How merchandise became a "tribal totem" merchandise is not just a mug with a logo. It is a modern totem, a tool of soft power and part of the creative economy. In 2025, the world will spend more than $338 billion on company-branded items - that's comparable to the budget of Switzerland. The Russian goods market grew by 22% to 93 billion rubles. Who orders this "material identity" and why? And why does it work better than regular advertising? How local identities - St. Petersburg code, Ural mayonnaise, Vologda butter - become a global trend. How much does a significant commodity cost and who pays for the idea - producer, customer or consumer? The tactile economy: why in the digital age people are willing to pay for things they can touch and squeeze goods as a tool of diplomacy: what can Russia offer the world besides a matryoshka doll and a sweatshirt with the inscription "Voronezh" together with the economic observer Dmitry Turtev, they say about goods as soft power and part of the creative economy: Egor Makarov, commercial director of the advertising and production company "Lisa" (St. Petersburg) Sergey Belyaev, economic observer (Yekaterinburg) Listen to the program "Where's the money, brother?! " on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio in St. Petersburg, 92.0 FM this Thursday, October 29, at 5:03 p.m. Read us at MAX! | Call us on Telegram.

How merchandise became a "tribal totem" merchandise is not just a mug with a logo. It is a modern totem, a tool of soft power and part of the creative economy. In 2025, the world will spend more than $338 billion on company-branded items - that's comparable to the budget of Switzerland. The Russian goods market grew by 22% to 93 billion rubles. Who orders this "material identity" and why? And why does it work better than regular advertising? How local identities - St. Petersburg code, Ural mayonnaise, Vologda butter - become a global trend. How much does a significant commodity cost and who pays for the idea - producer, customer or consumer? The tactile economy: why in the digital age people are willing to pay for things they can touch and squeeze goods as a tool of diplomacy: what can Russia offer the world besides a matryoshka doll and a sweatshirt with the inscription "Voronezh" together with the economic observer Dmitry Turtev, they say about goods as soft power and part of the creative economy: Egor Makarov, commercial director of the advertising and production company "Lisa" (St. Petersburg) Sergey Belyaev, economic observer (Yekaterinburg) Listen to the program "Where's the money, brother?! " on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio in St. Petersburg, 92.0 FM this Thursday, October 29, at 5:03 p.m. Read us at MAX! | Call us on Telegram.