Business Information,
Sociological and Marketig Research Center

Brand building insights from Kazakhstan

By Leonid Gurevich and Karlygash Rakhimova

The paper highlighted the original methods of Deep Dive Research developed by BISAM (Center of social and marketing research) for the Coca-Cola Company in Kazakhstan.

The research was based on a complex implementation of qualitative methods as well as deep interviews with experts and opinion leaders; field and home visit and creative focus groups has helped the Coca-Cola Company to understand peculiarities of local mentality and existing sub-cultures in the country for a successful strategy development for its brands.

1. Role of Deep Dive research in development of strategies for Coca-Cola Company in local market

As Coca-Cola Company has established its business in Kazakhstan, there was always an urge for better understanding of consumers and their needs as the market was showing a rapid, hectic and dynamic growth within short period of time. The Company had to learn to react fast providing correct actions.

Having introduced core brands in the country (with Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite), the Company felt that the local market and its consumers required a special approach in marketing activities and programs, as replication from global market did not efficiently work.

Therefore, there was a strong need to understand the local people, especially the teens, their peculiarities, values, interests and desires in order to build up the right strategies to create strong brand equity capturing its leading position vs. growing competition from international and local players.

2. “Kazakh” Deep Dive: inventive methodology for unique country

Deep Dive Research has a broad meaning. Such studies are conducted by many companies in different scales, following different objectives and using different methods. BISAM Central Asia Research Company developed a unique methodology in compliance with Coca-Cola objectives, considering the local peculiarities.

BISAM Deep Dive methodology represents a complex of methods that allow having a deep understanding of consumer behavior mechanisms of the local market. Those methods were focused on a study of implicit factors of such consumer motivations as local society’s mentality, different social classes, traditions, values, sub-cultures, generations and cultural stereotypes.

We believe that there is a big advantage of Deep Dive methodology as it outlines both external and internal appearance of social and cultural environment. Thus we could touch its deep roots where consumer demand, preferences, emotions, persuasions, expectation and actions derive from.

This kind of methodology is relevant for studying local market of any country. Especially this is a common sense for post-Soviet countries or as they called now CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States - CIS). Those countries despite preserving and sometimes paradoxically developing specific characteristics of soviet origin tend to find more and more of differences between the states. Emerging economical, social, political and cultural models are ineffectually implied in current classifications. And this is the case with Kazakhstan.

Today our country is the leading one in CIS based on different parameters qualifying the life conditions, tempo and quality of developing economic and banking reforms and overall attractiveness of investment climate. Today we can assure that such impressive results are the outcome of not only of well-thought and targeted politics of the government of Kazakhstan and its large supply of oil, gas and other essential minerals but mainly due to the special Kazakhstani mentality and its peculiar characteristics.

Deep Dive research helped to discover and systematize those specifications, tracking the link between Kazakhstani citizen, Kazakhstani socio-cultural type, Kazakhstani family man and Kazakhstani consumer.

Coca-Cola Company presented such tasks to BISAM:
- Development of basement for understanding the Kazakhstani Psyche; - Understand Kazakhstani lives from the inside; - Learning Kazakhstani people’s lives on their own perspectives.

In accordance with those tasks, BISAM has utilized the research methodology “from general to specific”, i.e. from fundamental values in Kazakhstani society to consumer demand of specific target audience.

The main target audience was teenagers and young people of Kazakhstan, as this group is considered as key consumer segment for Coca-Cola brand.

Deep Dive research presumed a deep qualitative analysis of external social and cultural environment as well as a detailed study of influence factors (depending on one’s family, social or professional status) that directly or indirectly affect teenagers and young people. Simultaneously those factors became a key source of information on the behavior of target audience.

We believe that the implemented methodology is quite interesting as it contains original combinations of qualitative methods. Below are the descriptions of different methods used on collecting required information by BISAM for Coca-Cola Deep Dive research.

