Expanding to Central and Eastern Europe? Make the most of the best local resources and experts.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is considered a go-to market for several strategic, economic, and operational reasons:
- It’s an evolving market with a substantial customer base and a strong inclination towards digital adoption.
- Most CEE countries are members of both NATO and the European Union, offering regulatory stability, market access, and security guarantees.
- The whole CEE region includes over 50 million households, contributing to a robust consumer base.
- CEE boasts a strong emphasis on STEM fields, with many world-class technical universities.
CEE countries that joined the EU have experienced substantial economic development over the past 30 years, positioning the region as one of the world’s most successful growth stories alongside the Asian Tigers and China.
Consequently, many top-notch global brands have established their engineering and R&D hubs in CEE, including Intel, Bosch, Panasonic, ABB, and Microsoft, among others.
The main mistake when starting your presence in Eastern Europe
Growing consumer markets with 110+ million inhabitants, a cost-effective talent pool, and high adoption of English, not to mention the bullet points from the 1st paragraph… So, what can go wrong when expanding your business to CEE?
Being a communication specialist with 10+ years of experience in launching international brands in Poland and other CEE markets, I can warn you about the common mistakes brands tend to make:
❌ Treating CEE as one market. Promising, interesting, worth some investments – but one. ❌
While in fact the societies in the given countries do not have that much in common!
For example, the Romanian language is way closer to French than to Slavic languages. Putting the Balkans aside, apart from the Czechs and Slovaks, who even used to live in one country before 1993, none of the CEE nationalities will understand each other when speaking their languages.
While Poland, Hungary, and Czechia are very homogeneous societies, significant ethnic minorities live in Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and Baltics states, using many different languages and living in fact in totally different cultures.
Estonia has much more in common with Scandinavia than with Bulgaria. Economic development in Serbia has nothing to do with the one in Czechia…
The Balkans and Ukraine are mainly Orthodox. Visegrád (Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia) – Catholic, and at the same time Czech Republic is one of the most secular countries in Europe (which is the most secular continent.)
🔝 It all shapes who we are and how business brands should communicate with us. ✅
I understand this might seem complex, especially for an overseas Reader, Communications Specialist or Business Owner. So let me explain it this way: in terms of population, Poland is roughly the size of California, Czechia is comparable to Michigan, and Estonia is similar to Montana.
Now, while Californians differ significantly from people in Montana or Michigan, they all share a common language, cultural foundation, national identity, and symbols like the flag and anthem. They may have served in the same military units or cheered together for Team USA during the Olympics.
In contrast, while Estonians, Czechs, and Poles are all “Europeans” and members of the European Union, that designation doesn’t carry the same cultural or emotional weight. Beyond making travel easier, being part of the EU doesn’t erase the deep differences in language, culture, and national identity among these countries.
➡️ By the way, I’ve gathered the best B2B PR practices in the US in this article, you may find it interesting! 🇺🇸
Communication in CEE: top 3 learnings
Below, I am trying to present some main market specifics, but to summarise this part of the article, let me share some key learnings. You should know this BEFORE starting your comms activities in CEE:
- There are no shortcuts. Establishing your presence in any country means a proper start with a localised, solid communication strategy. By communication strategy, I do not necessarily refer to 100 pages or slides, but a well-thought-out market entry strategy, with accurate local background, hints and smart ideas. Also, when relevant, with a potential crisis communications guide (again, different per region) and tactics.
- Narratives in each country differ. They need to reflect the country’s culture. There are common grounds, and there are crucial differences which need to be addressed.
- Local team seems crucial. If you cannot mark your physical presence there, not even hire a country manager, try to find a local Partner. It may be a carefully chosen sales, marketing or PR agency, or a solid freelancer who is, e.g. part of a reputable trade organisation. They should help you navigate a given country and avoid costly mistakes.
