Upward trend continues in February

In February, the traditional advertising market continued the positive trend seen at the start of the year, recording a 2.8% increase in gross advertising pressure of CHF 264.3 million.

Out-of-home (+22.8%) was the main growth driver – including campaigns for the Sunrise Mobile subscription and Nescafé – followed by cinema (+12.5%), radio (+8.4%) and TV (+2.0%). Print, on the other hand, continued to decline at -12.0%.

In the digital market, the gross advertising pressure in February amounted to CHF 210.2 million. This reflects a channel-driven media mix: search leads the pack with a market share of 73.5 percent, followed by display (19.7%) and YouTube (7.4%).

The sharp year-on-year increase (+152.3%) is primarily driven by search (+335.6%) and not organic, as technical adjustments made by Google in 2025 led to restrictions in recording in the first quarter. As a result, comparability with the previous year is limited in some areas. However, the display delivery statistics also contributed to the increase in February 2026 (+26.5%). YouTube declined slightly (-6.2%).

---

Advertising pressure in the market as a whole

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

Positive trends in 12 sectors

The tobacco industry (+130.7%) recorded the largest percentage increase, driven largely by campaigns for Velo nicotine pouches and Davidoff cigarettes, but remains at the bottom of the rankings. Finance (68.5%), public transport companies (47.7%) and fashion & sport (41.3%) are also strong performers. Leisure, gastronomy, tourism (+25.4%) once again lead the ranking in February, supported by the strong OOH presence of McDonald’s restaurants and Swisslos Super Win For Life.

Downward trend in nine sectors

A total of nine sectors showed a decrease in advertising pressure compared to the previous year. The most significant percentage declines were seen in digital & household (-32.8%), vehicles (-30.8%) and retail trade (-25.2%). Despite this decline, retail trade (-25.2%) and food (-10.4%) remain among the sectors with the highest advertising impact. The telecommunications sector also saw a double-digit reduction in advertising pressure (-16.6%). Events (-3.3%), cosmetics & toiletries (-2.7%), building, industry, furnishings (-2.9%) and pharmaceuticals & health (-0.8%) were only slightly in the negative territory.

Sector ranking

Sector ranking for February 2026.

Top advertisers and products

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

Media Mix

Media mix for February.

---

Advertising pressure in the digital market

Development of advertising pressure up to February 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 February, the leisure, gastronomy, tourism sector ranked at the top of the list in both markets. Below this, however, the ranking differs significantly: in the traditional advertising market, retail trade and food follow, while finance and services play a greater role in the digital market. This pattern was already apparent in the previous month.

In both markets, the vehicles sector ranked seventh, while the fashion & sport and pharmaceuticals & health sectors were in the middle of the pack. The tobacco products, energy, media and cleaning sectors were in the bottom third of both markets. It is also striking that in the digital market, except for cosmetics & toiletries, media and tobacco products, all sectors recorded positive growth compared to the previous year.

The telecommunications industry is ranked fifth in the digital market and 13th in the traditional market. The opposite is true for initiatives & campaigns: in the traditional market, the sector is ranked fifth, while in the digital market it is ranked 14th. This suggests that digital channels are less important for the communications strategy.

Sector ranking

Sector ranking for February 2026.

Top digital products

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

February was clearly channel-driven in the digital market: while search remained strongly performance- and travel-oriented, display and YouTube were dominated by a more diverse mix of different offerings.

In the display sector, SPUSU.CH lead the ranking, followed by TUI REISEN and BRACK.CH. Travel provider Booking.com has been at the top of search since the beginning of the year, ahead of Axa.ch and Skyscanner.ch. On YouTube, the Japanese video game console Nintendo Switch 2 took first place, after being ranked second last month, with Digitec.ch and Knorr bouillon following behind.

No product or service ranked among the top positions in multiple channels at the same time. It is striking, however, that different travel providers are present in both display and search, while online retailers appear mainly in display and YouTube.

Media Mix

Media mix for February 2026.

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