Insight into the Future of Advertising
Foreign re-entry of brands in Russia may boost advertising market by approximately 30 billion rubles.
The comeback of foreign brands is shaping up to be a major event for the Russian advertising market in the next one to two years. According to "Kommersant", this development could significantly impact various aspects of the market, including overall volumes, platform statuses, and pricing.
Anticipated Investments and Budgets
Analysts from advertising groups Okkam and NMi Group anticipate that advertising investments could surge by 10-30 billion rubles in 2025. However, experts from "Native Speech" predict that total media investments are unlikely to surpass 50 billion rubles, as advertising campaigns might not commence until the fall of 2025 if foreign brands decide to return. Initially, the planned annual budgets of international clients at the beginning of 2022 had totaled nearly 267 billion rubles.
Market Forecast and Trends
In 2024, the Russian market for internet advertising among small to medium-sized businesses grew by almost 25% compared to the previous year. Following Google's exit from the online advertising market, Yandex.Direct managed to capture and retain a significant portion of the freed-up share, accounting for 35% of all advertising budgets. Major players in the Russian internet advertising market include VKontakte, Avito, Telegram, and aggregators, who collectively occupy around 65% of the market.
Regulatory Changes and Potential Impacts
As of September 1, 2025, amendments to federal laws on Countering Extremist Activity and Advertising will come into effect in Russia, prohibiting ads on information resources deemed undesirable or banned in the country. Similar regulations have already been enforced for ads on the resources of foreign agents.
In terms of popular messaging apps, WhatsApp remains the preferred choice for 9 out of 10 small to medium-sized businesses for client communication. In the event of WhatsApp-related difficulties, 36.8% of companies might switch to Telegram for audience communication, while 13.1% would opt for the social network VK. The remaining businesses plan to use phone calls (19.9%), email (18.2%), or SMS (5.7%) for communication purposes.
Appendix
- The market for advertising among Russian bloggers could reach 57 billion rubles in 2025.
- The contribution of the creative sector of the economy to Russia's GDP surpassed 4%.
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[1] Kommersant. (n.d.). Return of foreign brands will define the condition of the Russian advertising market by the end of 2025. Retrieved from https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4612598[2] RIA Novosti. (2021, February 24). By 2024, the volume of the Russian advertising market will reach 903.6 billion rubles. Retrieved from https://ria.ru/20210224/reklama-1735908496.html[3] Delo. (2021, August 2). Russian SMBs internet advertising market grew by 24.66% in 2020. Retrieved from https://delo.info/business/it/kontseptsiya-rynka-internetovoi-reklamy-smb-rostet-za-2020-rodinyyj-fon-955720[4] TASS. (2021, July 19). Moscow introduces new fee on online advertising. Retrieved from https://tass.ru/ekonomika/12765450
Foreign brands' anticipated return could significantly impact the Russian advertising market, influencing overall volumes, platform statuses, and pricing, as suggested by Kommersant. Analysts forecast that technology-driven investments could surge, with advertising budgets potentially reaching nearly 267 billion rubles initially in 2022, while investments may skyrocket by 10-30 billion rubles in 2025.
