Thanks for taking the time to respond, much appreciated! Actually, Odessa is as much a possibility as Kiev; I have been there a few times. I've been travelling to and from Ukraine for 5yrs now, having picked up some basic colloquial Russian; although I'd still consider myself a newbie and understand more than I can speak.
Above the line advertising is not really my bag, my focus is being able to turn data into insight for direct/database marketing and campaign and customer management. Types of data driven campaigns can range from telecoms product launch testing, retail catalogue sales programmes, automotive after sales promotional campaigns, and recently near prime credit card targeting.
Most of my work is typically realised through the outbound telemarketing, online and direct mail channels. Predominantly, my goal is to get the biggest return from the smallest marketing investment by optimising existing marketing operations. For some, the online channel represents the biggest direct marketing opportunities, for others, carefully targeted telemarketing calls is the only way to go. My background is all about who to target, when we target them, and with what.
Thanks for the advice, I've been reading Kyivpost regularly since 2003, and subscribe. I'm putting together some letters now, but it would seem that language is still the main barrier to entry. Clearly, I must address this one way or the other. Thanks for the offer of translation, I will take you up on that and will forward my CV over the weekend. I have the Cyrillic character set installed so no worries there, I'm no stranger to the online translation sites too!
I'll be in Ukraine from 5th March for 3-6wks, it's possible that I can take the overnight to Odessa from Kharkov. Thanks again for your input, great start.