In the early post-Soviet period, bank advertisements had the primary goal of raising their profile among numerous competitors. As a result, bank advertisements in the early to mid 1990s were dominated by "image ads" that sought to capture the attention of consumers in a variety of ways. By the early 2000s, banks were creating ads that focused on promoting their credibility and stability. However, since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, interest in non-face-to-face services and fintech has increased, and banks have responded to customer demand by shifting their focus to "innovation", "advanced technologies" and "new financial technologies" in an effort to become the next banking leader.
Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that bank advertisements are not just about promoting the bank's products, raising awareness of the bank, or building the bank's image, but can also be a kind of indirect indicator of the Russian financial ecosystem. In fact, ‘Sberbank’, which has been in existence since the Soviet era and boasts a long history and tradition, has recently shifted from focusing on building the bank's credibility and positive image to promoting the convenience of non-face-to-face sales, including various financial services using bank apps. As a result, Russian bank advertisements can be seen as an important source of information about the current state of the Russian financial ecosystem and its future development.
In this article, we will first review the history and characteristics of early Russian bank advertisements produced around the post-Soviet era. Based on this, we will analyze the development of banking advertising in Russia since 2010, when Internet advertising began to take off, to the present day, and describe its future development and possibilities. Furthermore, we will briefly discuss the current state and future prospects of the Russian financial ecosystem in light of contemporary Russian bank advertising.