ROADS: Telecom sector is leading in online ad spending in Romania

Telecom sector maintains its leadership when it comes of budgets invested in Romanian online advertising in the first half of 2013, with RON 7.3M invested on a market with a total value of RON 45.5M, according to the most recent ROADS study.

According to the study, the value of Romanian online advertising market in S1 2013 was of RON 45.5M, down 2% compared to the same period last year.

Next in line when it comes of budgets invested in online advertising are banking (RON 4.4M) and auto (RON 4.2M).

When it comes of ad formats preferred by advertisers, embedded ads remain the most used in Romanian online advertising in S1 2013, followed by Interruptive Formats.

When it comes of market dynamics, the study shows a descending trend both compared with S1 2012 and the 2nd half of last year (-12%). Considering the value of online ad investments reported within the study, the descending of the market is even more abrupt(-23% compared to S2 2012 and -17% compared to S1 2012).

ROADS included this year, for the 1st time, a series of Romanian media agencies, in order to measure also investments in external networks, not just local publishers. The study also included 3 new segments, namely search engines, social media and foreign networks. The number of companies participating to the study reached to 23.

Online advertising continues to have a good growth potential on medium and long term and the results for S1 2013 can be just an stage incident, considering companies’ marketing budgets were under pressure during this period. More time is needed for marketers to comprehend and seize the possibilities offered by the online environment, and media companies and advertisers must identify new ways to deliver quantifiable results to online advertising clients in order to convince them to invest in promotion, even considering the actual difficult economical situation

Bogdan Belciu,

Partner Consultancy Services for Management, PwC Romania

The start of the year was a very prudent one when it comes of investments in online advertising – as we can see from S1 results, it is a test year for local publishers. We expect a refreshment for the second half of 2013, an increase probable generated also by the promotions and stimulating buys periods. This year, we introduced in ROADS the media agencies also, and the 3 new segments  (search engines, social media and foreign networks) will surely help us identify more clearly the structure of the investments in online advertising and increase the relevance of the study. We’re expecting, for the new editions of the study, even more participants from this category

Cristi Petriceanu,

President IAB Romania.

ROADS (Romanian Online Advertising Study) is the most relevant study for Romanian online advertising industry. Initiated in 2008, ROADS offers relevant data on net online advertising investments and puts together both data provided by local publishers and media sales houses