Advertising is attracting increasing amounts of money, but not all agencies are managing to return to financial stability as a result. According to data from the National Debt Register, the advertising industry’s debt amounts to PLN 153.5 million, while the average overdue liability per debtor exceeds PLN 36,000. The sector could repay more than two thirds of its liabilities if its own clients also paid on time.
The PLN 153.5 million in overdue liabilities in the advertising industry consists of debts owed by advertising agencies, public relations firms, and companies conducting market and public opinion research. In total, 4,198 companies in the sector are in debt.
Advertising agencies account for the largest share of this amount. According to KRD data, the register includes 3,269 such companies with a total of 16,763 unpaid liabilities. Their debt amounts to PLN 111.8 million, or almost three quarters of the sector’s total debt. On average, one advertising agency owes PLN 34,200. The remaining debt is owed by companies involved in scientific research — PLN 23.4 million, PR and communications — PLN 7.2 million, and market and public opinion research — PLN 6.9 million.
The ability of advertising companies to meet their financial obligations on time, as well as the likelihood of being entered into the debt register, is also assessed by KRD’s Payment Credibility Analysis. According to the analysis, the greatest deterioration has occurred among companies with intermediate D and E ratings.
“At the end of April, the share of such companies stood at 11%, compared with 4.7% a year earlier. This is more than a twofold increase and a signal that some companies in the advertising industry are moving into a higher-risk category. At the same time, the share of companies with the best ratings — A, B and C — fell by 8 percentage points, while the share of the riskiest companies, with F, G and H ratings, rose by 1.7 percentage points. This shows that despite the growth of the advertising market, the payment credibility of some companies is clearly deteriorating,” says Adam Łącki, President of the Management Board of the National Debt Register Economic Information Bureau.
Mazovia concentrates both advertising activity and the largest share of debt
The debt of advertising agencies is concentrated where the advertising, media and PR market is strongest. The largest arrears are therefore recorded among companies from the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. According to KRD data, their debt amounts to PLN 59 million, and the register includes 1,449 indebted companies from the region. Mazovia, and Warsaw in particular, is the largest centre of the advertising industry in Poland. It is followed by Śląskie, with PLN 17 million in debt, Małopolskie with PLN 14.5 million, Wielkopolskie with PLN 13.9 million, and Dolnośląskie with PLN 10 million.
The indebted entities include both small businesses and larger agencies. KRD lists 2,185 sole proprietorships, which together owe nearly PLN 72 million. On average, one such company has PLN 33,000 to repay. Larger companies and institutions have a combined PLN 81.6 million in arrears, with a higher average debt of PLN 40,600. The problem therefore affects the entire industry, but on different scales: small businesses are more vulnerable to delayed payments, while larger entities have higher fixed costs and larger liabilities.
Three quarters of the entire debt amount is owed to companies from the financial and insurance sector — PLN 115.3 million. This shows that arrears are not limited to unpaid invoices for services, but also include business financing, instalments, leases, loans and credit facilities. Mobile operators are next on the list of creditors, with PLN 9.8 million, followed by trading companies, with PLN 8.8 million.
Clients expect greater effectiveness
According to a report by Publicis Groupe Polska, the advertising market in Poland grew by 6.9% in 2025. The highest growth was recorded in channels that require agencies to develop increasingly narrow specialisations: online video, the Internet and radio. This means that advertising budgets are shifting towards fast, digital, measurable activities that are often more technologically demanding.
However, this growth does not necessarily mean a better financial condition for the companies serving the market. This can be seen from the perspective of micro-enterprises, which form a broad group of potential clients for the advertising industry. According to NFG’s study Marketing on a Micro Scale — What Works and How Much It Costs, nearly two thirds of micro-businesses conduct advertising activities, but most do so on their own.
“Micro-businesses are active in advertising, but very cautious financially. Although 62% conduct promotional activities, 82% of them do so without agency support, and advertising is most often handled by the owner personally. This sends an important message to the advertising market: demand exists, but in the SME segment companies are looking for simple, measurable solutions that help them quickly acquire customers and do not burden their budgets. Agencies that can prepare such an offer may reach a broad group of clients. Those that still think mainly in terms of extensive campaigns may fail to meet the needs of micro-entrepreneurs,” says Emanuel Nowak, an expert at factoring company NFG.
The development of online advertising, also described in materials from IAB Polska, is intensifying competition in digital channels and increasing pressure on campaign effectiveness. Today, clients expect not only creative work, but also data, optimisation, automation, rapid reporting and a measurable return on spending. Wirtualne Media also describes the agency market as a sector undergoing selection under the influence of AI, costs and client expectations. In practice, this means that agencies must invest in new competencies and tools while also protecting margins and managing current payments. KRD data therefore show the other side of a growing market: even with larger advertising budgets, some companies continue to struggle with debt and liquidity.
Agencies are also waiting for transfers
Although agencies themselves have overdue liabilities, their clients do not always pay on time either. According to KRD data, contractors owe advertising agencies PLN 108.4 million. The largest arrears are owed by trading companies — PLN 25.6 million, construction companies — PLN 22.9 million, and transport companies — PLN 15.2 million. High on the list are also industrial processing, with PLN 10.8 million in debt, and professional, scientific and technical activities, with PLN 10.2 million.
“A mechanism emerges here that may hit agencies’ liquidity: on the one hand, they have to pay their own liabilities, employee salaries, tools and invoices from subcontractors; on the other hand, they themselves are waiting for money from clients. The largest share of arrears owed to agencies comes from sole proprietorships — almost PLN 95 million. Larger companies and institutions owe them more than PLN 13 million. Advertising agencies are therefore often caught between a rock and a hard place: they have to keep paying others, even though they themselves do not receive money on time,” says Sandra Czerwińska, an expert at Rzetelna Firma.
Source: CEO.com.pl
