Digital advertising in Belgium: GAFAM captures 58.8% of SME budgets, UMA reports

United Media Agencies' (UMA) Media Investments Benchmark, published in early October 2026, confirms that digital advertising passed 40.2% of net media investment in Belgium in the first half of 2026, up from 37.5% a year earlier. But within that total, GAFAM captures 58.8% of the budgets, including 100% of paid search and paid social. For a Belgian company, this figure shows where its advertising budget actually goes, and why local competition plays no role on two of the most widely used channels.

1. Digital advertising tops 40% of Belgian media investment

According to the Benchmark published by United Media Agencies (UMA) in early October 2026, digital advertising accounted for 40.2% of net media investment in Belgium in the first half of 2026. That figure stood at 37.5% a year earlier and 35.7% in the first half of 2024: growth has been continuous for two years.

But this digital total hides a less favourable reality for Belgian players. 58.8% of digital budgets go to GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft), according to UMA. On paid search and paid social, their share climbs to 100%, as no Belgian competitor can absorb this spending.

2. Local online video and display hold up, search and social don't

The picture isn't uniform across formats. On online video, local players still capture 73.4% of the budget, and 75.2% on display, according to the same Benchmark. These are the two digital formats where Belgian ad networks exist and can compete with international platforms.

Overall, Belgian media retain 76.4% of the country's total advertising investment, thanks notably to television (27.5%), radio (15.4%) and outdoor advertising (13%). Search and social are the only two channels where this local resilience doesn't exist.

3. What this imbalance means for a Belgian company's budget

For a company investing in online advertising, this has a direct consequence: every euro placed in Google search or Meta and TikTok social ads leaves the Belgian ecosystem entirely, with no competing alternative to drive down auction costs. By contrast, a placement in online video or display through a local network keeps some room for negotiation.

This isn't an argument for leaving Google or Meta, where most of the qualified audience sits. It's an argument for knowing exactly how your own budget is split before comparing it to the market average, and for not ignoring formats where a local alternative still exists.

The AI lens, humans first

An AI tool can map, within minutes, how a company's advertising budget currently splits between Meta, Google, TikTok and Belgian ad networks, and simulate the effect of rebalancing on cost per result. It cannot decide between concentrating budget where the qualified audience sits or diversifying into less saturated formats: that decision commits the brand for months and stays strategic. AI executes. Expertise decides, and keeps watch.