- Show how the given CEE market is crucial for you – even when it’s not (yet). This is deeply rooted in CEE history. As we wrote in one of the articles about entering Poland (but this works with all other CEE nations):
Don’t underestimate the market and the audience. Self-respect is probably a part of Polish hung-up and an issue of a still post-communist country of a “second category”. Nevertheless, Poles may be a bit oversensitive about treating them equally and with respect. So even if Poland is not your strategic tier 1 market – at least do not show it.
🚀 Related article: How do you define your target group and why is it an absolute must for your company?
Understanding Central and Eastern Europe: key differences
Poland 🇵🇱 40M tech-savvy consumers
The biggest CEE market is Poland, the 6th largest economy in the European Union. The e-commerce, IT, and FinTech sectors are flourishing, and Poles have a very positive attitude toward all kinds of technological innovations – contactless payments and express transfers are daily bread for them. All novelties are quickly adopted, partly thanks to great STEM education. This is appreciated by global firms, which find Poland a pool of skilled talent and open technology and R&D centres in cities such as Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław and Kraków. However, while labour costs are still below the EU average, they’ve been rising at the highest pace year‑on‑year.
Polish society is, like in the US, very much divided. The “East” and “West” camps (with some central voivodeships being the “swinging states”) differ sharply on issues such as the role of the EU, judicial independence, LGBTQ+ rights, migration, and the media. This needs to be consciously and cautiously addressed by your company, and that’s where local support might be beneficial. At the same time, it should not harm your business, because “business is business” for the Polish people. The startup ecosystem flourishes, with local success stories of companies such as CD Project Red (known from the “Witcher” game), Brainly, DocPlanner, Booksy.
Some foreign brands made the mistake of entering the Polish market poorly prepared. One prime example is eBay and Shopee, which underestimated the strength of their Polish counterpart, Allegro. Now, Amazon is trying to do its homework, e.g. by opening a huge operational hub in Poland, as well as adapting communications for the local market and producing original content for its Prime Video platform. AliExpress and Temu are a different story, but they are succeeding partly (becoming the most-visited website/app).
🚀 Related article: Are you ready to launch in Poland? Check the LIST
The PR industry is well-developed, marking significant growth since the 1990s. Polish PR agencies are offering modern, digital-first strategies and are often performing or overseeing CEE-wide PR campaigns. Prices of PR services are moderate (check them here), quite affordable for international brands.
Czech Republic 🇨🇿 Mature business and media
Czechia boasts a high-income, export-driven economy rooted in services, manufacturing, and innovation. The automotive sector alone contributes over 20% of industrial output, and production exceeded 1.3 million vehicles in 2024, making a new car every ~23 seconds. The Czech koruna remains the national currency (non-euro), and the Czech National Bank maintains constitutional independence. This relatively small country has a pretty mature VC and startup scene.
Like in France, 4 in 10 Czechs consider themselves atheist, which makes the percentage even higher than in countries considered as atheist, such as the Netherlands and Sweden. This sets Czechia apart as a unique case among other CEE nations.
In business communication, Czechs may seem indirect and quiet, which are general traits of their character. They usually tend to be formal, and it takes time for them to develop a more personal relationship, which is reflected in a clear separation line they draw between their private and work life.
Trust in mainstream media, especially public service outlets like ČT24 and Czech Radio, remains relatively stable, though scepticism toward alternative news sources persists.
Hungary 🇭🇺 Politics influencing PR daily life
While part of the European Union, Hungary is considered the most right-leaning country in the CEE (paving the way for Slovakia.) This political orientation has significantly influenced both the media landscape and broader society. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – a close ally of former Donald Trump – several independent media outlets have been shut down, while many others are now aligned with or controlled by the government.
It makes it challenging to shape sentiment on the more divisive issues, so it is important to be aware of where journalists are coming from, and whether it is a pro- or anti-government medium. However, wisely and cultural-sensitively addressed topics, interesting content and invitations can be of interest to both, regardless of the side.
🚀 Related article: 3 essential tips for communicating in Hungary
Hungarians are often sceptical people, but are generally open to work with foreigners. The business scene is very much centralised in Budapest, which hosts major foreign banks and corporate HQs. Hungary has a modern, diversified economy with strong growth in services, manufacturing, and technology.
