Sour cream

What Sour cream does

Smetana (Сметана) is an independent creative agency headquartered in Moscow, Russia, founded in 2011. The firm produces video content, advertising campaigns, BTL activations, explainer videos, and special digital projects for major Russian and international enterprise brands. Its client roster spans cybersecurity (Kaspersky Lab), music streaming (Yandex Music), jewelry retail (SOKOLOV), wholesale (METRO), cosmetics (Oriflame), confectionery (Raffaello Russia), grocery retail (VkusVill), e-commerce (Yandex Market), tea (MaySky / Майский), and edtech (Skyeng), with documented campaign outcomes such as a 75% interest rating and 62% purchase intent on the SOKOLOV brief.

The agency's core offering is project-based creative services delivered under direct enterprise sales relationships. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed; revenue is generated per project rather than through recurring SaaS or subscription contracts. Smetana runs an in-house production cycle from brief development through pre-production, shooting, and post-production, and has demonstrated capabilities in celebrity-driven campaigns (using brand ambassadors such as Lolita Milavskaya, Marina Kravets, and rapper Basta) and viral BTL stunts. Beyond client work, the agency maintains owned social channels on YouTube (SmetanaTV), Instagram, and Telegram for brand-building.

Smetana has been ranked the #1 Independent Agency in Russia by Effie (2020) and holds multiple international and regional creative awards (D&AD, Eurobest, Epica, Red Apple, White Square, ADCR, ADCE, Silver Mercury, Silver Archer, among others). The firm operates with a small creative team (headcount not disclosed; current openings for Art Director and a Creative Couple pair suggest ongoing capacity build). No proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, patents, or external funding are disclosed, consistent with a traditional professional-services creative agency model.

Name

Sour cream

Legal name

Креативное агентство Smetana

Website

https://vsmetane.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smetana is a Moscow-based independent creative agency founded in 2011, producing video content, advertising campaigns, and digital activations for enterprise brands across Russia including Kaspersky, Yandex, SOKOLOV, METRO, Oriflame, and Raffaello.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Skolkovo

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Services / Project-based: Revenue generated from video production, advertising campaigns, and creative projects for corporate clients. Services include TV and OLV spots, digital activations, BTL campaigns, and special projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Smetana is an independent creative agency that produces video content, advertising campaigns, and digital special projects for enterprise brand clients. The agency delivers TV and online video (OLV) spots, digital activations, BTL campaigns, explainer videos, and brand storytelling, with full-cycle production from brief development through post-production. The agency has been ranked #1 Independent Agency in Russia by Effie 2020 and serves clients such as Kaspersky Lab, Yandex, SOKOLOV, METRO, Oriflame, Raffaello, and VkusVill.

Product overview

Smetana (Сметана) is an independent creative agency based in Moscow, Russia. The company operates as a full-service creative agency rather than a software product company, offering video production, advertising campaign development, and special project creation for clients including Kaspersky Lab, Yandex, SOKOLOV, METRO, Maybelline, Oriflame, Raffaello, and others. The agency has been ranked #1 independent agency in Russia by Effie 2020 and has won numerous creative awards including D&AD, Eurobest, Epica, and others. No specific product modules or technology products are offered; the company provides creative services and campaign development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% interest rating, 62% purchase intent for SOKOLOV campaign
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Maneken brandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on limited edition hoodie series featuring personality traits descriptions from Oriflame's March catalog. Hoodies served as prizes for social media contests.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Anomaly: Independent creative agency offering integrated campaigns and brand storytelling for major global brands — comparable boutique independent model to Smetana at a larger scale.
• Special Group: Independent creative agency with strong award record and project-based engagements for consumer brands — comparable operating model to Smetana.
• 72andSunny: Independent creative agency producing cultural campaigns and branded content for major consumer brands — directly comparable model to Smetana's enterprise brand focus and campaign-driven work.
• Instinct (Russia): Moscow-based independent creative agency with similar boutique model and award-winning work for Russian enterprise brands — directly comparable in scale, geography, and service offering to Smetana.
• Voskhod: Independent Russian creative agency producing integrated campaigns, video, and digital activations for major Russian brands — operates in the same Moscow-based independent agency tier as Smetana.
• GUT (agency): Independent creative agency recognized for Cannes Lions and Effie–level creative work on enterprise brands — closely mirrors Smetana's positioning as a top independent creative shop.
• Mother (agency): Independently-owned creative agency producing campaigns, digital content, and branded activations — closely aligned with Smetana's creative-first, project-based, award-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• Wieden+Kennedy: Established independent creative agency with global footprint, serving major brands with integrated campaigns — represents the scaled-up version of the independent creative model that Smetana operates within.
• Droga5 (Accenture Song): Major award-winning creative agency now part of Accenture Song, offering strategic creative for enterprise brands — provides a benchmark for the upper-tier of the independent creative category Smetana competes in.
• Publicis Groupe (Russia/CIS agencies): Global advertising holding company with creative shops operating in Russia — represents the network-owned competition that Smetana competes against for major enterprise brand mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/SmetanaTV
• Instagraminstagram.com/smetana_agency
• Facebookfacebook.com/SmetanaAgency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smetana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Sour cream