What does digital transformation look like in Central and Eastern Europe? Are we chasing the world, progressing at our own pace, or are we leading in certain areas?
In Central and Eastern Europe, the transformation is taking place at its own pace. Growth in areas that are related to digitalisation, such as ICT or online sales, exceeds those in Western Europe or the most digitised Nordic countries. On the other hand, in terms of the potential, we are still lagging behind. Digitalisation in Central and Eastern Europe over the last ten years has still not caught up with the potential that this market has.
But we are seeing a growing role for digitalisation, e.g., in advertising, digital content, e-commerce, and technology development?
For sure. There is one important reason for this. We are seeing the global economy deglobalise. The ambition of governments is to shorten the supply chain. Central and Eastern Europe represents a fantastic opportunity for countries in the West, and even the US, to shorten their supply chains. Poland, with its potential, plays the biggest role here. It can certainly grow in the areas you’ve mentioned.
Will Poland become a hub of e-commerce activity for European clients and global campaigns?
Correct. And not just thanks to Publicis Groupe. There are several such organisations located in Poland. Those are the big tech players like Google and Facebook that have global hubs. They are now investing heavily in Poland. The potential for talent here is enormous. The risk is still the immigration of talent, which may not be easy. We could hit a glass ceiling within five to ten years. Publicis Groupe’s centre in Poland is one of our most important in the region, and even the world.
What are the drivers of Polish success? Employees?
Talent and expertise. It’s not that Poland has just started to play an important role in hubs and centres. This has been going on for 10–15 years. We see that the demand to create hubs and centralise certain capabilities or services (content production, e-commerce) is growing globally. This allows us to capitalise on the talents we have and use the experience we have gained.
We can build a high-quality offering and world-class competence thanks to our local strength and leading position in local markets. Poland is an excellent example of this.