Even more than in other CEE markets, COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the media and PR industry. Personal encounters with journalists have almost vanished, and media are much more focusing on selling the paid publications, which makes gaining organic ones even more challenging.
🚀 Related article: How to write an engaging press release in different business cultures?
Baltic states 🇱🇹🇱🇻🇪🇪 One region, different countries
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia – while often grouped as the Baltic states – differ significantly in language, culture, and historical orientation. Estonia is linguistically and culturally closer to Finland, with a tech-driven economy and strong Nordic ties. Latvia sits in the middle, both geographically and culturally, with a mix of Baltic and Slavic influences, while Lithuania is the most Catholic and historically aligned with Poland.
There are notable synergies and similarities across the media landscape in the Baltic states. Some news portals, such as Delfi, operate in all three countries and provide content in each local language.
🚀 Related article: CEE Case Study including Ukraine, Estonia and Hungary
Slovakia 🇸🇰 More conspiracy theories
According to The Eastern Frontier Intiative, Slovakia is more stepped in conspiracy theories than Poland, Hungary and Romania, with Facebook being no. 1 source of (dis)information about climate change, Wladimir Putin and the war with Ukraine, NGOs “inspired by the West”, and George Soros being constantly on the agenda. Traditional media are declining in public trust even more profoundly than in other CEE markets.
Economically, Slovakia is strongest in car manufacturing, with most industry based in the west, near Bratislava. The capital hosts many foreign corporate and banking headquarters. Business culture is formal yet friendly, with strong emphasis on relationships both professionally and personally.
Slovak is preferred in media communication, though the younger, post-communist generation is generally comfortable with English.
Ukraine 🇺🇦 War continues, so does the business
Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine’s tech and startup scene remains remarkably resilient, with a strong IT outsourcing sector and a growing number of innovative startups. Naturally, many of them are connected with the defence industry, such as German/Ukrainian drone unicorn, Quantum Systems.
A similar situation may be observed in the local media landscape, which even keeps on growing as tech and niche media have been launched after the war, and renowned titles such as the Washington Post and The New York Times opened offices in Kyiv.
Ultra sensitivity is recommended when communicating within a society that has been facing a war reality since 2022. This needs to be addressed by both the marketing and PR departments of foreign brands. That’s why we’ve found a local, reliable Partner soon after the outbreak of war. Not only language, but also the Cyrillic alphabet is a challenge for non-Ukrainians.
Being Poland-based, we’ve conducted several PR campaigns in Ukraine, but always using the local resources. That’s the recommended way of expanding to the East.
There is more to come about CEE. This blog post will surely have its continuation, as countries such as Bulgaria, the whole Balkans region, and Romania are go-to markets! In the meantime, you may enjoy our multi-market CEE case study:
🚀 Related article: CEE PR Case Study for IT School, including the markets of Albania, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia
How local should the local team be?
Foreign brands tend to share Europe between 2-3 regional expansion managers. Fair enough, but let’s do it smartly. We at Enterie are a CEE-based, international network of independent PR & marketing agencies (read more on the whole concept), which has won all of the local prestigious awards:
We fully understand that your company prefers not to manage separate PR or marketing agencies across various European markets, each ranging in population from 1 million to 38 million. So, when approached by such a lead, we form a dedicated team that we strongly believe is mostly relevant. Let’s see the example of 7-countries business we consulted:
One team (Profeina from Poland) served the biggest CEE country, Poland. One team (Sensus PR) was in charge of the so-called Baltics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Slovakian agency (PR Clinic) took care of Slovakia and Czechia, and Red Lemon for the Hungarian market.
At the same time, one of these agencies may become the single point of contact for our client and become a project manager for the whole CEE campaign. Alternatively, all agencies can report directly to a client.
Such a structure is as flat as possible, but it guarantees that the level of external communication is appropriately local.
Do you need a reliable CEE Partner to start in one or several Central and European markets? I strongly believe we might be a good option for you – please feel free to contact me directly!
