Max messenger opens targeted advertising in channels

In fact, testing began before the official announcement. On September 25, a Vedomosti correspondent noticed ads in Max channels. The platform's press office confirmed at the time that the service had begun testing its advertising tools.

What is the platform's audience?

The ad launch builds on a growing user base. On September 15, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko said that more than 9 million people use the Max messenger's digital ID. According to him, citizens are interested in using such capabilities.

The digital ID is one of the platform's key assets for advertisers: an authorized audience improves targeting accuracy, which is based on interest analysis through Discovery.

What does this change for the market?

For brands, the launch opens a new distribution channel for ads in a messenger with national state status. The format with ads shown after the channel's main content resembles a mechanism familiar to advertisers from other messenger platforms — team training will not require significant time investment.

Key launch parameters:

• entry threshold for channels — from 1,000 subscribers;
• formats — text and visual-text;
• objectives — a channel in Max, an individual post, or an external website;
• targeting — via the Discovery platform (VK);
• purchasing at launch — only through "VK Ads".

Expanding the number of connected advertising platforms will be the platform's next step. It will determine whether Max becomes a full-fledged player in the Russian digital market or remains a closed VK ecosystem.