Buoyed by a growing economy, Russian adspend shot up by 51% in 2002, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper quotes figures from the Russian Advertising Agencies Association (RAAA) which show that $2.68 billion was spent on advertising in the country last year, up from $1.75 billion in 2001. Television revenues alone jumped by 76% to $900 million.
Rising oil prices have stimulated the Russian economy and advertisers have merely responded to the increase in consumer spending. The situation contrasts markedly with that in the major European advertising markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) where collated figures showed consensus growth of -2.8% for 2002 (see Insight Analysis: Global And Regional Advertising Forecast Comparisons).
Nonetheless, the Russian ad market remains relatively unexploited and even if, as predicted, there is a further 50% rise in spending this year, it will still only be worth $4 billion. By comparison, it is estimated that US adspend will total $117.5 billion in 2003 (see CMR Predicts ‘Modest Growth’ For Advertising Sector).