1. Expert Survey (In-depth Interviews of Leading Scientists and Specialists) The leading scientists, university professors, specialists of research and consulting centers working in the following areas were interviewed via in-depth interview method:
- Sociology; - Social psychology; - Pedagogy, education and youth policy; - Gender research; - Demography and statistics of human development; - Anthropology; - Ethnography and inter-ethnical relations; - Economics; life standard and quality; - Social stratification and social policy.

In total there were 10 experts, 1 per each of the described above scientific areas interviewed.

The experts were selected to ensure representation of various sectors of science, various scientific concepts, views, specializing in the problems, which are important for the purpose of the research.

2. Focus-groups with persons influencing young people in Kazakhstan directly or indirectly

These focus-groups were aimed at assessing the views, values and behavior of the young people by the persons, who are systematically communicating with young people due to their professional functions and know well the youth environment. This direction included in the following focus groups:

2a. Focus-groups with persons working with young people at shopping malls and hang-out places
There were five focus groups were carried out in 5 cities. The managers of the garment stores, cafe, bars and night clubs, discotheques, sport coaches, journalists from youth magazines and TV channels, leaders of youth organizations were recruited for focus-groups.

During the focus-groups there were discussed the differences of present young people and teenagers from those of previous generations, the favorite passions of the teenagers and youth, their vision of different prestige occupations, on sense of "their own" and "somebody's" matters, of "cool" and "indecent" staffs, about their motivation, life plans and values, preferences of commodity brands, dress style, manners to spend spare time, etc.

2b. Focus-groups with the parents of teenagers and young people

The parents having children of the age of 12-22 were recruited. The parents were not over 50 years old themselves. In total there were 6 focus groups held. There were separate groups with mothers and separate with fathers by 3 groups in urban and 3 ones in rural areas

The parents' focus-groups discussed behavior of teenagers and young people in and beyond family, structural changes of values and hobbies of young generation, ratio of family and non-family influence on teenagers, role of education and educational institutions, entertainment, tastes, interests, preferences of the young people, role of advertisement and mass media, etc.

2c. Focus-groups with persons working in places where parents, teenagers and young adults visit

Persons working in places which are visited by parents, their kids or and young adults were recruited in 3 focus-groups. The employees and managers of the stores, hair making and cosmetic saloons, teachers, doctors and journalists specializing in women and family problems participated in the focus-groups. These focus-groups identified values, preferences, moms' cares, dynamics and trends in a change of their status, and opportunities to affect their children.

An outside view on moms' behavior was interesting for the research goals in two aspects: firstly, moms are the most important agents affecting their children, and secondly, moms play a key role in forming family consumption structure and life style.

Field visits to major sites, where young people spend their time

The teams of BISAM observers visited restaurants, cafe and bars, night clubs, discotheques and other hang out places of youth. There was a method of participant observation utilized. In data sheets there were columns both for structured records (such as fixing the time of youth at their hanging out locations, quantity of groups where youth would spend time together, beverage preferences, etc.) as well as for open data to describe an observer’s impressions. There were 20 visits in urban area and 5 visits in respective rural oblasts were carried out.

4. Home visits

4a. Home visits to study young people

15 home visits (10 urban and 5 rural) were made in the cities and villages indicated in the section above. BISAM officers visited families, having members 12-22 years old. The sample represented different social groups, different age of children in the families. During such visit an interior of the households and a shape of a room occupied by a young person, were surveyed and pictures of room interior were taken. The visit will be completed by a brief semi-structured interviewing of young person (in an absence of other members of the family) regarding his/her problems, plans, aspirations, values, consumer tastes and preferences, etc.

4b. Home visits to study life style of the representatives of different social classes

30 home visits (20 urban, 10 rural) in cities and villages in respective oblasts were made to study lifestyle and consumption structure of the families belonging to different social classes. The interior details will be recorded and pictures will be made. The sample provided presence of among respondents of males and females of different age. A special attention was given to the in-family relations, practice of decision making on spending current family budget, plans for life.

5. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA)

RRA allowed filling the gaps which are due to a lack of opportunity to apply some methodologies in the villages.

RRA will be carried out in 5 villages. The appraisal was launched by a walk through village. While moving along the route, BISAM officer gathered villagers around him/her, initiated a conversation, discussing the situation in the village, moods of the people, and problems of the young. Having revealed different types of the families, he/she entered the households and continued discussions in the family. Based on the RRA outcome a special village mapping was made, family histories and description of current situation will be prepared.

6. Focus-groups with teens and young adults

24 such focus groups were held in urban and rural areas. The groups were subdivided by gender and age categories:
- 12 to 15 years old - 16 to 20 years old
Focus-groups with teenagers and young adults were held by a professional psychologist using a special methodology:

The group discussion duration was twice longer than usual. Along with traditional methods of incorporation of group dynamics the methods of relaxation, independent thinking and conclusions, stereotypisation, various vehicles of attention concentration, rhythm intrusion, emphasizing and other were used in the discussions. Method of associations and "anchor" method (fixing feelings, working with colors, tastes) was applied widely. As a result, the opportunities to get non-verbal information were opened. The participants of the focus groups were able not only to express their thoughts, but also describe their feelings.

Special screening questionnaire was designed for the focus group participants’ selection. The questionnaire will comprise the test questions to determine associative thinking and ability of participants to clearly convey their thoughts in a verbal way.
The perception of modern life and their status in this life was given the main focus, occupations and passions of them, their favorite sportsmen and musicians, people, whom they liked imitating to, were determined. Special attention will be paid to comparative self-perception by the teenagers against those in other countries. A special section in the guide dealt with fashion, advertisement perception, and purchaser’s behavior.

There were 5 cities and urban areas selected that represented all the regions of the country. They were differentiated by the geographical closeness to Russia and China or Islamic countries, by correlation of modernity and traditions, by the level and quality of lifestyle in population’s culture.

3. Main results of the research

We will be describing the results of our research based on scheme of “from general to narrow” by starting from society in general ending up with target audiences.
 Society. The Soul of Kazakhstan.

What we call “The soul of Kazakhstan” implies to the unique Kazakhstani mentality. The key peculiarities of Kazakhstan appears with unique results (based on NIS criteria): the country with a multinational society (over 100 different ethnic groups) despite its uneasy structural changes, economic disasters, complicated political, social and cultural transformations, that the country went through, could still maintain peaceful and friendly attitude among different nationalities and enjoy affable relations with its neighbor countries.

Our research allowed us to study social and psychological components of these great results.

Our study allowed specification of socio-psychological components of this outstanding finding. The first one we would indicate to be a similarity of characters of two main ethnic groups in Kazakhstan – Kazakhs and Kazakhstani Russians. These ethno representatives have similar positive features such as openness (extroversion) and self-criticism, lack of xenophobia and religious fanaticism, good sense of humor, and also common negative features such as lack of accuracy, carelessness in business, unreliability, and a weak discipline.

Perhaps, that‘s why the following historically unique phenomenon has taken place. Normally, economic and social difficulties aggravate interethnic relations. Economic and social problems of the transition period moved aside actual and potential interethnic contradictions in Kazakhstan. Nationalistic parties and movements are not popular with Kazakhstani people, that is what our country markedly differ from other post-Soviet countries and, particularly, from Russia.

Obviously, there are serious threats to stability in Kazakhstan. Main of them are a deep polarization of the society in general and intensive marginalization of Kazakhstani rural young people migrated to towns and cities moved by unemployment which has already reduced but is still quite significant. However, poor and marginal layers in Kazakhstan have not given rise to a mass national and religion extremism so far.

