Advertising market will be surprisingly lively in 2024 – print media is ahead

The local one advertising market gained surprisingly strong momentum in 2024. The gross advertising volume (including direct marketing and sponsorship) increased by 7.2 percent to 7.13 billion euros, according to current data from the Focus Institute. The majority of this came from traditional media, with an increase of 6.2 percent to 4.96 billion euros. The number one advertising medium remained print, followed by television. Private broadcasters cut the advertising volume on ORF.

In direct marketing, the gross advertising value fell slightly by 0.3 percent to 539 million euros in 2024 compared to 2023, while the sponsorship volume, which is considered volatile, jumped by 13.2 percent to 1.63 billion euros.

Focus managing director Ronald Luisser spoke in a press conference on Tuesday of a “very positive, very impressive result” in the advertising year 2024. The year before that was very weak – with almost all months in the negative range. The outlook for 2025 is less dynamic. “The forecast growth is restrained.” A marginal increase of 0.7 percent is expected.

Growth largely attributable to food trade

In 2024, the increase in the classic area was “almost entirely attributable to trade and shipping” – and above all to the food trade, explained Luisser. Rewe, Spar & Co wooed thrifty consumers with promotions and discounts. According to Focus, the trading area increased gross spending by 117.3 million euros and was therefore “mainly responsible for the positive overall figures for 2024”. There were also significant increases in the food industry and pharmaceuticals (plus 22.6 million euros each) as well as hotels and restaurants (plus 20.5 million euros).

However, the biggest decline was in the furniture and furnishings trade (minus 31 million euros). The trigger was, among other things, the recent Kika/Leiner bankruptcy, as a result of which Lutz invested less in advertising. The areas of marketing/advertising/printing (minus 14.7 million euros), chocolate and confectionery (minus 13.4 million euros), sports retail (minus 9.4 million euros) and insurance also reported noticeably less advertising (minus 9 million euros).

Print remained the most important advertising channel

The print sector remained the most important advertising channel with an increase of 1.3 percent to 1.78 billion euros, followed by television with 1.47 billion euros (plus 8.1 percent) and online with 1.06 billion (plus 12 .4 percent). Behind them by a significant distance, but with some strong growth, were outdoor advertising (posters, etc.) with 338 million euros (plus 11.9 percent), radio with 299 million euros (plus 1.1 percent) and cinema with 14 million euros (plus 9.5 percent). Within the print sector, daily newspapers proved to be the biggest support, with an increase in advertising volume of more than 4 percent. In outdoor advertising, the digital sector was the growth driver.

The stated advertising expenditure results in a – declining – market share for print of 35.8 percent (2023: 37.6 percent) and a slightly increasing market share for television of 29.7 percent (2023: 29.2 percent) and for online of 21.4 percent (2023: 20.2 percent). A further 6.8 percent comes from outdoor advertising (2023: 6.5 percent), 6 percent from radio (2023: 6.3 percent) and an unchanged 0.3 percent from cinema.

Private broadcasters are increasingly taking advertising revenue away from ORF

Basically, all advertising genres would have developed positively – to varying degrees – in 2024. According to Focus, advertising volume in the radio sector only grew marginally, with a total increase of 1.1 percent. In detail, a more differentiated picture emerges: “While the private radio stations performed above average, the ORF had to accept a decline of 3.2 percent,” says the two Focus managing directors Ronald Luisser and Michael Degner. The dynamics in the television sector were similar, with double-digit growth for private TV channels and a decline of around 3 percent for ORF – overall growth in this area reached 8 percent.