Bulgarian businesses among lowest in using internet advertising – Eurostat
Bulgaria is among six countries in the European Union where businesses least make use of advertising on the internet, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on December 14.
Among EU countries in 2016, internet advertising was used by a third or more of enterprises in Malta (46 per cent), Sweden (42 per cent), Denmark (40 per cent), Ireland, Lithuania and Finland (all 33 per cent), while it concerned less than 20 per cent of enterprises in Romania (12 per cent), Portugal (15 per cent), France and Italy (both 18 per cent) as well as Bulgaria and Hungary (both 19 per cent).
About one in four EU businesses advertised online in 2016, with contextual advertising – meaning ads based on the content of the web pages internet surfers are viewing – largely prevailing, Eurostat said.
The agency said that in the past 15 years, the internet has redefined the output of traditional broadcast media — television and radio — as well as print media, such as magazines and newspapers.
The internet offers a number of new or extended services, particularly in marketing and advertising.
However, while about three-quarters of enterprises in the EU and employing at least 10 people had a website in 2016 and almost half used social media, just a quarter (25 per cent) used internet advertising.
Businesses running their marketing campaigns on the internet have developed targeted advertisement methods that increase the likelihood of their promotional marketing messages reaching the right audience.
Used by over three-quarters (78 per cent) of EU businesses advertising online, contextual advertising was by far the most popular type of targeted internet advertising.
This was followed by geo-targeting advertisement (ads based on the users’ geographic location) with 30 per cent and behavioural targeting advertisement (ads based on users’ past browsing activities using cookies) with 27 per cent, while the use of other methods of targeted advertising was reported by 35 per cent of EU businesses.
In every EU Member State, contextual advertising was by far the main type of targeted online advertising used by enterprises.
The highest proportions of enterprises using contextual advertising for their internet campaigns were recorded in the Czech Republic and Poland (both 89 per cent), ahead of Romania (84 per cent), Greece, Latvia and the Netherlands (all 83 per cent), Germany, France and Slovenia (all 82 per cent), Lithuania and Finland (both 81 per cent) as well as Hungary (80 per cent).
Geo-targeting was used by more than half of enterprises advertising online in Cyprus (53 per cent) and by around 40 per cent of them in Ireland (43 per cent), Malta (41 per cent), the Netherlands (40 per cent), Latvia and Finland (both 39 per cent).
For behavioural targeting, the highest shares were recorded in Cyprus (48 per cent), the Netherlands and Finland (both 42 per cent).
In Bulgaria, contextual advertising was 73 per cent, geo-targeting 23 per cent, behavioural 21 per cent, while other methods of targeted ads accounted for 31 per cent, Eurostat said – noting that the same enterprise may report advertising practices in several or all categories.
(Photo: UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz)
/Business
