What does it take to build a PR team where every day feels like a creative sprint, and trust isn’t just a buzzword? Marina Zhukova, Head of PR at Alfaleads Group, shares what it’s really like behind the scenes — from proud wins to unexpected challenges and team chemistry.
What does your PR team handle daily, and how does it impact the company’s goals?
Our team’s strength lies in handling a wide variety of tasks — and we do them all really well. We support profit-driving units like our affiliate program, Alfaleads Network, so client growth, partner relationships, LTV, and market perception are hugely affected by our solutions.
With every brand in the holding under our wing, our workload is diverse — each project is unique, but all are running through key communication channels like industry events, media outreach, social media, and more.
To reach wider audiences, we collaborate with many media-platforms like AffPapa, Traffic Cardinal, Affise, Clutch, Business of Apps, Better Marketing, and others. That includes everything from articles and video content to podcasts and expert interviews.
Besides, we run LinkedIn, Instagram, and Telegram, where we only craft content we’re genuinely proud of.
Every couple of months, we’re at major industry conferences like iGB, SiGMA, and MAC — and always with our mind-blowing booths.
What’s the proudest creative win of your team so far?
It’s tough to pick just one — we’ve done so many cool things over the years. But a few highlights definitely stand out.
A booth made of 17.5K balloons for KINZA in Kazakhstan is one of them. Booths are always a next-level challenge for us because we aim for a wow effect. The balloon idea was incredibly ambitious, and we ran into all kinds of hurdles. But we pulled it off: the booth turned into a major magnet, media crews stopped to film it, and visitors made it their go-to photo zone.
Imagine how funny it is to inflate 17,500 balloons at once
Another favorite is the branded Divoom smart speakers we made for our partners — as a New Year’s gift. We partnered directly with Divoom, worked with their factory in China, and customized everything — from the packaging and gift bags to embedding our logo into the speaker itself. We even uploaded a custom holiday jingle, written by one of our copywriters who’s also a musician, and added a QR code linking to a festive playlist. These gifts reached partners in over 50 countries.
These gifts reached partners in over 50 countries
Our corporate magazine will be my final highlight for today. Many corporate magazines you see at conferences are 90% promotional flyers, and we decided to change it. So we aimed to provide quality content packed with practical insights and interviews. Top-notch printing, thoughtful articles, and smart distribution. It’s a project that truly reflects our team’s creative and editorial strength.
We were the first in our industry to launch a full-fledged corporate magazine, and we’ve published eight strong issues along the way
How do your employees grow as professionals?
We’ve got plenty of growth opportunities — you just have to go for them. I truly believe we have the strongest PR team in the market, it might not sound modest, but I genuinely mean it. We always want to do more, so when someone takes initiative, I fully support it. Our team members can deepen their skills, take on new roles, or grow into leadership.
Our team can boast lots of growth stories. One of our PR managers started in the most junior role and now leads PR for Alfaleads Network. Our former SMM manager is expanding into broader marketing roles. As for me, I started out handling PR for just one brand, and today, I’m Head of PR for the entire holding.
What’s unique about how you build your work?
One thing that strikes me every time is how we collaborate like clockwork — even if the task is far from crystal clear, which does happen. Everyone quickly takes responsibility and jumps into action.
Another thing is how creative our day-to-day actually is. In many teams, it’s 80% routine and 20% creativity. With us, it’s the other way around. There’s very little monotonous work — most of what we do is about solving challenges creatively. Every task feels like a fresh mini-mission.
What do you like most about your team?
We work like a pro-level sports team — everyone brings their best game, knows their role, and supports one another no matter what. What I value most is the trust and openness we’ve built.
Somewhere along the way, we created a microclimate that attracts people who thrive on challenge and creativity. People who aim high, sweat the details, and crave creative sparks every day. That attitude keeps me constantly motivated.
In one phrase, your team is…
Creativity and strategy in sync. The winning combo for any business.
