WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ONLINE MARKETING IN CEE COUNTRIES
by Dariusz Geiger
If you consider taking the plunge into a new market, you should check necessarily some crucial factors before – if it’s an online marketing-based business, there are some specific needs to deal with.
First of all you have to consider, how big the market is (audience and its wealth).
Secondly it is necessary to find out, how many people do really have internet access. Thirdly you should know, which kind of devices people use to connect to the internet. Fourthly ask yourself, if it is possible to pinpoint a group of countries which are more advanced than others?
These four points are enough, although for sure there are many more issues to resolve, maybe even more important ones– e.g. related to competition.
Let’s imagine that the CEE region has caught your eye; you are expecting a very promising 300-million market and it needs your business. However, it’s too risky to setup your division in every capital of 20 countries encompassing Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Ukraine and Russia, to name just a few.
The “Do You CEE” report by Gemius and IAB Europe indicates a few CEE countries which are most attractive for the online marketing business – these are Russia, Poland, Turkey and the Czech Republic. Except the last one, these three countries have medium/ big markets.
The share of people accessing the Internet sounds good (approximately 30 – 60 percent). Summed up, CEE countries have (together) 233 million internet users.
The greatest amount of online ad spend can be found in Russia, Poland but also in the Czech Republic and Ukraine. As Google dominates there in terms of search marketing, the lion’s share of the online marketing market in the CEE region belongs to Russia.
According to eMarketer, digital ad spendings in CEE countries achieved $4, 5 billion in 2013. Russia contributed approximately 40 % of this value and is also a dominant force when it comes to the mobile marketing market. According to eMarketer, mobile internet ad spendings in CEE countries surpassed the $162 million limit (including $62-million contribution by Russia) in 2013.