The study has shown that today it is quite possible to consider citizens of Kazakhstan to be a poly-ethnic community with a high self-identification level. Most Kazakhstani people of non-tile nationalities identify themselves with Kazakhstan and not with their historical homelands. This becomes apparent through their desire to live and work in the country, sport attachments, and attitudes to political developments. Still the self-identification of Kazakhstani people is not rooted on consciousness of the common history in a long-term retrospective. The national symbols have a weak psychological effect, too.

There is an interesting feature in the Kazakhstani mentality – there is no fanatic reverence for any personality. There are no people in Kazakhstan whose charisma could have a dramatic effect on masses. It is close people – parents, relatives, and friends who have achieved success – whom the Kazakhstani people are inclined to see as a model to follow.

In general, Kazakhstani people perceive the outer world positively.

Recently, a growing sense of Kazakhstani uniqueness appeared in minds of Kazakhstani people, which is mostly expressed among young people. This national and psychological stereotype is based on understanding of Kazakhstan’s unique poly-ethnicity and inter-ethnic peace and accord which are unprecedented against other CIS countries. People credit it not so much with the President Nazarbayev’s policy as with spirits and nature of the nations living in Kazakhstan.
 Social Classes. The peculiarities of family relations and family life

Now let’s review some peculiarities of particular classes of the Kazakhstani society, and do it through family relations rather than economic and political perspectives.

Polarization of Kazakhstani society follows, first of all, the line “town-village”. That’s why we have slightly broken the traditional “6-class”- scheme and introduced a new “4-class” scheme, still we consider separately upper, middle, lower-middle, and lower urban classes and corresponding rural classes.

The criteria of the classes we used in the sampling are shown in Attachment 1.
 Leisure Time. Recreation.

Urban families, irrespective of the class, consider the leisure time as the time free of work. There are two main ways for them to use their spare time: either devote it to the family or have a recreation and relaxation. The upper class has the broadest range of opportunities to spend their free time. Common for all of them is going to restaurants, theatres, cinemas, work and recreation out of town at their summer cottages, and going in for sports including expensive ones such as equestrian sport.

The upper-middle class representatives spend their free time in the country and go in for sports, too. However, staying at home – in front of TV-set or with a book – prevails in this group.

Representatives of the lower-middle and lower class mostly spend their spare time at home (watching TV, reading, and children).

The questioned town-dwellers lack for spare time. Hobbies are not popular with any of the classes.
- In contrast to town-dwellers the rural dwellers do not draw a clear-cut distinction between work time and free time.
- They often use their spare time to earn additional money or to work on their own personal subsidiary plot.
- When it is a question of recreation, the upper rural class prefers to recreate by going to town.
- Representatives of the lower rural class, unlike all other categories, mentioned excess spare time, because most of them, as a rule, are unemployed and have casual earnings.
 Distribution of housekeeping work. Family current budget management.

The principles whish are more common for urban families of the upper and upper-middle classes are: “The husband is a bread-winner, and the wife is a housekeeper”.

Nevertheless, housekeeping and current family budget management is a prerogative of wives in the families of the upper and upper-middle classes.

Much more parity in distribution of household work can be observed in families of the lower-middle and lower classes. This is due to the fact that the wives in such families work, as a rule, and often earn more money than their husbands.

Yet, it is wives who have the last word in distribution of routine budget and determination of the buying pattern in the lower class.
 Family as a value

Family is of the highest value for all the respondents from all the urban and rural classes:

Children are the main thing in the family. They see the meaning of their lives and family’s future in children.
- Transmission of life (this is more specific for Kazakh families) - Support in their old age

There is a feeling of inseparability of own fate and the children’s fate.
 Friends. Circle of contacts

Here there is a separation between the urban upper and middle classes, on the one hand, and urban lower and both rural classes, on the other hand.

For the first classes friends are basically friends since school and student years. Friendship is understood mainly as communication and spending time together.

