Modern Russian advertising market

The modern advertising market in Russia began to take shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and the emergence of major international communications networks. In the second half of the 2000s, the formation of the advertising market in Russia was largely completed: the legislative base was formed, based on the federal law "On Advertising", large advertising holdings were consolidated, the level of advertising services provided in the market increased significantly, and the relationship of advertising platforms with agencies and clients was unified as well.

In order to navigate through all the variety of local agencies, it is worth relying on national advertising ratings, where the most authoritative is the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia (AKAR) akarussia.ru/node/10033. And also the EFFIE Index rating from the Russian marketing efficiency competition EFFIE Russia: https://effie.ru/award/efficiency-rating/2021/.

One of the biggest and most stable advertising holdings in the country is BBDO Group which has been operating in Russia since 1989 and provides the whole range of communication services: branding, creative, media strategy and placement, digital, influencer marketing, production. BBDO has extensive experience in introducing international (including Chinese) and local brands to the market through an integrated approach to advertising communications planning. As an example, the highly successful launch in Russia of car manufacturer Haval in 2019, for which BBDO's integrated media and creative team developed and implemented model launch campaigns, and now supports brand communication on a daily basis.

To launch new brands in the Russian market, it is important to understand not only the local legislative specifics of communication, but also the specifics of consumer behaviour, language points and cultural trends. For example, advertising with relevant stars and bloggers usually engages more viewers.

Therefore, advertising campaigns featuring celebrities and Influencers are very much in demand in Russia. We can see this in the examples of major companies operating leading brands: P&G, PepsiCo, Mars, MTS and Megafon, Sber, Ozon, Yandex, Aliexpress, Haval, chain retailers and banks. Selebrity is a tool that makes it easier to differentiate a brand from its competitors, quickly increasing awareness among the target audience and the memorability of the advertising campaign across all communication channels.

Overall, the category of Influencer marketing in Russia is growing annually by more than 50% (to RUB 16-18bn in 2021), not only due to the development of new media platforms (TikTok, Likee), but also due to the successful use of this tool in traditional media.

It is worth noting that Russia, like China, has its own specifics in dealing with social networks, celebrities and Influencers. The Russian market for Influencer marketing has been developing according to the American model for the last 10 years, copying the main trends and formats. But in March 2022, Roskomnadzor made a decision to block the social networks Instagram and Facebook in Russia, Youtube disabled content monetisation, Google Ads suspended advertising projects, and TikTok indefinitely restricted the ability to post new content. Because of this, celebrities and Influencers are migrating en masse and shifting their audiences to Russian social networks - VKontakte (Russia's number one), Telegram, Odnoklassniki, Yandex.Zen, Yappy and others. Each of these networks has a number of advantages and disadvantages, different technical capabilities and audience differences.

As for the choice of stars, they are so diverse in Russia that it makes it possible to find a persona relevant to any target audience and solve specific brand and campaign objectives. According to the results of numerous marketing studies, Russian-speaking artists, musicians, and showmen are the most popular and authoritative in Russia, and the level of trust in their recommendations varies from 60 to 90%.

As in the rest of the world, selebrities and Influencers in Russia are divided into large, medium and small. Accordingly, the fees for cooperation with them are formed on the basis of professional achievements, media exposure, reputation and involvement in their communications on social networks.

Therefore, it is better to entrust the selection of candidates to a specialised agency for working with celebrities and influencers, such as The Marketing Arm TMA. The agency has extensive experience of working with Chinese brands and transparent tools to assess the potential and value of a celebrity. Another important advantage of working with a professional agency is the proven contacts and relationships with celebrity and Influencer agents, which allows for professional negotiations, better financial terms, preparation of contracts, minimisation of risks and control of all obligations.

However, it is worth turning to BBDO Branding, which renders professional services in the field of creating, implementing and managing brands. The team solves tasks associated with finding the target audience and its needs, developing positioning and creating a verbal (name, slogan) and visual identity (logo, visual style).

Working with brands is not so much an art as a science. BBDO Branding uses its own strategic tools, which allow us to solve tasks of any complexity. Since 2006, the agency has completed several hundred projects, including the rebranding of Russian Railways, VTB and MTS (continuous cooperation since 2009), restyling of Raiffeisenbank and LADA, development of successful product lines for many food, medicines and drinks.

All in all, BBDO Group can become one of the best local partners in communication due to its steady development on the Russian market for the last 33 years, a good understanding of local specifics, as well as the expectations of Chinese clients.

* The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are banned in Russia as extremist.