After five years of continuous drops, the Romanian advertising market is set to return to growth in 2014, a report by ZenithOptimedia predicts.

The local ad market is expected to go up 1.9 percent in 2014, the first of a predicted ten-year growth period. However, the forecasted growth in Romania is below that expected globally, of 5.3 percent. ZenithOptimedia believes the increase will be of 5.8 percent in 2015 and 2016, mainly fueled by mobile technology.

The agency keeps an optimistic, yet reserved stance on Romania. “We expect 2014 to be the long awaited year, and to reverse the trend. We are optimistic because there are large events which should attract additional investments locally too. We are optimistic because, no matter how the GDP or the consumption evolve, the total drop of the media market in the last year has exceeded the bleakest predictions. We are however reserved as local politics can play an important part, as it has in the past, by deepening the media crisis,” according to the agency.

TV will continue to dominate the media mix, while digital will continue its growth. ZenithOptimedia expects digital video advertising to bring new life to the market and to change the balance of forces between performance and display.

Worldwide, the growth in advertising consumption will be fueled by the Olympic games, the World Football Cup and the US elections in 2014, as well as by the stabilization of the European advertising market, according to the report.

editor@romania-insider.com