AKA: NET INVESTMENT IN ADVERTISING TO GROW BY 8% THIS YEAR, UP FROM 12% LAST YEAR

The Association of Communication Agencies (AKA) and the Association of Media Agencies (ASMEA), in cooperation with ResSolution Group, publish an estimate of the development of net marketing investments on the Czech market.



The marketing communications market grew by 12% in 2023, and is expected to grow by 8.4% in 2024, bringing the total net investment to CZK 157 billion. Growth is underpinned by expectations of a return to the "pre-cide normal", which was disrupted in 2022 by the war in Ukraine and the subsequent economic and energy crisis. Television and online media still play a dominant role in advertising spending in the Czech Republic. The prediction comes from research conducted among marketing decision makers in collaboration with professional associations AKA, ASMEA and ResSolution Group. It has been carried out for the eighth year. The AKA has published the results in its regular Advertising Report.

"The year 2023 was already in a much more optimistic spirit than 2022. The percentage growth of investments has accelerated and reached similar values as in the years before," commented Lucie Vlčková, Senior Research Manager at Nielsen / ResSolution Group.

Marketing investment has recovered in 2023 and the outlook for 2024 is therefore optimistic, suggesting a return to the pre-pandemic situation. Whereas in the past there was slower growth, especially in so-called non-media channels (loyalty programmes, sponsorship, events, gifts, shoppermarketing, telemarketing, internal communications, online and mobile support, etc.), the market is expected to continue to grow. The survey results also show growing optimism and satisfaction among specifiers, which is reflected in the near doubling of the number of specifiers increasing their marketing budgets compared to last year. In 2023, these have started to grow as strongly as media channels (both estimated to grow by 8.4%). The survey results also show growing optimism and satisfaction among specifiers, reflected in a near doubling of the number of specifiers increasing their marketing budgets compared to last year



"The research results show an increase in the preparation and production of new campaigns heading into a period of expected growth in consumer demand. The expected growth in the volume of investments in non-media channels, i.e. activation channels, will exceed CZK 7 billion. The highest growth dynamics are to be expected in shoppermarketing activities, telemarketing and loyalty programmes supporting consumer loyalty. There is a clear trend where clients, after years of uncertainty, are starting to prepare new campaigns focused on sales promotion," says David Čermák, chairman of the AKA activation agencies section and CEO of Momentum Czech Republic.

Artificial intelligence and sustainability

Recently, the drive to use artificial intelligence has been one of the main trends. AI is being applied in a number of areas, including data analytics, predicting customer trends and creating personalized recommendations for clients. Although AI brings time efficiencies and cost reductions, it can also have negative impacts, such as on social networks. More than 70% of consumers expect AI to have a negative impact on social networks, which could lead to a significant decline in user activity on major platforms by 2025. A drop of up to 50% in organic search due to AI deployment is also expected by 2028.

"Given the dramatic development of AI tools, the entire communications industry must adapt to the new reality and the continuous learning process, as well as facing the definition of standards for the use of AI. To a much greater extent, we will face misinformation on online platforms and efforts to influence public opinion and brand reputation through AI," says Kateřina Hrubesová, CEO of AKA. Another important trend is sustainability. Brands are increasingly focusing on the environmental aspects of their operations. While sustainability is increasingly important to consumers, quality, functionality and price remain top priorities for many.

Media list price trends and market size

The media market stabilised last year and, as in previous years, the price value of the media space has grown, according to Nielsen's Ad Intel monitoring (2022 - CZK 125.5 billion, 2023 - CZK 134.8 billion**). Internet and TV maintain their position as strong media with continuous growth, while radio is also growing. Print remains flat and outdoor advertising shows only a slight improvement.

"We estimate that average TV inflation has exceeded the market inflation rate over the past year. However, the main reasons have shifted from factual (input prices, market uncertainty) to market (rising demand, lack of inventory). The market is experiencing growing demand and lack of inventory, especially for TV. This means that the price of media space has continued to rise, and - on average for the whole market - above the level of market inflation. So the question for this year is how to cope with these widening scissors," says Ondřej Novák, director of ASMEA (Association of Media Agencies).

Lidl the largest advertiser in 2023

For several years now, the top ten advertisers have been food chains, which have been competing with each other and increasing their investments in advertising. The only advertiser in this group that has not increased its investment by double digits is Sazka, which nevertheless ranks as the fifth largest advertiser in 2023.

The largest advertiser is the Lidl chain (CZK 1.966 billion), followed by Kaufland (CZK 1.9 billion) and Albert (CZK 1.6 billion).

In addition to food chains, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and electronics, which regularly top the charts of the largest contracting authorities, recreational services also made it into the top 5 categories this year. This is in an effort to respond to growing demand that has been suppressed in recent years.



The advertising report also states that marketers' salaries increased by 5.88% in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The full 2023 Advertising Report can be read here or in the document below.

Advertising Report 2023

Research methodology for estimating net investment

Methodology: The research was conducted through web-based data collection (CAWI). Respondents were contacted from the Activation Agencies client database, the processor's internal database and a specific sub-panel of the Czech National Panel.

Data collection: field data collection took place at the end of 2023.

Target group: Persons responsible for marketing communication as such and deciding on the amount and distribution of investment in marketing communication.

Sample: Data analysis was conducted on a sample of 116 respondents.

Source: mediaguru.cz