Dmytro Makarov: In Marketing, It’s Not About Traffic – It’s About Results
Dmytro Makarov is one of the world’s top marketers. His portfolio includes collaborations with leading global brands such as BMW, Durex, Intel, NIVEA, Domino’s, Hugo, and more than 500 completed projects worldwide. Within just a few years, he built a company that now employs over 100 specialists. Remarkably, he achieved most of this before turning 20. In an interview with our publication, Makarov shared how to build and grow a successful company in today’s saturated marketing landscape.
Born in Kyiv (Ukraine), Dmytro began his marketing journey while still in school. At first, he worked independently, offering consulting services to brands and startups.
“That was the stage when I operated as an independent consultant – essentially a contractor for dozens of companies across different countries,” Dmytro Makarov recalls. “I did everything myself: developed marketing strategies, ran ad campaigns on social media and search platforms, negotiated with influencers, and co-created campaigns with them.”
Soon after, Dmytro decided to leave school and fully dedicate himself to building a business. In 2017, he founded his own agency. One of the company’s key focus areas became large-scale influencer campaigns. According to Makarov, this direction now sets the cultural tone for brands – enabling authentic, trust-driven communication that traditional tools can’t match. Influencer marketing is also highly adaptable, allowing brands to achieve various goals – from rapid product promotion to brand positioning or entering new markets.
“In Ukraine, we built a reputation as an agency that delivers results – not just traffic. Our approach combines technology, creativity, and a deep understanding of the audience,” Makarov explains. “We’ve worked with over 1,000 influencers and know how to evaluate who will actually drive results. In many cases, we even guarantee outcomes – offering budget refunds or bonus placements if KPIs aren’t met. That’s our unique model.”
Makarov’s company grew during challenging times – first the COVID pandemic, then the war in Ukraine. But adversity only pushed the team to evolve, seek fresh strategies, and explore new markets. Today, the agency runs successful campaigns across the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the MENA region. One of its key assets, according to Dmytro, is its cross-cultural team that operates in English, Arabic, Turkish, and French. This allows for fast adaptation of global expertise to local markets with native content that resonates culturally.
To succeed in global marketing, Dmytro Makarov says, you need deep expertise in key areas – analytics, content, performance, and influencer marketing – and a serious work ethic. Preferably with a structured plan. His framework consists of six steps:
- Identify the client’s need
- Analyze the market and competitors
- Develop the offer
- Align on KPIs
- Launch a test campaign
- Optimize and scale the results
But most importantly, Dmytro believes, is to care. To do more than just make money – to build something meaningful.“It matters to me that what I do has purpose and impact – not just for business, but for the people around me,” Dmytro Makarov concludes.
