Apple launches its first TV ad campaign in Russia

Apple launched its first ever television advertising campaign in Russia this week, with two adverts, one for the iPhone 6 and one for iPhone 6 Plus, running on the TNT, CTC and Pyatnitsa networks. Although Apple has not revealed the cost of the campaign, advertising specialists have estimated that the adverts, which are set to run until the end of December, will set Apple back over $1 million.

Dmitry Kurayev, a managing partner at consulting firm Quendi RusMediaAudit, said: “Judging by the intensity with which the advertising campaign started — around 200 GRP (Gross Rating Point, the term used in advertising to measure the size of an ad campaign) per week — we can expect that by the end of the year Apple will have spent at least 80 million roubles.” According to Kurayev, Apple has only indirectly advertised their products on Russian TV in the past through mobile operators and distributors.

According to Vedomosti, Apple has been losing shares in the smartphone market due to competition with Google Android. In the first half of 2013, Apple’s share of the smartphone market was 31%, a figure which fell to 22% by the first half of 2014.

Earlier this month, a giant iPhone monument, erected in 2013 in memory of Apple founder Steve Jobs, was removed from its site at a St Petersburg university after Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook came out as gay.

In recent weeks, there have been reports that iPhones and iPads may not be available in Russia from 2015, following the announcement of a new law which will force online services operating in the country to store their data locally.