MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Western brands have shown increased interest in advertising in Russia over the past few months, according to representatives of the video advertising company Digital Alliance and the National Advertising Alliance (NAA).
"Of course, like all advertising agencies and sellers, we receive periodic requests for estimates. And, thank God, the number of such requests has increased over the past few months. I can't name the brands that have made these requests, but it is a feast to my ears as a seller and as a consumer, because, of course, not everything has been replaced. It gives one hope, reassurance, it breeds optimism," said Alexander Zakharov, Chairman of the Digital Alliance Board, at the DATA 2025 conference. A new dimension" in Moscow.
Alexey Tolstogan, NAA Director General, agreed. "There are conversations, calls, letters. We meet with Western and European advertisers who inquire about the cost of advertising campaigns for the current year, who ask us about rates and placement opportunities. So far, these are just conversations, but compared to last year, there are many more such conversations. Time will tell what happens, and geopolitics as well," he said.
According to Tolstogan, those brands that continue to operate in Russia, but do not advertise, can launch PR campaigns right away.
"This is about 30% of the brands in Russia now. We think that it would probably be the fastest step for them to resume some kind of advertising campaigns. I repeat, I am happy that these conversations are even going on, and then whatever will be, will be," he added.
However, ad space will be limited if companies flood into the market all at once. "From the point of view of readiness to accept: ad space has already been allotted, and, let's just say, if they return quickly, then not all of the space will be available. There might not be enough high-quality ad space for everyone. What will it lead to? Price increases or some new formats or something else, we can only guess now," Zakharov stressed.
He believes the return will not be sudden, but rather a gradual process of negotiations that will likely unfold by the end of the year.
