Advertising market remains stable in May

After a stable April, May also maintained a positive trajectory. May generated CHF 354.6 million, slightly up on the previous year (+0.2 percent). In May, the traditional advertising market reached a cumulative gross advertising pressure of CHF 1’555.2 million, up 0.5 percent on the previous year.

A mixed picture emerged from the traditional media categories: in May, print (-12.1%) and radio (-14.1%) recorded year-on-year declines. In contrast, TV (+4.3%), out-of-home (+10.5%) and, in particular, cinema (+31.1%) posted significant gains.

In the digital market, the gross advertising pressure in May amounted to CHF 221.4 million, slightly lower than the previous month of April (CHF 223.0 million). A comparison to the previous year – especially for search and YouTube – remains limited. Search dominated with a share of 68.9 percent, followed by display with 24.0 percent and YouTube with 7.1 percent.

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Advertising pressure in the market as a whole

Advertising pressure development up to May 2026 in CHF million gross.

Positive industry trends continue

In the traditional advertising market, 12 out of 21 sectors performed positively in May. This means that the industry outlook is one sector better than it was in April. Personal care showed the strongest percentage increase, up 41.0 percent, followed by cleaning (+37.3) and telecommunications (+36.8%). The media sector (+14.9%), vehicles (+10.9%) and energy (+10.4%) also showed significant growth. The cosmetics & toiletries sector stagnated.

Decline in just nine sectors

By contrast, nine sectors recorded a decrease in advertising pressure compared to the previous year. The largest percentage declines were found for tobacco products, down 37.5 percent, followed by services (-21.7%) and events (-19.5%). The food industry also declined by 3.7 percent, but remained the sector with the highest advertising pressure in the traditional market in May and in YTD comparison.

Digital & household (-17.8%), fashion & sport (-15.6%), leisure, gastronomy, tourism (-9.4%) and building, industry, furnishings (-5.1%) also declined. Public transport companies (-0.2%) just barely placed in negative territory.

Sector ranking

Sector ranking for May 2026.

Top advertisers and products

The top advertisers and most advertised products and services (excluding range, image and other advertising) in May 2026.

Media Mix

Media mix for May.

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Advertising pressure in the digital market

Development of advertising pressure up to May 2026 in CHF million gross.

*The traditional advertising market and the digital channels (search, YouTube, display) are shown separately to enable better comparability with the previous year. Fluctuations in online recording can be exacerbated by external influences – in particular, by technical updates undertaken by major platforms such as Google or YouTube. This applies in particular to search, which sees regular changes that may affect the ability to compare gross advertising pressure with the previous year.

Sector ranking YTD: traditional vs. digital channels in comparison

In May, the food sector topped the traditional market despite a decline compared to the previous year. Retail trade and finance took second and third place, both generating a percentage increase in advertising pressure compared to the previous year. The financial sector also ranked in the top three in the digital market, coming second ahead of services (third place) and behind leisure, gastronomy, tourism (first place).

It is particularly striking that in the digital market, all but four sectors (beverages, cosmetics & toiletries, events, and cleaning) showed growth compared to the previous year, while the picture in the traditional market is much more mixed.

The difference in weighting in the individual sectors is also noteworthy: while food ranked first in the traditional market, it was 12th in the digital market. Conversely, the services sector ranked 12th in the traditional market, while it placed third in the digital market.

In both rankings, the vehicles sector was in the top third; pharmaceuticals & health and fashion & sport took the middle third; and media, energy, cleaning and tobacco products the bottom third.

Sector ranking

Sector ranking for May 2026.

Top digital products

The most advertised products and services (excluding range, image and other advertising) in May 2026.

Search dominated the media mix at 68.9 percent and continues to be heavily influenced by travel, comparison and financial offers. Booking.com remained in pole position, followed by Comparis.ch and Skyscanner.ch. This ranking was already evident in the previous month of April.

Display and YouTube showed a broader mix of telecommunications, mobility, consumer goods, entertainment and tourism. The Coop campaign for Taten-Statt-Worte.ch topped the ranking in display, followed by Denner Sponsoring in second place and Pet Recycling Switzerland in third. Denner Sponsoring advanced six places compared to the previous month. On YouTube, the game Yoshi and the Mysterious Book ranked first, followed by Tomodachi Life, which was in third place last month, and Pepsi Zero, which took ninth place last month. Pokemon Pokopia brought up the rear after being in the top position last month.

The strong presence of alternative nicotine products across various channels is also striking: while the IQOS tobacco heating system ranked eighth among the most popular display advertisers, ZYN placed fourth on YouTube with the ZYN tobacco-free nicotine pouches. This emphasizes the sustained high level of advertising activity in the smoke-free nicotine products segment

Media Mix

Media mix for May 2026.

Contact: mediafocus@mediafocus.ch, Tel.: +41 43 322 27 50