PAVEL VAŠEK HEADS UP THE PRIMA GROUP’S MARKETING DEPARTMENT

1. 9. 2026 | 2 min read Pavel Vašek has been appointed as the new marketing director of the Prima Group. He joins the media group from the Rohlik Group, where he led brand communications and marketing campaigns in international markets.

COMPANIES ARE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF AGENCIES. THEY WANT TO INTEGRATE MARKETING MORE CLOSELY

24. 8. 2026 | 3 min read Marketing directors are increasingly looking for ways to simplify collaboration with agencies and integrate the various marketing disciplines. According to the Gartner CMO Spend Survey, 39 per cent of them plan to narrow their agency portfolio and concentrate more activities with partners who can cover a broader range of marketing activities.

HOW DPG MEDIA TURNS THE BACKSTAGE OF A PRIME-TIME MUSIC SHOW INTO A RETAIL ENGINE

17. 8. 2026 In a category where retailers typically compete on price and visibility, Albert Heijn, the supermarket retailer, chose a different path. Together with DPG Media, the brand moved beyond traditional sponsorship to become an essential part of the story of the prime-time music show Lift You Up on VTM.

MARY KYRIAKIDI: TRUE DISTINCTIVENESS IS RARE. BUT WHEN A BRAND FINDS IT, IT REALLY PAYS OFF

29. 7. 2026 | 3 min read The debate over whether there is any real differentiation between brands at all was reignited this year at Cannes Lions, where Byron Sharp stated that a decade of research had failed to identify any truly differentiated brands from the consumers’ perspective. Brand differentiation can be measured. And it pays off. Mary Kyriakidi, Global Thought Leadership Director at Kantar, responds to this claim with data from the BrandZ database. She shows that perceived differentiation has a concrete, measurable impact on how a brand performs. It is therefore not merely an abstract marketing concept. What differentiation does for business Perceived distinctiveness accounts for roughly half of the reason why a brand can command a higher price. Brand awareness alone contributes only about 6 per cent to this. Customers therefore do not reward brands simply for being familiar with them. Above all, they reward those brands that hold a clear and unique meaning for them.

COLOURS OF OSTRAVA TO WELCOME NEW BRAND ACTIVATIONS

15. 7. 2026 | 3 min read This year, the Colours of Ostrava Festival is expanding its collaboration with brands that are setting up their own experience zones on the festival site. New main partner Allegro will present the Wishlist Zone, whilst Decathlon will be taking part for the first time and Tic Tac will build on last year’s initiative with an expanded programme.

THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BRANDS AND MARKETERS

3. 7. 2026 | 4 min read Mundial. World Cup. World Championship. This football festival goes by many names, and it would be hard to find an event that can match it in terms of reach.

COMPANIES ARE SPENDING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS ON MARKETING, BUT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IS FALLING

26. 6. 2026 | 7 min read Marketing costs are rising, competition from both local and low-cost Asian rivals is becoming increasingly fierce, and maintaining a healthy profit margin is a challenge. Online shops that base their decisions on data are the most successful in this regard. Advertising may be more expensive, but those who best understand how their customers make decisions are still able to grow healthily today.

AN IMMERSIVE CANAL+ BRAND SOLUTIONS COLLABORATION FOR SKIN-CARE BRANDS WITH SENSITIVE STORIES TO TELL

26. 6. 2026 LA FACTORY, the creative studio of CANAL+ BRAND SOLUTIONS, produced “Marquer l’Invisible” (roughly, “Making the Invisible Visible”) as an immersive documentary-style piece for the skincare brand Avène.

BRANDS ARE HEADING TO FESTIVALS, METRONOME AND ŠPALÍČEK ARE PLAYING THIS WEEKEND

20. 6. 2026 | 3 min read The festival season attracts more than just music fans. Brands are capitalising on partnerships with Metronome and Valašský špalíček.

COMMUNICATION SUMMIT: ADVERTISING IS THREATENED BY CREATIVE LAZINESS; WE MUST NOT GIVE UP ON THINKING

15. 6. 2026 | 8 min read Generative AI tools speed up content creation and save time, but there is a risk that they will lead to uniformity in output and a decline in critical thinking. At this year’s Communication Summit, there was a discussion on how to use AI as an assistant, rather than as an autopilot for marketing communications.

FORUM MEDIA WILL BRING IN EXPERTS IN MORE THAN JUST DIGITAL MARKETING

4. 6. 2026 | 4 min read The world of marketing is on the cusp of a fundamental transformation. Brands have long since ceased to compete merely for customers’ attention; increasingly, they are also vying for trust, cultural relevance and the ability to thrive in a world dominated by algorithms, platforms and artificial intelligence. These topics will also be addressed at this year’s Forum Media 2026 conference, which will take place on 10 November at the O2 Universum in Prague.

THE TV ADVERTISING PARADOX, A THINKTV NEW ZEALAND CASE STUDY (2/2)

22. 5. 2026 The strategic response: the TV advertising paradox.

ESG ADS ATTRACT LESS ATTENTION, BUT BOOST INTEREST IN THE TOPIC

5. 5. 2026 | 4 min read Although ESG adverts are, on average, less effective at capturing attention than standard campaigns, they can significantly boost interest in the topic being communicated, according to new research by Ipsos. The data also confirms growing consumer scepticism towards sustainability claims and a shift in how people define ‘green’ products.

THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MARKET GREW BY TEN PERCENT LAST YEAR. THIS YEAR, IT IS MORE CAUTIOUS

27. 4. 2026 | 4 min read Growth in the Czech marketing communications market in 2025 was driven not only by media channels but also, to a significant extent, by non-media channels, according to an expert report by the AKA.

TV BOOSTS AD RECALL BY 8.7× WHEN PAIRED WITH SEARCH

8. 4. 2026 | 3 min read New research shows TV supercharges search, social, and audio—driving up to 8.7× higher ad recall and stronger lower funnel results when combined.

WHEN ALL THE BRANDS PLAY IT SAFE, YOU CAN’T SEE ANYTHING

8. 4. 2026 | 5 min read One of the main themes of this year’s SXSW conference was the impact of artificial intelligence on people. But what does this mean specifically for brands?

ONEPLAY HAS LAUNCHED A FIREPLACE, PROMOTING SURVIVOR, LOVE ISLAND AND DUNAJ

7. 4. 2026 | 1 min read Oneplay has added a visual element of a burning fireplace to its offering, integrating it with its key formats.

BRANDS ADOPT ‘NO AI’ DISCLAIMERS TO STAND OUT AMID THE SLOP

6. 4. 2026 | 5 min read Marketers move to get ahead of growing consumer skepticism by labeling content that doesn’t use AI.