• by Fern Siegel , October 17, 2022

StartRocket is a novel concept. It claims to be the first agency to represent brands in space.

Founder and Chief Creative Officer Vlad Sitnikov is behind the idea. The agency counts 50 staffers in total.

Its aim is to connect brands with the worldwide space industry, linking national space agency partners, private space companies and the scientific community with creative, communications, PR, media and advertising.

The agency is currently in talks with the TUI Group to create a promotional campaign around the first orbital hotel. TUI clients can be the initial near-orbit hotel residents if they purchase travel products/services in 2023.

StartRocket is also in discussions with Opera, inDriver, Yango and Practicum.

Sitnikov, an ex-Wunderman Thompson partner, says: “StartRocket has been conceived to drive space closer to brands and their fans. Given the recent advances in space technology pioneered by SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, now is the time to make these stellar opportunities a reality.”  

StartRocket was founded after two space-related campaigns for Orbital Display and Securing Space. The effort was controversial: Orbital placed billboards in near-Earth orbit. Pepsi branded the night sky with its logo via a series of micro satellites. Both efforts incurred public outrage and calls for a boycott. 

In response, Sitnikov worked with cybersecurity provider Kaspersky Lab to investigate how to clean up the low Earth orbit as part of an environmental, social and governance campaign.

Olga Loginova, CEO, StartRocket, adds: “With decades of experience in the agency world between us, we cannot underestimate the need for new ideas in advertising.”

StartRocket is operating in San Francisco, London, Milan, Tel Aviv and Dubai.

However, StartRocket isn’t the first to pursue the concept.

Two years ago, in July 2020, Metatron Media Partners was announced. The space-marketing agency headed by Joe Tani, a former account director at IPG’s Initiative, Allan Finehirsh, a former Carat senior vice president, and consultant Zach Rosenberg, the former president of media agency MBMG, claimed space wasn’t just for billionaires.