Advertisers Flee Direct: VK Auction Prices Rise 20%

Advertising that is not shown but is paid for is not a glitch. It is a claim. Not yet formalized legally, but promising.

There is also a second wave of consequences, which will affect not corporations but intermediaries. One of the publication's sources warned: part of Yandex's expenses and costs will fall on ad agencies — through cuts to super commissions (increased agency compensation for acquired clients). In other words, those sitting closest to the cash register will pay for someone else's technical instability.

What this changes for the market

There is one practical question: is this a temporary story or a permanent redistribution of budgets? The answer depends on how quickly Direct recovers and whether advertisers like the prices in the new channels. The 15–20% rise in the VK auction already shows: demand has found a new home, and it is not free.

An indirect indicator of sentiment is provided by Telegram. It was previously reported that about a third of Yandex Direct advertisers — 30% — plan to maintain or increase their investment in promotion in the messenger. The outflow was conceived before the outages. The outages merely accelerated it.

In brief

• The VK Ads auction has become 15–20% more expensive for broad audience categories.
• Channel Five, Dom.ru, Dogma and others have left Direct.
• Some clients had campaigns stop while funds continued to be deducted.
• Yandex, sources warn, will compensate its costs by cutting agencies' super commissions.
• 30% of Direct advertisers plan to invest in Telegram.

Technical instability in ad systems is a passing phenomenon. Transferred budgets are not always. That is exactly what distinguishes an incident from a turning point.