If one thing defined the Bosnian market last year, it is that everything cost more.
The year began with a sharp rise in the minimum wage in both entities. It lifted spending power but also fed into prices. Growth slowed and inflation returned after a quiet period.
Advertising followed the same logic. Total investment grew by around 6%, to an estimated €46.6 to €52.1 million, but most of that came from higher media prices, not more advertising. TV inflation was steepest, with online close behind. The media split barely moved: TV still takes around six of every ten euros, digital roughly a fifth, and out of home about a tenth. What changed was how far a budget went.
Who was advertising changed more than where. Domestic retail chains became the loudest voices on television, taking the top spots that international FMCG groups held a year earlier. The timing is not accidental: Lidl is expected to open its first stores here, likely in 2027, and local chains are buying share of voice while they still own the shelf. Pharmaceutical and wellness brands also moved up. Several large multinationals cut their TV weight, and the reason may be measurement rather than strategy. The year was also front-loaded, with activity above 2024 early on and below it in the final quarter.
Television did not lose ground. Average daily viewing was slightly higher than in 2024, at a little over five hours. The nuance is who is watching: viewing grew among people over 45 and slipped among the youngest. The audience is ageing rather than disappearing, so TV stays efficient for mass reach but narrows for young targets.
Digital kept growing, and its main constraint did not move. Internet penetration is approaching 90%. TikTok is among the most used platforms here, yet still sells no advertising locally, and neither do Pinterest or Twitch. That keeps budgets on Meta, YouTube, and a genuinely strong set of domestic publishers. Podcast listening levelled off after years of fast growth.
Out of home saw the year's clearest structural change: the launch of DION, the programmatic digital out-of-home network, making local screen inventory buyable in the same way as digital.
Regulation is the story to watch in 2026. During 2025, the state Ministry of Communications and Transport worked on a draft Law on Electronic Media aligned with the European framework: a ban on surreptitious advertising, tighter rules for alcohol, tobacco, and medicines, and video-sharing platforms in scope. None of it is law yet.
A word on measurement. Since 2024, the TV currency has been a hybrid model that combines historical peoplemeter data with an agreed methodology rather than live metering. Clients who know the market are comfortable with it: it is built and governed by the Joint Industry Committee, with broadcasters and agencies at the table. A return to metered measurement is the plan and the regulation is ready, but adoption will realistically follow the October 2026 general elections and the formation of a new government.
