Growth of domestic digital advertising

Online advertising in Croatia reached almost 90 million euros.

The results of the IAB Croatia study Online AdEx show that the total value of investments in online advertising in Croatia in 2021 is estimated at more than half a billion kuna, i.e. 89,970,000 euros, and based on the collected data, likely to show growth of almost 8% in 2022.

IAB Croatia presented the first Croatian assessment of investment in online advertising, IAB’s Online Advertising Expenditure (AdEx). For the first time, a long-awaited industry review gives the Croatian digital market valuable data based on research by a professional and independent organisation focused on digital development and interactive marketing. 

Leading IAB Europe economist Daniel Knapp concluded we live in times of geopolitical uncertainty and complete transformation of the advertising industry, so understanding the market and anticipating its development with IAB’s AdEx will be crucial for anyone communicating digitally.

The growth of online advertising

According to the IAB Online AdEx research, the Croatian online advertising market constantly grows with global trends. In 2021, the value was estimated at almost 90 million, or 89,970,000 euros, while the expected growth in 2022 is about 8%.

Domestic publishers represent almost two-thirds of display advertising. 

The largest share in 2021 is realised by display advertising with 39%, followed by search engine advertising with 19%, and advertising on social networks. 

It’s estimated that these channels will continue to dominate in 2022. 

One-third of the investment in display advertising is related to video formats, and as much as half of display advertising is spent programmatically.

Users and advertisers prefer mobile devices

Online advertising is dominated by mobile advertising. In 2021 the share of mobile advertising in total online advertising was 72%. In 2022, a trend of further growth and dominance is projected, and mobile advertising will take over 77% of total online advertising. 

Interestingly, as many as 80% of users consume video content on mobile devices, and it is predicted that this number will grow to 85% in 2022.

The dominance of global platforms

The dominance of Meta Inc is visible in advertising on social networks: Facebook has a share of 54%, and Instagram holds 39%. All other social networks make up only 7% of total social advertising.

The growth trend of Instagram in 2022 has been estimated. Video advertising is also dominated by global platforms, where almost 60% of investments go to YouTube, and an additional 26% go to Facebook.