Upswing after the summer vacation

In the traditional advertising market, August built on the previous month’s growth. With advertising pressure of CHF 262.0 million, August was 1.0 percent higher than the previous year. The Swiss advertising market achieved a cumulative advertising pressure of CHF 2’395.9 million YTD, once again exceeding the previous year’s level by 1.1 percent.

The traditional media groups presented a mixed picture in August. While print (-12.5%) and TV (-8.5%) declined year-on-year, radio (+6.4%) and cinema (+5.8%) showed growth. Out-of-home’s development was particularly dynamic, with an increase of 22.0 percent. In addition to Pro Schweiz’s neutrality campaign, the Galaxus, IKEA and McDonald’s campaigns also contributed to significantly more out-of-home advertising pressure than in August 2025.

Looking at the media groups’ performance YTD, all media groups declined except out-of-home (+17.5 percent), which contributed to the overall growth.

In the digital market, gross advertising pressure in August amounted to just CHF 114.5 million, down on the previous year for the first time this year at -33.9 percent. However, this decline should not be interpreted as an organic market development; rather, it is largely shaped by external technical factors affecting data collection.*

A comparison to the previous year – especially for search and YouTube – remains limited. Search dominated with a share of 50.1 percent, followed by display with 36.4 percent and YouTube with 13.5 percent.

*Google implemented a security update at the beginning of July, which led to higher volatility in data collection. The situation improved again over the course of the month. We are working on stabilizing data collection in the long term.

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Advertising pressure in the market as a whole

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

Positive performance in eleven sectors

In August, the personal care sector recorded the strongest percentage growth with +32.2 percent, mainly due to the Fielmann Optik Image out-of-home campaign and the TV campaign Purina Pro Plan pet food and Pflege from Nestlé. Nevertheless, the sector is in the lower third of the table. Construction, industry and furnishings posted the second-largest growth at 30.1 percent and positioned itself in the top third of the ranking. This is followed by digital & household (+28.7%), initiatives & campaigns (+25.2%) and telecommunications (+22.9%).

Despite a decline in advertising pressure compared to the previous year, the food industry is at the top of the table for the current month with +13.1 percent. Among sectors with positive performance, the finance sector (+18.6%) rounds off the podium at third place.

Public transport companies, fashion & sport and services also posted percentage increases compared to the previous year.

Decline in ten sectors

In contrast, ten sectors recorded significant declines compared with the same month of the previous year. The tobacco products sector was particularly affected, with a decline of 63.8 percent, followed by vehicles (-35.1%), cosmetics & toiletries (-28.6%), energy (-28.1%) and cleaning (-21.8%). The retail sector remains in second place as in the previous month, despite a percentage decline of 20.6 percent.

Sector ranking

Sector ranking for August 2026.

Top advertisers and products

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

Media Mix

Media mix for August.

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Advertising pressure in the digital market

Development of advertising pressure up to August 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

As of August, the food industry continued to lead the traditional advertising market, followed by retail trade and finance in second and third place. This means that the ranking has remained unchanged since June. The picture is similar in the digital market: the food industry ranks only twelfth, while the financial sector and retail trade are also in second and third place in the digital market. Leisure, gastronomy and tourism clearly lead the digital ranking YTD, with the sector ranking second behind retail trade in August. In the traditional market, the sector grew by 17.5 percent, landing it in fourth place.

In both markets, the vehicles sector has held its ground in seventh place. Pharmaceuticals & health, fashion & sport and beverages are in the middle third of both markets, while the media, energy, cleaning and tobacco products sectors are in the lower third of the markets.

Sector ranking

Sector ranking for August 2026.

Top digital products

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

Search continues to dominate the digital media mix with a share of 50.1 percent, despite technical difficulties in data collection (see above). As in previous months, the advertising environment is dominated primarily by travel, comparison and financial offers. As has been the case since the beginning of the year, Booking.com is at the top, followed by Trivago.ch and Swisscom.ch. Trivago.ch moved up from third to second place compared to the previous month.

Display and YouTube showed a broader mix of telecommunications, consumer goods, entertainment and tourism. As has continued since February, the mobile provider Spusu.ch leads the ranking in display, followed by Pet Recycling Schweiz in second place and Ricola Kräuterbonbons in third. On YouTube, the e-commerce company Digitec.ch ranks first, followed by Disney+ and the YouTube Music mobile app.

No product or service managed to stay in the top 10 across several channels.

Media Mix

Media mix for August 2026.

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