Advertising in Antwerp
Advertising agency for Antwerp, built on video
Campaigns that start with a number to reach and end with what each booking or lead cost.
From billboard to reel
An advertising agency in Antwerp creates and runs your campaign: the message, the images and where people see them. That used to mean posters, flyers and radio. Today most of it runs as video on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, with a budget you can change by the day and measurement that tells you what a booking or lead cost.
This page is for international companies and brands in Antwerp choosing an agency: what the different kinds do, how a campaign runs from idea to results, what it costs to make and run, and what the new promotion levy in the city centre means for shops and restaurants.
Five stages of an online campaign
- Week 1Idea and goalOne message, one audience and a number to reach: bookings, leads, visitors. You and us together.
- Week 2ShootA half or full day on location. We plan the shots and film, or work with a videographer.
- Week 3EditOne version per platform and format, with subtitles and a few openings to test.
- Week 4 onwardsAdsThe reel runs as an ad on Meta or as video on YouTube, aimed at the audience from step one.
- Every weekMeasurementWhat a booking or lead costs, which opening works. Adjust or stop on the numbers.
Creative, communication or performance agency
In Belgium people search for 'advertising agency', 'communication agency' and 'creative agency' as if they were the same thing. The agencies behind those words work differently.
| Kind | What you get | How it is measured | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative or advertising agency | concept, tagline, film, posters, sometimes trade fair stands | reach and recall, often with a survey afterwards | brands with a national budget and long campaigns |
| Communication agency | press releases, newsletters, brand guidelines, internal communication | coverage, open rates | organisations telling their story to press and staff |
| Performance or online agency | video, ads, landing pages, social media | cost per click, per lead, per sale | companies that want to see each month what a euro brings |
Many agencies do a bit of each. Ask what you will hold after three months: a spot, a series of reels, a style guide, or a list of leads with their cost. If your buyers already search for what you sell, a Google Ads campaign may do more than an advertising agency; Meta ads or Google Ads compares the two.
How a video campaign runs
The first week is about the goal, not the images: a campaign without a number cannot be steered. Then we plan the shoot, edit per platform and run the videos as ads. Each week we look at what a booking or lead costs and which opening works best.
That is how it went for Les Terrasses de Durbuy, holiday lodges in the Ardennes. With an external videographer we filmed a launch reel and a golf reel. The golf reel ran as three Meta ads from 13 December 2025 to 24 January 2026, in English, aimed at golfers planning a trip. The full story is in the Les Terrasses case.
The promotion levy in Antwerp's city centre
Since 1 January 2026, shops and restaurants in Antwerp's city centre pay a promotion levy. The city collects it and passes all of it to Beleef Antwerpen, the new umbrella association of traders. The amount depends on the floor area of your business, and it replaces the old voluntary membership fees of the local traders' associations.
For an international brand or a business with a store in the centre, that means two things. There will be joint campaigns: Beleef Antwerpen announced two large shopping events a year, Christmas lights with the district and a bigger Antwerp on Air city festival. Timing your own campaign around them lets you ride the extra footfall. And you already pay for the promotion of your street, so your own budget is best spent on what the street does not do: your store, your offer, your customers.
| Moment | What the city or the association does | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Spring and summer events | joint shopping campaign in the shopping streets | your own offer and a reel that leads to your store |
| Antwerp on Air | a city festival in the centre | a post or small ad aimed at people nearby |
| Christmas | Christmas lights with the district | gift vouchers, opening hours and a campaign in the last two weeks |
Advertising rules in Belgium
An online campaign falls under the same rules as a billboard. Three things we check before every campaign:
- Price reductionsIf you announce a discount, the reference price is the lowest price you charged in the thirty days before it. "From 99 to 49" with a price you never charged is misleading.
- Make ads recognisableIf you work with influencers or creators, viewers must see that it is advertising, with a clear mention in the post itself. Belgium's self-regulatory body for advertising, the JEP, handles complaints and has published recommendations for influencers.
- Images and musicAnyone recognisable on screen gives consent. And a business account on Instagram or Facebook cannot use any popular track: pick music cleared for commercial use.
International brands are sometimes surprised that consumer prices in Belgium are shown including 21 percent VAT. Business-to-business offers may show prices excluding VAT, if you say so clearly. If you doubt a claim, such as "the cheapest in Antwerp" or a comparison with a competitor, have a lawyer check it before the campaign runs.
What a campaign costs
A campaign has two costs: making it (shoot, edit, copy) and the ad budget paid to Meta or Google. What a film costs to make is in our guide to corporate video cost; what you spend per month on Meta is in Facebook ads cost. For a local campaign, plan a few hundred to a few thousand euros of ad budget a month, depending on the goal. If you sell online, the ROAS calculator shows what each euro must bring back.
VBS makes a campaign for a fixed price you know before we start filming.
Agency, freelancer or in-house
- Hire an agency ifyou need concept, shoot, edit and ads in one hand, and nobody on your team has the time.
- Hire a freelance videographer ifyou already know the story and need someone to film and edit it.
- Keep it in-house ifyou post daily, have a person who enjoys filming and only need help with ads and measurement now and then.
What to measure after a campaign
| Goal | What you measure | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Bookings or orders | cost per booking or order | your booking system or shop, linked to the ad |
| Leads | cost per lead and how many become customers | your form and your own follow-up |
| Store visits | direction requests and calls | your Google Business Profile |
| Awareness | how many people watched the video to the end | Meta or YouTube statistics |
Mistakes we see
- A beautiful film without a goalIf you do not know what you want to measure, all you can say afterwards is that it looked good.
- A TV spot squeezed into a reelA horizontal film with text at the bottom fails on a phone. Shoot vertically or cut a separate version.
- Wasting the first secondsIf people cannot see what it is about within two seconds, they scroll on.
- Ads without a landing pageWhoever clicks must land on a page about that offer, in their language. If you do not have one, start with website design.
- Silence between campaignsFour weeks of ads and then nothing lets your audience forget you. Keep your channels running with social media management.
From our shoots
What we make for a business in Antwerp
We shape the campaign with you, plan and shoot it, edit per platform and run the videos as ads on Facebook and Instagram or YouTube. Each week you see what a lead or booking cost.
A longer film for your site or a trade fair is part of our corporate video work. For social media between campaigns, see our social media agency in Antwerp; for the whole picture, our marketing agency for Antwerp.
Facebook and Instagram
How VBS helps you with this
We make footage that stands out in the feed and show it to the right people in your region, tracked to the enquiry or the booking.
- Reels and footage shot on location
- Audiences per region and per season
- The Meta pixel behind consent, with real conversions
How we approach it is on our page about Facebook and Instagram.
Plan your next campaign
Tell us what you want to sell and when; we tell you what a campaign can bring and what it costs to make.
Rather get in touch right away?