The second group has more friends. Friends are acquired not only during young years but also all life long – among colleagues and neighbors. Friendship is understood mainly as mutual help.
 Hopes, dreams and prospects

Clear perspective of the future and specific plans are typical for the respondents from the urban upper class only.

Most typical plans are the following:

To continue work on the higher level, work abroad or with foreign partners, and to go to a long and faraway journey.

The highest dream of the urban upper class representatives is to open a business abroad.
- The expectations and dreams of the urban upper-middle class are also connected with an own business, but they have less certain and concrete perspectives as compared with the upper class.

The other classes’ plans are primarily connected with their children. The children must achieve more than their parents, chiefly, through education.

The representatives of urban lower and both rural classes have different dreams and plans with regard to their own lives and activity:
- to maintain the status quo – for the urban lower-middle class; - to improve somehow financial situation or develop career – for the urban lower class; - to move to town – for the rural people irregardless of the social class
 Kazakhstani Young People

Understanding the current generation of Kazakhstani young people and their values and preference were the main target for the company. Key strategic development was done based on the below areas of interests:
 Generation:

Distinguishing feature of the present generation of Kazakhstani young people aged 12 to 22 years old are their independence, self-reliance, and awareness of the fact that it is them who are responsible for their success. Another distinction attributed to the present young people is a clearer vision of their future and more expressed self-identification with Kazakhstan.
 Education and Career:

New generation’s orientation to adventurous ways of career development is decreasing. Business is basically understood as work and purposeful activity. Unlike the young people of the 90s whose adventurous ideas of obtaining success dominated, the present generation aims to achieve personal, mainly, financial success through education and work.

Education is a comprehended necessity for most teenagers and young people of all the studied groups. At the same time the most part of adolescents are interested in study and have their favorite subjects. Contrary to them, the most part of young people of 18 to 20 years – students of higher educational institutions and colleges – are not much enthusiastic about the study and consider the educational institutions as a place for communication rather than for gaining knowledge and information.

Yet the crucial role of education in development of a more or less decent career is realized by all of them. All the adolescents plan to continue their education after graduation. The word “education” to the adolescents and young people is associated with the word “higher”.
 Values:

Family is one of the highest values for present teenagers and young people. The family is ranked above nation, homeland, community, and collective.

Teenagers and young people are convinced that having a family is not only necessary but also prestigious thing. They appreciate family well-fare and consider the family to be their support. That’s why teenagers and young people can not imagine life without establishing of their own families. Yet this generation feels more responsibility regarding establishing of family than the previous young generations. A family may be created when you have a place to live and earn enough.

The boys and young men have no clear idea of «temporal» relation between career and family. As for the girls, this matter is of great concern for them. Here significant regional differences which have ethnic features become apparent. Most girls in focus-groups in Almaty and Almaty Oblast, Oskemen and East-Kazakhstan Oblast supported the thesis: “First the career then the family”. The thesis “First the family then career” was prevalent in Shymkent and South-Kazakhstan Oblast.

Both boys and girls are convinced to the same extent (by 70% to 80% of all the age groups in all the regions) that it is a man who must be the head of the family.
 Patriotism:

Patriotism is in the development stage in the Kazakhstani society. Young people’s patriotic spirit is generally expressed through sport, sense of involvement in participation of Kazakhstani sportsmen in international events. There are no ethnic differences in patriotism of such kind.

An interesting important feature characterizing the new level of patriotism was found in the group of respondents at the age of 16 to 20 years. They say: “If something goes wrong in Kazakhstan we won’t look for a better place but try to make our contribution in order to improve the situation here.” This position does not depend on an ethnic nationality or region.
 Religion:

Religion has no critical effect upon young people in Kazakhstan. There are no serious risks of domination of the Islam extremism ideology over young people. The main guarantee against religious extremist influences can be seen in the mentality of Kazakhstani people which is free of religious fanaticism.
 Idols, heroes:

Modern Kazakhstani teen-agers and youth in contradiction from the previous generations and Russian peers have neither fantastic admiration before the idols nor love with their heroes. The idols of present teenagers, young men and girls are those people who raise their high interest. However, the very definition of “idol” is not perceived as “I am an idol of myself”, “Why should I copy anybody?”, “Each person shall differ from other people”.

