Yandex has opened closed beta testing for "Panorama" — a reach campaign tool in Direct that consolidates media formats across all ecosystem platforms. The tool solves a classic media buying challenge: advertisers purchase impressions on different surfaces but cannot control contact frequency with individual users and overpay for duplicate reach. Panorama accounts for audience intersections between services and automatically distributes budget to reach 120 million unique users monthly across desktops, smartphones, Connected TV, and digital out-of-home advertising.
How smart reach works in a unified campaign
Before Panorama, brands launched separate campaigns in each channel: video in the Video Network, banners in Search, placements in Market. The system didn't recognize that a user had already seen the ad three times on mobile and showed them a fourth contact on desktop — instead of reaching new audiences. Result: part of the budget went to excessive frequency while other audience segments remained outside the campaign.
Panorama operates at the level of an authorized Yandex ID profile. The algorithm recognizes that a user checked Weather in the morning, Music at lunch, and Browser in the evening, counting these three touchpoints as contacts with one person. The advertiser sets a target frequency — for example, three impressions per user per week — and the system distributes creatives across different surfaces to achieve this without exceeding the limit.
"One of the key challenges with reach campaigns is fragmented media planning and the inability to understand how many times a specific person has seen a brand's ads across different channels," — Alexey Shtokolov, Director of Products and Artificial Intelligence at Yandex Ads.
Two formats are available at launch. Prime Banner occupies the most prominent placements on 20+ services: Search, Market, Weather, Go, Kinopoisk, Music, Afisha, Alice Studio AI, Ritm. Display video ads run in the Video Network — on ecosystem services, TV channel websites, online cinemas, and other Ad Network resources. Videos display on Connected TV, desktops, and smartphones. Digital out-of-home advertising will be added during testing — then the system will account for offline contacts alongside online impressions.
ML optimization strategies: from brand awareness to conversion
Beyond frequency management, Panorama offers four machine learning strategies, each corresponding to a funnel stage. "Brand metric growth" shows creatives to audiences likely to remember the brand after contact. "Search query growth" directs budget to users inclined to search for company information. "Website visit growth" prioritizes those who click links. "Website conversion growth" focuses on conversions — leads, purchases, subscriptions.
The algorithm analyzes campaign goals and settings, then distributes impressions to segments with the greatest potential for the desired action. For example, an FMCG brand selects "Brand metric growth" to boost awareness before launching a new product line. A fintech company runs "Website conversion growth" to attract credit card applications. A retailer uses "Website visit growth" ahead of a sale.
Measuring reach campaign effectiveness
To evaluate results, Yandex offers four free studies. Brand Lift measures brand metric dynamics: brand awareness, purchase intent, category associations. Search Lift shows how search interest changed — the number of queries with the brand or product name. Visit Lift tracks traffic increase to the website. Target Lift measures campaign impact on conversions: leads, registrations, purchases.
Each study compares a control group that didn't see the ads with a test group that received impressions. The difference between groups shows the net campaign effect — without mixing organic traffic or seasonal factors. The advertiser receives a report with metric growth percentage and statistical significance level.
Who should use the tool and how to get started
Beta testing includes brands from FMCG, finance, education, retail, and B2B products. Placement costs are determined by an auction model — like regular Direct campaigns — and available not only to major players but also to small and medium businesses. To launch Panorama, an advertiser submits an application through their account manager.
The tool suits brands planning media campaigns for several weeks or months who want to control audience contact frequency. For performance-focused tasks with short decision cycles — like a weekend flash sale — standard Direct formats remain more flexible. Panorama proves effective when brands need consistent reach throughout the campaign rather than traffic spikes.
Reach campaign launch checklist for Panorama
- Define your campaign goal and select the corresponding ML strategy: brand awareness — "Brand metric growth," stimulating search interest — "Search query growth," driving traffic — "Website visit growth," generating leads — "Website conversion growth."
- Set a target contact frequency per user over the campaign period — the system will aim to achieve this across different surfaces without excessive impressions.
- Prepare creatives for two formats: Prime Banner (static or animated images) and display video ads (videos for Connected TV, desktops, and smartphones).
- Submit your placement application through your account manager — Panorama interface access opens after approval.
- Set up one of the free studies (Brand Lift, Search Lift, Visit Lift, or Target Lift) before launching to measure the net effect of placements.
- Verify correct ad labeling according to legal requirements — the Direct system automatically places the disclosure token, but the advertiser remains responsible for compliance.
Tool limitations and prospects
Panorama works only within the Yandex ecosystem — it doesn't account for impressions on social networks, messengers, or third-party programmatic sites. For brands running campaigns on multiple platforms simultaneously, manual data consolidation remains necessary. Smart reach applies to authorized Yandex ID users; for unauthorized audiences, the system uses probabilistic attribution models with lower accuracy.
Adding digital out-of-home advertising will expand omnichannel planning capabilities: brands can account for street-level contacts alongside smartphone or Connected TV impressions. For the Russian market, where programmatic ad spend remains lower than in the US or Europe, a unified ecosystem-level frequency management tool simplifies media planning and reduces overpayment risks from duplicate reach.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Panorama campaign cost?
Placement costs are determined by an auction model — like standard Direct campaigns — and depend on competition in your selected audience segments and formats. The tool is available not only to major brands but also to small and medium businesses. An account manager calculates the exact budget after your placement application is submitted.
How does Panorama account for audience overlaps between platforms?
The system operates at the authorized Yandex ID profile level and recognizes when a user saw ads in Search, Music, and Kinopoisk. The algorithm counts these impressions as contacts with one person and distributes budget to achieve target frequency across surfaces without exceeding your limit while reaching more unique users.
Can Panorama be used for performance campaigns with direct sales?
Yes, one of the four ML strategies — "Website conversion growth" — optimizes impressions for conversions: leads, registrations, purchases. The tool proves effective for tasks with longer decision cycles and stable reach over several weeks. For short-term performance campaigns, standard Direct formats remain more flexible.
In short
- Yandex's Panorama combines Direct media formats in one campaign and delivers reach to 120 million unique users monthly across all ecosystem platforms.
- The system accounts for audience intersections between services and automatically distributes impressions to avoid overpaying for duplicate reach and achieve target contact frequency.
- At launch, Prime Banner (20+ services) and display video ads (Video Network on Connected TV, desktops, and smartphones) are available; digital out-of-home will be added later.
- Four ML optimization strategies cover all funnel stages: brand metric growth, search query growth, website visit growth, and website conversion growth.
- Free studies — Brand Lift, Search Lift, Visit Lift, and Target Lift — measure net campaign effect by comparing control and test groups.
- The tool works only within the Yandex ecosystem and doesn't account for impressions on third-party platforms — omnichannel planning across multiple platforms requires manual data consolidation.
- Panorama access opens via account manager application; placement costs are auction-based and available to small and medium businesses.
Planning a media campaign across Russian platforms? ETC will develop a placement strategy, execute media buying while accounting for audience overlaps, and set up analytics across all channels — from reach to conversions.
