Media and Advertising Market Trends of Latvia in 2021

In 2021, the amount of advertising in Latvia has increased by 10.1% YoY, reaching 75.5 million Euros. The dynamics of the local market were affected by the pullout of Latvian public media from the advertising market, restrictions connected to COVID-19, and changes in the availability of Russian-language television programs. 

In general, the volume of advertising increased in all media segments in 2021 – except for newspapers and magazines. The greatest growth was observed in outdoor advertising (44.6%), which can be explained by changes in the market, rapid development of digital outdoor advertising, and opportunities that digital environments can offer to advertisers in reaching audiences. 

The radio segment grew by 13.8%, followed by the online market (10.1%). Online growth could have been higher if Latvian media had met the growing demand for video advertising. A huge amount of video ads is placed in foreign media and social media channels. There has been a large increase in the banner segment, a very small increase in video advertising, while the volume of sponsorship and content projects decreased. 

The relatively small increase in the TV segment (4.4%) can be explained by the pullout of Latvian public television from the advertising market, and the closing of several Russian-language television channels that could reach the Russian-speaking population of Latvia.

The market growth in 2021 was facilitated by the rapid development of e-commerce and the increasing competition in the retail segment – thanks to the entry of the retail network Lidl to the local market. According to the research company Kantar, the top 3 categories in the growth of ad spending were retail (38%), financial institutions and services (17%) and other food products (95%). At the same time, a 45% drop was observed in the pharma sector.

In terms of media consumption habits of different generations in Latvia, we could observe that online took over TV for the first time as the most popular media type. For generation Z, top media includes video and online music, too. For people over 60 – who were facing loneliness and prolonged isolation during COVID-19 –, expanded tech literacy has become a new skill that may stay with them long after the lockdowns have been lifted. Daily internet usage in the age group of 60-74 increased by 31%, and among 50-59 year-olds, by 17%. Therefore, people who had had a device but had not really used them previously became a new target group.