollout.

Product overview

The Diversity is a marketing communications agency offering a portfolio of five core services: Point of Entry (university programs), Consumer Promo, Shopper Marketing, Digital, and Trade marketing. The agency enhances its core services with three innovation technologies: Gamification Mechanics, Interactive Photo Stands, and Samplomats. Supporting infrastructure includes a Design Thinking Laboratory, Institution Database (200,000+ locations), Diversitet training program, and Warehouse Centers. Founded in 2007, the agency employs 170 professionals in Moscow and holds top rankings among Event and MICE agencies in Russia (Adindex 2024, RAMU/REMA 2022).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Point of Entry University and student engagement program running brand and recruitment activations across Russian higher education institutions. Used by consumer brands, telecoms, banks, and recruiters to reach university students at scale.
• Consumer Promo Consumer promotion campaigns including brand activation, sampling, and promotional mechanics for client brands across Russia. Used by FMCG and consumer-goods companies for nationwide product launches and seasonal campaigns.
• Shopper Marketing Trade marketing services focused on shopper engagement in retail environments, including in-store campaigns in hypermarkets and stores. Used by retail chains and consumer brands to drive conversion at the point of sale.
• Digital Digital marketing services including CRM development, unified database building, and email marketing campaigns. Used by enterprise clients to build first-party customer data assets and run reactivation campaigns.
• Trade Trade marketing and distribution services, including a pharmacy quality verification program covering 24,000 pharmacies in 1,200 cities (60% of all Russian pharmacies). Used by pharmaceutical manufacturers to monitor product availability, brand representation, and pharmacy network quality.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% sales growth for pharmaceutical clients during program periods
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BayercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBayer collaborates with The Diversity for pharmacy quality verification programs across Russia. The agency has verified 24,000 pharmacies in 1,200 cities (60% of all Russian pharmacies) since 2012, achieving 30% sales growth and 50% increase in brand representation for Bayer products.
• AstellascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAstellas partners with The Diversity for pharmacy quality verification and trade marketing programs across the Russian pharmacy network.
• TakedacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTakeda engages The Diversity for pharmacy quality verification services and pharmaceutical trade marketing across Russian pharmacies.
• BionoricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBionorica works with The Diversity on pharmacy quality verification programs in the Russian pharmaceutical market.
• Pyaterochka (X5 Retail Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Diversity executed shopper marketing campaigns for Pyaterochka in 23 cities across 4,000 stores, including milk donation programs where 9,000 packages were distributed to those in need and 9,100 prizes given to customers.
• Tetra PakcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTetra Pak collaborated with The Diversity on shopper marketing campaigns at Pyaterochka stores, promoting milk products and distributing donations to those in need across Russian retail.
• STOLOTOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Diversity organized 100 days of work on Moscow's main square for STOLOTO, building the most beautiful installation at GUM skating rink.
• HeinekencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeineken partnered with The Diversity to build CRM from scratch, collecting 5,000,000 unique profiles in a unified database with 50% reactivation of dormant base and 35% email conversion rate.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• A1 (A-One) Event Agency: Russian full-service event and BTL marketing agency serving enterprise clients with event production, trade marketing, and promotional campaigns. Directly competes with The Diversity in the same Russian BTL/event/shopper marketing category with overlapping client verticals (FMCG, retail, pharma).
• MAXIMA Events: Russian event management and marketing communications agency producing corporate events, conferences, and BTL campaigns for enterprise clients. Directly competes with The Diversity on event management and promotional campaign execution within the Russian market.

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu Russia: Russian operations of Japanese global advertising network Dentsu, offering integrated communications across creative, media, and digital. Comparable in serving multinational and Russian enterprise clients across verticals but broader portfolio with no BTL/shopper specialization equivalent to The Diversity's proprietary Semplomat and pharmacy-verification capabilities.
• BBDO Russia: Russian operation of Omnicom's BBDO creative network serving major advertisers with creative campaigns and integrated communications. Comparable to The Diversity in serving large enterprise clients across Russia but emphasizes above-the-line creative rather than BTL/event/shopper marketing specialization.
• GroupM Russia: WPP's media investment arm in Russia managing media planning and buying for enterprise advertisers. Competes with The Diversity for portions of the marketing services budget (digital and shopper) but lacks the proprietary event/BTL execution infrastructure and nationwide 1,800-settlement coverage.
• Publicis Groupe Russia: Russian arm of global advertising network Publicis Groupe offering creative, media, digital, and event services to enterprise clients. Overlaps with The Diversity on B2B campaign execution, shopper, and trade marketing for shared clients like L'Oréal, Renault, and FMCG accounts, but operates as a full-service network rather than a BTL/shopper specialist.
• OMD Russia: Omnicom's media agency network operating in Russia, providing media planning, buying, and digital services to enterprise clients. Overlaps with The Diversity in digital and shopper marketing services but operates as a network media specialist rather than a BTL/event execution agency.
• Havas Russia: Russian arm of global network Havas offering creative, media, and healthcare communications. Comparable in serving Russian enterprise clients including pharma (Bayer, similar to The Diversity's Bayer engagement) but with a broader integrated network model versus BTL/event specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thediversityrussia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-diversity

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Diversity