Source: Marketing Magazine Ljubljana
In recent weeks, several media and agency managers have confided to Marketing Magazine that an increasing number of marketing departments of major advertisers are withdrawing from Slovenia – primarily to Zagreb, Croatia.
A little over a week ago, the portal 24ur.com also wrote about the relocation of entire companies to Croatia. They highlighted that companies are moving mainly due to high taxes for both businesses and employees.
We spoke with insiders familiar with the issue to find out which companies manage a significant portion of their agency and marketing budgets from neighboring Croatia. The list is longer than expected: Coca-Cola, Ikea, Samsung, Adidas, Honor, Huawei, HP, L’Oréal, Milka, Xiaomi, Bayer, Orbico, Ferrero, Lek, Microsoft, and others. Further shifts are expected among major retail chains and telecommunications operators.
No one wants to talk publicly about these relocations, fearing that their statements could damage their business. Still, the dissatisfaction is quite visible.
While we believe that all the mentioned companies employ excellent professionals with deep knowledge of media and marketing, we also recognize that “remote work” differs from working closely, where more media and agencies have direct access to marketing departments.
Samsung and Sandoz Do Not Handle Media Buying from Croatia
After the article was published, Publicis Groupe Slovenia reached out to clarify that the information stating that Samsung and Sandoz conduct media buying “through or from Croatia, or that they have relocated budgets” is incorrect.
“For both clients, and on behalf of their Slovenia-registered companies, advertising space is still – and will continue to be – purchased by a Slovenian agency from the Publicis Media agency family, part of the Publicis Groupe,” they stated.
