With a population of 37 million adults, Poland is the fifth most populous EU member state. Poland has also been significantly less hit economically by the pandemic than the UK (its gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 3.5% in 2020, vs. almost 10% in the UK). With GDP growing beyond the EU average every year for the past few years (and forecast to grow by 3-4% in 2021, a quick bounce-back), Poland represents a growing, and economically interesting area of the European market.
Alongside a growing economy, Poland offers some excellent media opportunities. All Response Media achieved TV CPTs have been as low as €1.50 for media activity running across Q1-Q2, 5x lower than some other European markets, and about 40-50% cheaper than direct response CPTs in popular European TV markets like the UK and Germany.
Of course, to deliver response – we also need the right market conditions to translate low-price into value. Happily, that’s something we’ve achieved; one All Response Media advertiser launched in Poland with a CPA 20% below their launch target, and 40% lower than a launch in Germany the year prior. Whilst these kind of results should be caveated, in that country launches, particularly in different months, cannot be easily compared due to the multitude of external factors that can impact TV response, this shows us that Polish TV doesn’t just provide cheap media – it also has the potential to deliver response.
Perhaps Poland wasn’t top of your market launch list when considering new European markets to launch in, but it’s important when thinking about growing your business to look for the niches where you can grow effectively and efficiently. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know when considering Polish media.
- In 2020, the average Polish individual watched 4 hours 20 minutes of TV (amongst the highest in Europe), as high as 7 hours for 50+ adults. Interestingly, numbers were almost as high in 2019, at 4 hours 16 minutes on average. Polish people are 37% more likely than the global average to be interested in TV, increasing reach opportunities and engagement. 95% report ‘watching any kind of TV’ at least once a week but are significantly less likely to watch ‘on demand’ (43% vs. global population) – making broadcast TV King.
- TV isn’t the only important medium to reach Polish people. They’re also 33% more likely than the global average to use social media to research products to buy – over-indexing for Facebook and YouTube use, and under-indexing for Twitter and Instagram.
- Polish people are more likely to advocate for the brands that they love. 66% said they would advocate for high quality products online, 34% higher than the global average.
- Poland offers great opportunities for Ecommerce, particularly post-pandemic. For all categories of product types except for groceries (from clothing and shoes, to medicine and healthcare), Poland ranked above the global average for having purchased in the past year. Year-on-year trends also increased, with respondents an average of 12% more likely to have purchased these products online than when asked in Q1 2020, driven by lockdowns.
There are also some interesting interest and demographic niches that make Poland a particularly responsive opportunity for some advertisers:
- Polish people are 30% more likely to be parents than the global average, increasing responsiveness potential for family-oriented brands.
- They are 50% more likely than the global average to want to explore the world and travel, with 52% more likely to regularly vacation abroad.
- They are 31% more likely than the global average to highly value their appearance – a good opportunity for self-care, cosmetics, and fitness brands.
- Polish people are 23% more likely to be interested in music, 34% more likely to be interested in cooking. They’re also 10% more likely to be confident using new technology and a significant 90% more likely to have purchased headphones in the last 3-6 months.
What else do you need to know about the media landscape?
- The data they are collecting is getting better. In May 2020, the AGB panel, along with Nielsen (equivalent to BARB measurement panel in the UK), increased its panel size by almost double in terms of number of people, to 9400 individuals, allowing more precise data including for small channels.
- Poland has a very broad selection of TV channels available, just behind Italy at 210 including regional channels. This is a great advantage to performance advertisers, allowing a competitive, low-price landscape and opportunities to optimise mix.
- TV price inflation was 0% in 2020 and remains low most years. We also tend to see stable pricing in general, due to a strategy of ‘98% sell out’ from TV saleshouses.
- Booking deadlines tend to be roughly 3-4 weeks in advance and are fairly flexible. However, there is less potential for ‘late deals’ – and booking early usually achieves best results.
- Buying is a hybrid model of ‘cost per spot’ (usually for premium packages) and ‘cost per GRP’ buys (similar to CPT – in that you pay for number of impacts and ratings) – usually for package buys. Both have advantages for different advertiser and campaign types – and All Response Media can combine both to deliver the best results for your campaign.
- As in other markets – TV has been very unpredictable throughout the pandemic – with a mixture of under and over-selling – meaning saleshouses missed revenue targets and many retail campaigns have been delayed. Polish saleshouses, with pricing already low, are generally reluctant to give additional discounts in lean times – instead over-delivering existing advertisers. This often benefits small/new advertisers who tend to buy at slightly higher pricing than large brands, to get more control over airtime and are therefore favoured with over-delivery.
When considering creative messaging, some other key things to consider:
- Polish people are 45% more likely than average to self-identify as ‘price conscious’ – so messaging on pricing and discounts should be transparent.
- There is no Clearcast equivalent in Poland – TV stations approve creative individually.
All Response Media viewpoint
We work to give your business an unfair competitive advantage – using advanced data and high-level planning expertise to deliver better results to you as an advertiser. When considering international market launches, one way to do this is taking a well-informed but neutral approach to which markets to prioritise, and which media will best work best for your business goals.
Working from our Amsterdam office, where we run advertising campaigns all over Europe, and with partners on the ground in Poland – this enables us to deliver you efficient launch campaigns, tailored to market-nuances but with the high-level of data expertise we have across our international business. Poland is a market that combines low media pricing, high TV station testing potential, a growing GDP and some interesting population demographic and interest nuances to allow us to deliver you more effective results. If you’re interested in launching in Poland, or any other European market – make sure to speak to your relevant contact for more information.
Read more information on our TV services.