There are few posters of sport and pop stars, and other famous people on the walls in the rooms of young people. One quite often may see in the interior the private pictures and photos with friends; girls have original toys. The ideality of the present generation of Kazakhstani less and less turns to idols.

Modern youth has no favorite fictitious character at all. There are no objects of imitation, even though, special respect among the leaders of state, politicians, state and public figures, scientists, commanders, astronauts, TV presenters.

Collective perfect figure is person who independently obtained gains was able to survive in difficult conditions, and the most important fact that such person could reach much having started from point zero.
 Interests:

Sports. One of the most popular interests and object of youth’s great interest is sport. Choice of the type of sport in many ways depends on the national traditions and income. The Kazakhs prefer fight, oriental single combats; the Russians – basketball, football, the wealthier people – tennis, horseback riding.

There are regional differences in the sport interests, for instance, only hockey is popular in the East Kazakhstan. Local football squad “Zhenis” is very popular in Astana as distinguished from the majority of other cities.

Sport fanaticism is not developed in Kazakhstan.

Music. Youth is at loss to specify exact boundaries between music trends, especially in pop music. Music styles favored in different age groups were revealed. For instance, teen-agers prefer rock, rap, and pop music. Russian rock groups become popular among people older 18 years. In general, preferences are given to the west and Russian groups.

In contradistinction from sport trainings, listening to the music is common devotion of the teen-agers and youth. People quite often listen to the music at home, along or with friends. For children and teen-agers is typically to have home record library.

Music hits are very getting old in the perception of present youth. Exception is rural youth which fancies are more stable. Music fancies are noted for the special inconstancy in the group of 15-19 years.

Computers. Internet. For few teen-agers and youth who have computers at their homes, the computers become the main and absorbing devotion.

The majority of teen-agers are attracted to the computer by games. However, there is a special group of “computerized youth” that has its special language based on computer terms, which all other interests are changed to the Internet, computer technologies, and computer magazines. Few young people who have no their own computers at home visit computer clubs. At the same time those people who have computers even with the access to the Internet visit the computer clubs. They visit the computer clubs to play net games for instance.

If unit recently boys were for the most the visitors of the computer clubs, now girls more often visit the computer clubs. As for the content, the computer clubs are very democratic: the visitors consist of teen-agers and youth, people of different social and different intellectual and cultural levels – « excellent pupils» and « non-achievers».
 Perception of external world:
Except for the teen-agers and youth of the South Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstani teen-
agers and youth feel great intimacy to Russia and quite more intimacy to the West as against the countries of Central Asia.

As for Russia young people believe that we have much in common with Russia but simultaneously modern Russia is not an example for imitation.

As for perception of the west world, the positive features are high-lying level life and quality of the living conditions. The negative aspect is the fact that there are no humanity and hospitality on the west.

China is the only country that for the most part is perceived negatively because of the great number of population living therein.

As a result of the given research, the Coca-Cola Company has developed a number of targeted strategies which were in compliance with global brand equity and values however with a local touch providing a closer link to consumers through the brands.

Based on a unique complex of methodologies that has been developed by BISAM, the Company could deeply explore the broad essence of Kazakhstan people, including their living conditions, their beliefs, attitude towards life, cultural differences, strongest values, ambitions and specifics in comparison to other countries.

Based on marketing experience a number of successful programs were implemented to drive the volume and market share of core brands, building stronger brand and ad awareness and creating positive associations not only about the products but about the company as a whole.

4. Positive results based on Deep Dive research as a unique experience for the Coca-Cola Company in Kazakhstan

As a result of the given research, the Coca-Cola Company has developed a number of targeted strategies which were in compliance with global brand equity and values however with a local touch providing a closer link to consumers through the brands.

