๐ Branded Video Outpaces Market Growth
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Russia has summarized the H1 2026 results for traditional digital marketing segments. Combined spending across performance and branding reached 301 billion rubles, reflecting an 11% increase compared to the same period last year.
Quarter-over-quarter dynamics show a steady ramp-up: market volume stood at 132 billion rubles (+10%) in Q1, rising to 162 billion rubles (+11%) in Q2.
Performance advertising continues to hold the largest market share at 236 billion rubles (+9%). However, the branding segment serves as the primary market driver, reaching a total capacity of 64.3 billion rubles (+18%). Within branding, online video advertising emerged as the clear leader in growth velocity, surging 29% to hit 24.8 billion rubles, whereas banner advertising demonstrated a more modest 12% gain (39.5 billion rubles).
According to IAB Russia experts, the rapid rise of video formats stems from expanding available inventory, strong momentum in Connected TV (CTV), and the deployment of brandformance tools that lower entry barriers for advertisers. Concurrently, industry stakeholders emphasize the need for infrastructure upgrades: speaking at the Digital Brand Day 2026 conference, NKA CEO Alexey Tolstogan called for the implementation of video watermarking technology to combat ad fraud and standardize measurement protocols.
Source: AdIndex
