Yana Terebenina: How to Breathe Life into Your Brand—AY Media, Introducing an All-In-One Answer
Brands are a critical aspect of any enterprise, and their importance cannot be overstated. It is a case of more than just a logo or a nominal decoration; it encompasses the values, personality, and reputation of a business.
It is a way for a company to differentiate itself from its competitors and produce a unique identity in the minds of its target-consumers.
In today’s highly competitive landscape of entrepreneurial action, where the buyer and user alike are bombarded with countless options and messages—a strong brand may be the difference between success and failure.
Therefore, companies must invest time and resources into developing and maintaining a powerful brand that accurately reflects their ethics and resonates with their target audience.
Yana is a graduate from UCL, from the Economics & Business faculty which has laid a strong foundation for her future career. She also has a Master’s Degree from Sotheby’s Institute in Art Business.
Yana always had a zeal for creating, therefore after getting a solid commercial foundation she studied Graphic Design in Shillington College and branding in Central Saint Martins.
Out of her passionate attention for creativity she joined forces with her husband and founded AY Media. This is a media production agency. It covers brand awareness, graphic design, photography & videography production.
For start-ups and those who want to rebrand their image AY Media always has a team of talented visual artists & strategic brand-aware agents who think through all and every detail and design. They then implement a unique style tailored to you.
AY Media has partnered with well-known massive brands such as Knight Frank, Matalan, BBC, NHS, Eurostar, and Global Reach, just naming a few. They have also collaborated with local businesses such as a caffe in Essex and a family barber shop in London.
What sets AY Media apart most? where do you excel where others have left clients unsatisfied?
A qualitative advantage and a variety of services.
AY Media can productively implement all elements that compose a company’s imagistic brand. We have graphic designers, copywriters, photographers, and videographers.
This means that we offer logos, packaging, catalogues, brochures, websites, product photoshoots, lifestyle photoshoots, film interviews, product video creation, company content and videos for social media, and more.
All of that in one place—you don’t have to relay the same brief to different people or find separate agencies.
High-quality work sets us apart. Extreme attention to details and communication with our clients. Those two things bring our work to a next level.
We consult with our clientele throughout the entire process, to make sure that we execute on the client’s feedback and stay on the same page.
Tell us more about AY Media—what is the vision of the company and what inspired you to found this company?
AY media was born by combining passionate expertise for brands alongside graphic design and my husband’s affinity for videography and photography.
Sharing our strengths, we created a production agency, which covers all creative aspects.
I come from an economic and business background, and I overcame many challenges whilst running a lighting manufacturing business for 7 years. But manufacturing business involved a lot of admin and logistics—there was very little room for my adventurous and artistic self.
AY Media is the opposite; with every client I get to create something new and carry out an idea from pen and paper to a polished packaging, photograph, or video.
What is the power of consistency in business in your seasoned opinion and why do online business owners need to hear this?
Being on the front page of Google does not cut it anymore.
To make it as a business these days you need to have a voice, an identity—a personality to your brand. Branding is complex and has many elements. It is not just a logo, because a logo is a small piece of a much bigger picture.
Colour schemes, visual elements, tone of voice, packaging, image treatment, video content—all of that has to be consistent and have the same look and feel.
Every industry is saturated, so to be successful it is not enough to be good, you have to be great. You can have the best product or service, but if it is not represented properly, no one will buy it.
Creating a cohesive image of your business will set you apart from competitors.
What has been your experience working with massive British brands such as the BBC, the NHS, & Global Reach? How does this experience compare to working with local business in Britain?
The biggest difference between working with massive brands and local businesses is creative flexibility. Well-established brands already have a brand image, and they have strict rules which you need to follow.
Whereas small businesses are far more adventurous and willing to try new approaches and create something special, big brands will get your name out there. However, I give my preference to small brands where we may liberally exercise our creative side.
What inspires and motivates you to go above and beyond and achieve all that you have, academically and entrepreneurially?
With education it is simple—I love to learn. If I have an opportunity to learn a new skill, I take it. If you stop learning you stop living and start stagnating, quite simply.
As far as the work goes, I love the freedom that comes with being an entrepreneur, an ability to manage your schedule, work from anywhere, choose your own projects and set the course of action.
This inspires me to keep on going.
What is one of your favourite quotes from an author & book that you highly value, and what makes it your favourite?
I have two favourite quotes by Sir Richard Branson from his autobiographies “Losing my Virginity” and “Screw it. Let’s do it”. The first one is:
“My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.” —Sir Richard Branson
These words redefine my attitude to failures. The second one is:
“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” —Sir Richard Branson
Those quotes are written on my office board. They always motivate me to advance and have some fun along the way.
In my opinion, Richard Branson’s’ autobiographies are worth reading for every entrepreneur out there. His mindset and adventurous approach what makes him so successful in both professional and personal lives.
Sir Richard Branson is the ultimate example of how to navigate the business world and enjoy it in the process.
Can you tell us a goal you have for AY Media that you would like to achieve in the next 5-10 years? What will be your strategy?
Going forward I would like to grow our in-house team and expand our expertise to marketing.
I want our clients to have an all-inclusive service starting from creating brand strategy and assets to marketing strategy and building customer bases.
In 10 years’ time I envision a strong international base of clients for AY Media.
Most importantly, I want to look back and be proud of what I’ve built.