A number of Coca-Cola brand strategies were developed in relations to sports and music as those were primarily interests of youth in Kazakhstan. Coca-Cola brand used the opportunity to build strong emotional connection with teens (12-17 as epicenter) by creating exciting music experiences. Multi-layered directions were selected as live Coke concerts with popular stars, sponsorship of music events and interactive TV & Radio programs.

Company had experienced a successful execution of live concerts in the key cities of Kazakhstan collecting 200 000 teens; organizing Chart programs on famous youth channels of TV and radio as well as kicking off open air concerts with finalists of Super Star.kz project that has taken place for the first time in the country.

Another strategy was connected with football as this sport is becoming incredibly popular among consumers in recent years. Football is an excellent platform for Coca-Cola to create an emotional bond and recruit new drinkers as it is so relevant to brand essence, gives a clear opportunity for differentiation and comprises global assets (world & euro cup).

Company has succeeded in organizing the first Coke Junior League among schools (8000 schools took part) offering young football players excellent conditions of playgrounds, exciting prizes and unforgettable experiences with famous local stars providing master classes. This all has led to the creation of positive image of Coca-Cola as social citizen of Advanced Tracking Panel (ATP) data.

Another great achievement was on understanding the local mentality of Kazakh youth where Western culture and beliefs were not always welcomed, as in example with the Sprite brand. Global communication message of Sprite slogan sounded as “Image is nothing, thirst is everything”, highlighting the brand’s intrinsic advantages and thirst-quenching abilities.

Kazakhstan teenagers and young adults (whom the message was conveyed through a massive communication channels) were upset, as they would spend hours to elaborate an attractive image in terms of romantic/sexual relations and at this very moment Sprite informs them that “image is nothing”.

As results of the research findings, The Company has started using a different message for Sprite as “Trust your thirst” which would still focus on intrinsic qualities of the brand yet deliver an acceptable and clear message to the target audience.

Currently Sprite brand holds a leading position in Lemon Lime segment (65% market share), with healthy growth over the years and holding strong positions in imagery attributes vs. its direct competition (brand awareness, positive purchase intent, favorite brand).

Based on all valuable data obtained through Deep Dive research, the Company has managed not only keep its stable position in the market (40% share of total CSD market) but as well strengthens its image in key imagery attributes among consumers and perceived as one of the top 3 dream companies where university graduates would apply.

Attachment 1.

Criteria for social classes being used in Deep Dive Research

Urban

Upper class – those are the families which we referred as elite. Family heads and “main bread-winners” are well-to-do businessmen, top-ranking officials, senior managers, specialists of the highest qualification, free professionals with high income; they live in elite houses or luxury apartments. The rich families whose heads or members take no prestigious social positions and live on the money gained exclusively or mainly from shadow income, were not included in the upper class.

Upper middle class –those are the family heads or members who have their own businesses or are high-ranking managers or high level professionals, live in good comfortable apartments. They are in a position to give a good education to their children.

Lower middle class – those are the civil servants, specialists, highly skilled workers, and businessmen – “suitcase traders” with a stable job and wage. They live in comfortable apartments. Family heads and members have a higher or specialized secondary education.

Low class – those are the semiskilled workers, non-expert servants, workers of libraries and archives, clerks or engineers, teachers, doctors, and qualified workers having problems in search of job or payment of wages.

The classification does not include representatives of the bottom of society - the chronically unemployed persons, persons of no fixed abode, illegal migrants, etc.

Rural

The upper and upper-middle class – those are the heads of successful farms or managers and specialists who have a stable and high income if compared to the rural standards.

The lower-mid lower classes – those are the typical families: major part of farming enterprises; specialists and workers who have instable or middle earning if compared to local standards.

The poorest rural families are not included in the sampling. - When selected the rural households were assessed as rich, middle or poor.