BRIEFLY : Marketing: Company : Expands Services in Russia

A Santa Monica-based marketing firm is expanding its business ventures in Russia.

Going beyond the event-promotion it already conducts in Russia, Comspan Entertainment Marketing--formerly Comspan Inc.--plans to undertake consumer research, media buying and other services for companies interested in doing business in Russia.

It is doing so in partnership with a Russian company--White Nights Assn. of St. Petersburg.

Comspan will continue to organize, market and seek sponsors for events such as concerts, film festivals and sporting contests in Russia. The company already helps organize two annual events there--”Champions Tennis Russia,” a tennis tournament for players over 35 years old, and the White Knights International Cultural Festival, a music event.

Larry Namer, founder of Comspan and formerly of E! Entertainment TV, began looking into the possibility of Russian business ventures in 1989, soon concluding that there was ample opportunity.

“This is a country where you can wake up in the morning and say, ‘Today I want to start a phone company,’ and literally you can,” Namer said.