Advertising in Portugal - statistics & facts
Advertising puts the sellers of products or services in contact with potential clients, being of utmost importance to the success of any business. Equally important is the choice of the most suitable channels for advertisements to reach each company’s target audience. Portugal’s advertising landscape is marked by the dominance of TV ads. Portuguese largely trust television even though there is a growing relevance of online forms of advertising, particularly social media advertising.
Furthermore, Portuguese people do not feel represented by the advertisement that they see or hear, and, overall, they prefer creative adverts, and tend to easily identify ads and the brands behind them. This may explain why some of the country’s leading companies are also the biggest advertisers in value of investments. There is some overlap with the most identifiable brands in ads, with hypermarkets and telecommunication providers producing the most memorable advertisements for the Portuguese.
Traditional advertising in Portugal
Television, radio, print, and outdoor advertising constitute the traditional channels for adverts in Portugal. If television is the main vehicle for advertising investment in the country, ad spending in press advertising has been declining progressively, as occurs with radio ads. The most noticeable particularity of the changes that are occurring in press advertising is the increasing relevance of digital press ads over print press ads, which may be justified by the growing share of individuals accessing online news platforms in the country.Digital advertising in Portugal
Digital ad spend has been growing in Portugal, just as happens in the rest of Western Europe. Online search ads are the format that attracts more investment, which reached 399 million euros in 2023. Nevertheless, other forms of online advertising have been proving themselves very lucrative, such as influencer advertising. With the number of social media users increasing, influencers have become an important element of the advertising industry due to the trustworthiness that their endorsements represent to followers. This is proven by the fact that a considerable share of consumers have bought products based on the recommendations of influencers.Behavior towards ads
Personal data, such as the online behavior of internet users, is transferred to companies several times a day. Companies then use these data for targeted advertising. Despite feeling annoyed by this type of ads, the Portuguese tolerate them if they get free content in return.Furthermore, Portuguese people do not feel represented by the advertisement that they see or hear, and, overall, they prefer creative adverts, and tend to easily identify ads and the brands behind them. This may explain why some of the country’s leading companies are also the biggest advertisers in value of investments. There is some overlap with the most identifiable brands in ads, with hypermarkets and telecommunication providers producing the most memorable advertisements for the Portuguese.
