The decline of paid ads in Russia: what to use instead

After several Western ad platforms left, the usual targeting in Russia changed a lot: some accounts are unavailable, the audience fragmented across platforms. Brands used to a single buying window faced the question — what to replace it with. Let's break down the working alternatives.

What happened

Previously a large share of budgets went into one or two ad accounts with convenient targeting. Now the audience is spread across VK, Telegram, domestic ad systems and content platforms. There's no single "magic account" — multichannel wins.

What to replace paid ads with

• Content seeding. Mass cheap reach through account networks — works without precise targeting, takes it with volume and touchpoints.
• Influence marketing. Creators and Telegram channels give access to an audience with trust — more precise than any algorithm on "warmth."
• VK Ads. A full ad account with targeting by interests and communities — the main performance tool of the Russian internet.
• Telegram Ads and channel buying. Reach and warm-up of a paying audience.
• UGC + organic. Native content promoted by algorithms without paying per impression.

How to rebuild promotion

1. Don't look for "a replacement for one button" — assemble a combination of channels for the funnel.
2. Cover the top of the funnel (reach, awareness) with seeding and creators.
3. The bottom of the funnel (leads, sales) — with VK targeting and pinpoint offers.
4. Tag traffic intensively (UTM, promo codes), because there are more channels now.

The main shift

The era of "set up targeting — get sales" gave way to a content-and-seeding model: first reach and trust through content, then finishing with performance. It's harder to manage but cheaper on reach.

Takeaway

Targeting in its old form weakened, but there are more tools — seeding, influence, VK and Telegram in combination close the tasks better than one account. We help assemble such a system for your product and budget.