In my view the most developed part of the CEE markets is Czech Republic followed by Poland and Hungary. Online advertising spending is the highest in those three countries, however, we can now see that the gap between these places and the rest of the CEE region is closing. Hence, the smaller markets are becoming more attractive for foreign investments or joint venture capital.
In terms of numbers Polish market is the biggest in the CEE. There is the biggest number of Internet users. Therefore this country is a crucial market for all companies which would like to dominatein the region. The Czech market seems to be the most developed and most technologically advanced but this factor may make it the most difficult to enter. One domestic search engine still dominates the Czech landscape. The Hungarian market is very competitive and therefore also not easy to enter.
Russia has become a very attractive market with great future, but it needs little consolidation. In the nearest future if the rate of growth and investment carries on, it may emerge as big as a Western market. As for the future, more and more advertisers will focus on online advertising and it will become their preferrable media channel. As a result, there will be more investment into the digital world. The biggest portion of online adspend will be consumed by pay per click advertising followed by display and rich media advertising.'
Etarget operates in Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Romanian market. Their expansion plans include Poland and other countries.