Companies in Ukraine are cutting spending on brand campaigns, PR and large events and moving money into performance marketing, direct communications and loyalty programs. These findings come from a study by Gradus and the Ukrainian Marketing Forum, Market Sustainability: How the New Level of Danger Is Changing Business and Marketing, whose fieldwork ran from late September to early October 2026.
The sample included marketing heads and top managers from 25 Ukrainian and international companies in retail, banking, telecom and other sectors. Data was collected in focus groups lasting up to 120 minutes, with fieldwork taking place from late September to early October 2026.
None of the 25 companies stopped communications completely. Gradus founder and CEO Yevgenia Blyznyuk explains this by saying that a brand that drops out of sight for long loses market share, and its place is taken by competitors who were hit less or kept their campaigns running during the crisis.
According to the IAB Ukraine barometer Wartime Barometer 2.0, advertising budgets mostly grew in the first half of 2026. Cuts were noticed by 18% of agencies and 8% of brands. For brands, social networks (84%), search (68%) and online video (64%) remain essential channels.
Consumers have become more cautious with their spending. Ukrainians are setting money aside and cutting back on non-essential purchases. They mostly buy clothes and shoes out of concrete need, and postpone big appliances and renovations. Emotional shopping has survived but shifted toward cheaper categories: during intense shelling, demand for sweets and snacks rises.
For many sectors, the main problem now is product availability. When supplies are disrupted, buyers take whatever is physically on the shelf. Strong brands still keep customers even when a product temporarily disappears from store counters. Focus group participants cited a manufacturer that lost a plant to occupation but kept the trust of customers in its brand.
Demand comes in waves: first people stock up, then spend less for several weeks. This makes it harder for businesses to forecast sales and plan promotions. Companies are reviewing their media plans monthly or every few weeks, even with an annual budget.
For media buying, this means brand campaigns and PR are the first to be cut, while money stays where advertising is directly tied to sales. Some companies are already planning for 2027 and entry into new markets.
