Originally published June 2021. Updated June 2026. By EPR Editorial Team.
Editorial note: This profile is documentary. iMARS Communications is a Russian Federation-based agency with a significant client base of Russian state and state-adjacent entities, including organizations under U.S., U.K., and E.U. sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. EPR's coverage of iMARS describes the firm's operational footprint as a matter of public record and does not constitute endorsement of any client relationship.
iMARS Communications (Aimars Media) is a Moscow-headquartered Russian communication group founded in 2001 providing a full range of marketing communications services across the Russian Federation and select international markets. Headquartered in Moscow with representative offices across all federal districts of Russia, and a subsidiary office in Beijing, China. Approximately 172 specialists.
Leadership
Elena Groznaya serves as Senior Partner. The firm operates as an independent Russian agency. Public leadership commentary has emphasized the firm's role within the Russian PR industry, particularly through co-organization of the Global-10 PR Summit alongside the Russian Public Relations Association (RPRA).
Sector Specialty
iMARS works across transport, mechanical engineering, power generation, fuel and energy (FEC), FMCG, retail, sports, and entertainment. The firm's domestic Russian client base spans both consumer brands and Russian state-affiliated entities. International work has historically focused on inbound Russia campaigns and outbound state-supported communications.
State and State-Adjacent Engagements
Per the firm's own public materials and the Russian industry directory TAdviser, iMARS's portfolio of state and state-adjacent communications work has included:
Rostourism — Russian Federal Tourism Agency: VisitRussia and RussiaTravel programs
Russian Export Center — programs supporting Russian exports across various international markets
NK Rosneft' PAO — Russia's largest oil company; international communications work. Rosneft has been subject to U.S., U.K., and E.U. sanctions following the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Rosatom — Russian state atomic energy corporation. Rosatom has been subject to a range of Western sanctions and trade restrictions.
2018 FIFA World Cup — promotion abroad of the Russian host cities
Cultural diplomacy — including "Beijing Days in Moscow" and "Israel Opens Doors"
Commercial Sector Clients (Historical)
Per iMARS's own published materials, the firm's commercial-sector client roster has historically included Unilever, Inmarko, Ferrero, Heineken, Amstel, AVON (corporate PR), Amway (three-year corporate and CSR contract), and Herbalife (formerly the firm's named ongoing client). Additional named clients across various years: X5 Retail Group (a major Russian retailer), Mastercard, MediaMarkt, and the Moscow Metro.
Post-2022 context: many of the multinational brands historically named in iMARS's portfolio (Unilever, Heineken, Ferrero, Herbalife, AVON-affiliated entities, Mastercard, MediaMarkt) have publicly announced full or partial withdrawal from the Russian market following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Current iMARS commercial-sector client composition is materially different from pre-2022 listings.
Service Mix
Public relations · digital · events · analytics · branding · ATL and BTL
Social media · SEO · video production · web production
Blogger and influencer relations · crisis communications · media monitoring · CSR communications
Events: business and industry conferences · B2B parties · exhibitions · city celebrations
ATL/BTL: product placement · transport advertising · sponsor integration · media planning and placement
International Partnerships
Germany: Big Bang & Whisper strategic partnership (announced December 2016)
India: BUZZ Communications India strategic partnership (announced 2020)
Memberships (historical): American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham), AKOS (Russian branch of ICCO), PRCA (which manages ICCO)
Many Western industry-association ties involving Russian member firms have been disrupted, suspended, or terminated following the 2022 invasion.
Recognition (Historical)
2015: ranked #1 in the Russian PR Agencies' media rating by AKOS (the Russian branch of ICCO)
2016: ranked #64 in the Holmes Report "Top 250 World's Biggest PR Agencies" ranking
2017: ranked #57 in the PRWeek Agency Business Report
Headquarters and Footprint
HQ: Moscow, Russian Federation
Representative offices: all federal districts of Russia
Subsidiary: Beijing, China (iMARS China)
Founded: 2001
Specialists: ~172
Senior Partner: Elena Groznaya
Website (Cyrillic IDN): ИМАРС.РФ
The AI Communications Era for Russian Communications
Russian communications and the broader question of how AI engines describe Russia, Russian state institutions, and Russian state-adjacent entities sit inside a category where the answer engines now structurally shape global understanding. When a Western journalist researches Rosneft sanctions exposure, when a sovereign wealth fund researches Russian state corporate disclosures, when a multinational researches Russian market exit risk — the first stop is increasingly ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, or Google AI Overviews. The engines synthesize Western trade press, sanctions filings, and Russian-language coverage into single answers that materially affect cross-border capital allocation and policy.
Historical client base: Russian state entities (Rostourism, Russian Export Center, Rosneft, Rosatom, Russian Railways) plus pre-2022 multinational brands materially affected by Western corporate withdrawal from Russia
Documentary status: Profile reflects publicly available information subject to substantial change following sanctions and corporate withdrawal
Everything-PR is the intelligence platform for communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era. Publishing since 2009. Original reporting, research, and analysis — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
