GroupM: Russian advertising market can grow by 12% in 2018

An optimistic forecast from GroupM (with GDP growth of 1.5-2%) says that in 2018 the Russian advertising market will increase by 12%.

The media market share in Russia’s GDP in 2018 is projected to be 0.47%, which is 10% less than before the crisis. In more developed markets the figure reaches 0.69%, which indicates the potential of the Russian market. Costs for TV and digital will be equal and amount to 41% in each segment. The online-video growth rate will be 30%, and the growth rate of search advertising – 17%.

The following categories of products will be the drivers of the growth: domestic products, finances, and the Internet services. Machines and appliances can also grow due to the pent-up demand for them.

The development of the Russian advertising market will be influenced by the unstable economic growth, weak consumer demand, competition for each solvent consumer, and growing competition between advertising platforms with consumer data.

Advertisers will be faced with a choice: to invest in the media market or to invest in discounts, because people strive to buy products they want with discounts. The key vectors of the advertising market development will remain unchanged: data and technology, content and e-commerce.