Roustam Tariko, now a famous Russian billionaire, started out as a distributor of imported premium alcohol brands, including Martini and Johnnie Walker.

As the company grew, he realized that the Russian vodka market – despite its long heritage and the large number of brands on offer – lacked a genuine premium vodka brand with Russian origin. So decided to launch his own product, and in 1998 the result was the first Russian premium vodka brand: Russian Standard.

Because vodka advertising was highly restricted and banned from TV, Tariko came up with a smart trick by creating generic copy for his Russian Standard brand. The following year, 1999, Tariko opened a retail bank, as this was also very young and profitable sector. The bank was also named Russian Standard and Tariko’s company became the Russian Standard Group.

All communication activities, had no direct link to either vodka or banking, instead focusing on the idea of “Making the Impossible.” Only at the very end, in tiny print under the logo, was the bank mentioned. The copy’s main aim was to build awareness of the name and the logo and link them with a premium lifestyle image – which was successfully achieved.

Recently, both the bank and the vodka have followed a more conventional marketing approach. Yet the original trick was so smart and successful that other companies tried to emulate it – such as a brand of mineral water and even chocolate candies with a vodka brand name. That’s one way you can be sure that you’re an innovator: you attract imitators. But only innovators that do not fall into the trap of convention will be able to build sustainable results.