Slight upswing as holiday season begins
Advertising Market Trend
July 2025
July 2025 saw a slight recovery in the “traditional” Swiss advertising market: with gross advertising pressure of CHF 253.6 million, it came in +2.9 percent higher than the same month in the previous year. This marks the market’s first return to positive territory in 2025.
In the year to date (YTD), the traditional advertising market has achieved gross advertising pressure of CHF 2.11 billion, down 2.8 percent on 2024.
The media groups presented a mixed picture in July. While out-of-home continues its positive development, growing by +14.8 percent, cinema was the real surprise, with a striking increase of +83.7 percent – a clear indication of the summer blockbuster season. By contrast, print (-4.1%) and radio (-6.5%) recorded declines, while TV remained relatively stable at -1.3 percent.
With gross advertising pressure of CHF 157.0 million in July 2025, there was practically no change in the digital advertising market compared to the same month of the previous year (-0.1%). This is a marked improvement on previous months, which in some cases brought double-digit decline. To date, gross digital advertising pressure amounts to CHF 866.1 million, down 28.3 percent. Search remains the leader among the channels with a market share of 61.3 percent, but fell slightly year-on-year (-6.0%). Display, on the other hand, performed positively, increasing by +16.6 percent and reaching a share of 27.4 percent. YouTube was largely stagnant (-1.0%), holding its own with a share of 11.3 percent.
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.
Advertising pressure in the market as a whole
Advertising pressure development up to July 2025 in CHF million gross.
Retail and food on the rise
Overall, 12 out of 21 sectors managed to increase their advertising pressure in July compared with the same month in the previous year. In the traditional advertising market, retail remains the undisputed leader. With CHF 34.0 million in July, an increase of 30.5 percent over the previous year, and a cumulative total of CHF 244.1 million YTD, it remains the strongest advertising sector in 2025. The food industry also posted strong growth in July, with an increase of 21.4 percent. Other winners of the month include construction, industry and furnishings with growth of 31.5 percent, telecommunications with 23.1 percent, public transport with 27.2 percent and personal care with a remarkable increase of 40.2 percent.
Decline in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and energy
By contrast, nine sectors recorded a decline in July. Particularly affected were cosmetics & toiletries with a decline of -21.8 percent and pharmaceuticals & health, at -35.5 percent. After achieving significant growth in July 2024, these two sectors are now among the clear losers. There was further negative development in initiatives & campaigns, down by -18.9 percent on the previous year. Also under pressure are leisure, gastronomy and tourism and the automotive sector, with falls of -19.8 percent and -19.5 percent respectively. The decline was even greater in the cleaning industry, which recorded a drop of -22.7 percent in the traditional market in July, which kept it at the lower end of the sector ranking.
Sector ranking
Sector ranking for July.
Top advertisers and products
The top advertisers and most advertised products and services (excluding range, image and other advertising) in July.
Media Mix
Media mix for July.
Advertising pressure in the digital market
Development of advertising pressure up to July 2025 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
Retail remains in the top three in both markets. With a share of CHF 244.1 million YTD, it takes first place in the traditional advertising market, while a market share of 17.4 percent YTD puts it in second place in the digital advertising market.
The food (CHF 236.9 million) and finance (CHF 160.6 million) sectors round out the top three in the traditional market. In the digital market, however, the leisure, gastronomy and tourism sector remains in the lead with a share of 19.3 percent, followed by retail (17.4%) and finance (12.7%).
In both the digital and traditional markets, the beverage, cosmetics & toiletries, pharmaceuticals & health and fashion & sports sectors are positioned in the middle of the ranking.
Despite stable figures, cleaning (0.2%) and tobacco (0.5%) are at the bottom of the digital market. In the traditional market, the tobacco (CHF 7.4 million/-50.0%), energy (CHF 14.0 million/-22.2%) and media (CHF 23.6 million/+5.8%) sectors are at the lower end of the industry ranking in terms of gross advertising pressure.
Sector ranking
Sector ranking for July.
Top digital products
The most advertised products and services (excluding range, image and other advertising) in July.
In display advertising, the Yuh mobile app took the top spot in July, replacing Activ Fitness’s campaign, which led in June. In search, booking.com confirms its undisputed leadership and remains the dominant product – as it has been since the beginning of the year. Tourism Switzerland led the YouTube ranking in July, while Pepsi Zero and McDonald’s restaurants are among the top three.
Several brands that played an important role in June have fallen out of the top ranks in July. For example, Tchibo ladies’ clothing, which led YouTube in June, no longer appears in the top 10. Temu.com, which had a major presence on YouTube in June, is no longer listed in the current ranking. Nivea remains visible on YouTube, but only with the product Luminous630 Skin Glow Serum.
Swiss Air Lines is among the top products both with its flight advertising in the display ranking and sponsorship on YouTube.
New to the upper ranks in July are campaigns such as the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 along with tobacco alternatives, including the IQOS tobacco heating system and the ZYN tobacco-free nicotine pouches, which are gaining visibility in the digital environment. All told, July presents a mix of stable frontrunners like booking.com, cross-platform brands such as Swiss Air Lines, and new campaigns covering a wide range of products.
Media Mix
Media mix for July.
Contact: mediafocus@mediafocus.ch, Tel.: +41 43 322 27 50
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