Faces and Markets of PRGN is a series of blog posts in 2024 that puts PRGN member agencies and their markets in the spotlight.
Each week, expect to read about a market from an economic, business and communications point of view, brought to you by the very people living and working on the ground in that country, state or region.
The blog pieces illustrate the vast amount of in-depth knowledge of business, media, communications and marketing PRGN brings together having presence in more than 40 countries and 70 cities on six continents through its member agencies globally.
In this week’s blog post, Mariusz Pleban, Partner of OneMulti, describes the business and communications environment in Poland and offers advice to businesses navigating his home market.
Business environment in Poland
In recent decades the Polish economy has shown great resilience against global shocks. For the first time since the beginning of the transformation in 1989 Poland recorded a decline in GDP in 2020 and has since returned to a growth pathway.
This resilience is mainly due to diversified Polish economy. Industry remains a driving force. The sector’s diversified structure and lack of dependence on highly vulnerable sectors have limited decline in recent years. A significant part of this sector is home appliances. Poland produces about 40% of large household appliances in the European Union. Vehicles, aircraft, and ships, notably yachts, are another strong sector in the Polish economy, and account for about 11% of total exports. Poland is also a significant player in the furniture industry and is one of the largest exporters in the EU, selling furniture to 160 countries. Picturing the Polish economy one can’t forget about its agriculture sector. It exports mainly meat, grain and tobacco.
Warsaw, Poland | photo by Paweł Mielko
All these are long-established industries in the Polish economy, and there are several prospective ones, including electromobility, pharmaceuticals, MedTech, or ICT. These emerging industries are winning momentum thanks to Poland’s well educated, dynamic, and open-minded people.
Communications, media and PR market in Poland
The media landscape and the general economy in Poland share an important characteristic: they are both highly diversified. There are several influential TV and radio channels, press titles, and web portals, each with different owners, audiences, and ideological profiles. Additionally, there are dozens of thematic online media channels. The ownership of some media is intertwined, meaning that one entity can control multiple types of media, such as a TV channel, an online platform, and a radio station. All key players in the media market manage their own online platforms. This rich media landscape provides numerous opportunities for public relations professionals who have a good understanding of the media landscape and maintain strong relationships with journalists.
According to a recent report by Institute of Media Monitoring, among the most influential Polish media of the decade 33% are print, 20% radio, 20% internet and 27% TV.
There are three key TV broadcasters in Poland and they account for about 50% of the market combined: state-owned TVP, privately owned TVN and Polsat. All three have main channels as well as a variety of thematic ones.
There are several nationwide radio stations, however, three key players: RMF FM, Eurozet Group and Polish Radio control about 60% of this pie.
Among internet portals, the “big three” – wp.pl, onet.pl and Interia – each reach 7.5 million – 10.5 million unique users, while the following seven top sites attract 4.8 million – 6.5 million each.
The most widely read print dailies – Fakt, Gazeta Wyborcza and Super Express – have an audience of 400,000-645,000 people each.
Top 3 advice for foreign companies to navigate the communications environment in Poland
Do Data Driven Communications– Polish journalists eagerly use data, facts, and analyses in their work. Ensure your format is clear and understandable for the general public and not only for experts.
Show the Polish Context – Without a Polish context, placing content in Polish media is difficult. Show facts and demonstrate deep understanding of business and culture.
Speak Polish– Polish media need materials in Polish. Machine translation isn’t enough; quality press releases must be in good Polish. This is crucial for speakers on TV, where there’s little room for translation.
Most influential media for consumer communications in Poland
Fakt – popular daily, audience of about 640,000 per paper edition
Polsat / Polsat News – Two flag channels of Polish-owned top private broadcaster in Poland. Audience: about 9% (January 2024)
TVN / TVN24 – Two flag channels of American-owned top private broadcaster in Poland. Audience: about 16% (January 2024)
Grupa Interia – one of the top online news platforms in Poland with about 7.5 million unique visitors (February 2024)
Grupa Onet – one of the top online news platforms in Poland with about 10 million unique visitors (February 2024)
Grupa WP – one of the top online news platforms in Poland with about 10.5 million unique users (February 2024)
Most influential media for corporate communications in Poland
Gazeta Wyborcza – social and political daily, audience of about 490,000 per paper edition
Rzeczpospolita / Parkiet – economic daily, audience of about 200,000 per paper edition
Business Insider – economic online news platform, 7.5 million unique users (July 2023)
Gazeta Prawna – economic daily, audience of about 200,000 per paper edition
Most popular social media channels in Poland
YouTube: 27.5 million users (2023)
Facebook: 17.85 million users (2023)
Instagram: 10.4 million users (2023)
TikTok: 10.14 million users (2023), users aged 18 and above
LinkedIn: 5.5 million users (2023)
X: 4 million users (2023)
Most important international events in Poland
Impact – The most important economic and technological congress in Poland. Important for Central East Europe. Attendees: central and local government representatives, C-level managers.
European Economic Congress – The most important economic congress in Poland. Attendees: central and local government representatives, C-level managers.
The Economic Forum – The most important economic congress in Poland. Attendees: central and local government representatives, C-level managers.
The European Forum for New Ideas – Conference dedicated to global trends, new ideas and the future of Europe. Attendees: C-level managers, leaders from the world of politics, culture and science.
Open Eyes Economy Summit – An interdisciplinary project designed to confront the representatives of culture and economics, politics and geography, ecology and business, art, fashion and ethics.
Poland by the Numbers*
Population
37.7 million
Languages spoken (official)
Polish
Religions (% of population)
Roman Catholic (91.5%)
GDP per capita
$22,112 (2023)
(Real) GDP growth rate
0.2% (2023); 5.1% (2022)
Inflation rate
11.5% (2023)
Unemployment rate
2.9% (2023)
Key sectors and industries (% of GDP)
agriculture (2.4%), industry (40.2%), services (57.4%) – (2017 est.)
Mobile penetration (X per 100 people)
131.9 (2022)
Internet users (% of population)
87% (2022)
Corporate profit tax
19% (2024)
Rate of consumer tax or VAT
23% / 8% / 5% / 0% (depends on goods and services, 2024)
Mariusz Pleban is a 50% shareholding partner in OneMulti, the longest-operating PR agency in Poland (since 1990). His expertise encompasses communications strategy, crisis management, and ESG communications, providing strategic consulting to giants like DB Schenker, Xiaomi, Volkswagen and more.
Mariusz is also co-founder of InsightOut Lab, creating business and media value through unique research and analytics. He has overseen 100+ industry reports including technology, e-mobility, and real estate. He has co-founded the ESG expertise portal ESGimpulse.com
Mariusz is an active PR industry leader in Poland. He co-authored the book “The Art of Public Relations” and is affiliated with the University of Warsaw.