Economic Impact of Digital Ads for CEE Companies

In October 2025, the EPPP – European Public Policy Partnership conducted the project Economic Impact of Digital Ads for CEE Companies, focusing on the role of personalized online advertising in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Central and Eastern Europe. The initiative explored how businesses in countries such as Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, and Croatia use digital advertising tools within Europe’s high-standards regulatory framework. The project aimed to better understand how SMEs use targeting to reach relevant customers, optimize limited budgets, and refine their marketing strategies, as well as the implications for business performance if access to personalized advertising was restricted. The analysis was based on a quantitative survey of SME owners and senior managers, providing insights into the use and economic relevance of online advertising. The findings highlight that personalized advertising has become an integral part of SME operations, while also pointing to potential risks that regulatory constraints could pose for customer acquisition and overall performance. As the European Commission gathered feedback on the proposed Digital Fairness Act (DFA), EPPP carried out a public policy communication campaign, emphasizing the importance of a balanced regulatory approach that preserves lawful and proportionate personalization and enables privacy-safe measurement. Through its outreach, EPPP engaged the Brussels policy community and key decision-makers, underlining that protecting effective and lawful personalized advertising is essential for maintaining competitiveness and enabling SMEs to thrive.

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