Why Adtech & Martech Businesses Are Looking More Closely at Spain
Spain has not always been the first market that comes to mind when international Adtech or Martech businesses think about European expansion.
London, Paris and Germany have traditionally taken more of the attention, particularly when companies are building out commercial teams or looking for large enterprise customers. But Spain is becoming harder to ignore.
The economy is growing more strongly than many of its European peers, digital advertising investment is at record levels, ecommerce continues to expand quickly and both Madrid and Barcelona have developed much deeper technology ecosystems than they had even a few years ago.
None of that means Spain is suddenly replacing the established European hubs. It does suggest, though, that for Adtech and Martech businesses looking at where the next phase of European growth might come from, the market deserves a closer look.
The economic backdrop is relatively strong
Spain’s economy has been one of the more resilient major economies in Europe. The IMF expects GDP to grow by around 2.1% in 2026, compared with 1.0% in the UK, with domestic demand continuing to support growth.
GDP growth on its own is not enough to create a compelling Adtech or Martech market, but it does matter. Businesses are generally more willing to invest in growth, customer acquisition and technology when the wider economy is moving in the right direction.
What makes Spain more interesting is what is happening underneath that headline number.
Digital advertising investment is still growing quickly
Digital advertising investment in Spain reached a record €6.21bn in 2025, up 11.2% year on year and almost 25% higher than it was two years earlier. Search accounted for almost €2bn of that spend and grew 32.1%, while social media investment reached €1.83bn after growing 29.5%.
For Adtech businesses, the Connected TV number is particularly interesting. CTV investment grew 48.4% during 2025 to more than €174m.
That is the kind of growth that tends to create more demand around measurement, data, targeting, video technology, programmatic infrastructure and audience solutions. As advertisers spread budgets across more digital environments, the technology required to plan, buy, measure and optimise those campaigns becomes more important as well.
It is not difficult to see why international Adtech businesses might therefore be paying more attention to Spain than they were a few years ago.
Martech has a strong underlying growth story too
The Martech opportunity is slightly different, but arguably just as interesting.
Spanish ecommerce turnover exceeded €114.8bn during 2025, representing growth of 20.6% on the previous year. In the final quarter alone, ecommerce revenue reached €31.4bn, up 22% year on year.
Growth at that level creates its own set of challenges for businesses. Acquiring customers becomes more competitive, retaining them becomes more valuable and understanding what is driving revenue becomes increasingly important.
That naturally supports areas such as CRM, customer data, marketing automation, analytics, attribution, lifecycle marketing, personalisation and customer engagement.
The Martech opportunity in Spain is therefore not simply about technology companies expanding into a new geography. It is also about Spanish businesses becoming more sophisticated in how they acquire, understand and retain customers.
Barcelona has developed a serious digital talent base
Barcelona is probably the most obvious city when looking at Spain through a digital talent lens.
The city now has around 135,890 digital professionals, having added more than 6,200 during 2025 alone. Digital talent grew by 4.85% year on year and now represents 6.5% of all professionals in the city. Since 2018, Barcelona’s digital workforce has doubled.
Demand is growing alongside the talent pool. More than 36,000 digital job adverts were published in Barcelona during 2025, up 4.15%, and digital roles accounted for more than 27% of all vacancies advertised in the city.
That makes Barcelona increasingly attractive for international businesses that need people who understand both technology and commercial markets. For Adtech and Martech companies in particular, there is value in having access to a workforce that combines SaaS, digital media, ecommerce and technology experience.
The important point is that this is no longer simply a lower-cost talent story. The market itself is maturing.
Madrid offers a different opportunity
Madrid has a slightly different commercial profile.
Where Barcelona has developed a reputation around startups, digital businesses and international tech talent, Madrid remains an important centre for large corporates, agencies, financial services and enterprise customers.
For Adtech companies selling into agencies, brands and major advertisers, that customer proximity matters. For Martech businesses targeting enterprise organisations, Madrid can also provide a strong base for commercial teams focused on larger and more complex accounts.
It is probably more useful to think of Madrid and Barcelona as complementary rather than competing markets.
Barcelona offers depth of digital talent and a strong technology ecosystem, while Madrid provides proximity to enterprise buyers, large agency groups and corporate headquarters.
For an international company entering Spain, where you hire may therefore depend heavily on what you are trying to achieve.
What does this mean for hiring?
The most interesting change for us is not simply that more technology jobs are appearing. It is the type of people businesses increasingly need.
A growing market does not automatically mean companies can simply hire generic salespeople or marketers and expect them to succeed. If anything, as markets mature, the requirement for specialist knowledge tends to increase.
An Adtech business entering Spain may need someone who already understands agency structures, local buying behaviour, programmatic technology or measurement. A Martech company may need an Account Executive who can sell complex SaaS into enterprise marketing teams rather than somebody with broad software experience.
That distinction becomes important when international businesses assume that opening a new geography simply means replicating the team they already have elsewhere.
Local knowledge still matters.
So does language, network and understanding how buyers behave in that market.
Spain is becoming more sophisticated, not just bigger
That is probably the most important point.
It would be easy to look at the GDP numbers, digital advertising growth and ecommerce figures and conclude that Spain is simply becoming a larger market.
The more interesting story is that it is becoming a more sophisticated one.
Advertisers are putting more money into digital channels. Ecommerce is expanding rapidly. CTV is growing. Barcelona’s digital workforce continues to deepen and businesses are increasingly looking for experienced rather than purely junior technology talent.
For Adtech and Martech businesses, that creates opportunity, but it also raises the bar on hiring.
Entering Spain successfully is likely to require people who understand the technology, the commercial opportunity and the local market. Simply translating an existing European sales strategy into Spanish is unlikely to be enough.
Spain may not be replacing London, Paris or Germany as one of Europe’s major Adtech and Martech hubs.
But if the current direction continues, Madrid and Barcelona are going to become increasingly difficult for international businesses to overlook.
