SMI Data: Aussie Ad Spends Up 2.2% For The Financial Year; Outdoor Proves Star Performer

SMI Data: Aussie Ad Spends Up 2.2% For The Financial Year; Outdoor Proves Star Performer
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine
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Australia’s media agency market has emerged from a tough six months by delivering a record level of underlying ad spend for the financial year with total ad demand up 2.2 per cent, while at the headline level the total is back just 0.2 per cent to $8.8 billion.

The underlying result removes the effect of abnormal Government and Political Party category ad spend related to COVID and last year’s May Federal election, with those categories back more than $200 million on a combined basis this financial year.

The star performer over these 12 months has been outdoor with total ad revenues lifting 23.9 per cent to $1.2 billion, ensuring that this media most affected by COVID has now delivered a result which is 2.2 per cent larger than the pre-COVID FY18/19 total.

SMI APAC managing director Jane Ractliffe said the result confirmed outdoor has finally moved beyond the calamitous COVID period.

“Outdoor was easily the media most affected by COVID given the loss of more than $300 million in ad revenues between the 2018/19 and 2020/21 periods during the public lockdowns,’’ Ractliffe said.

“It’s been a long road back but the industry has harnessed emerging technologies and developed new inventory to now be in an even stronger position than it was pre-COVID.’’

Across the market, the financial year has been a period of two halves with ad demand up 3.4 per cent in the first six months, only to fall by four per cent in the January to June period (or -0.8 per cent with Government and Political Party category ad spend removed).

“At the end of last year the market was still being buoyed by strong Government ad spend, with that demand lifting prices as the availability of inventory decreased,’’ Ractliffe said.

“But from January the sentiment changed significantly as Governments no longer needed to maintain the same levels of COVID advertising and inflation hurt consumer confidence.’’

At a product category level, travel has shown the greatest increase from the pre-COVID lows with its total up 46.5 per cent this financial year followed by automotive brand ad spend which has lifted 20.8 per cent.

The month of June is the first in a year to be less impacted by 2022’s abnormal Government ad spend, but the market still struggled to match last year’s record level with a year-on-year decline of 5.5 per cent.

But outdoor media maintained its robust gains with bookings up 18.4 per cent, and printed magazines increased their revenues by 4.6 per cent.

Among the key product categories, Government increased its ad investment for the first time this calendar year, up 7.6 per cent year-on-year.

For the June quarter ad spend was back 5.4 per cent (or -2.0 per cent ex Government and Political Party ad spend) and for the calendar year-to-date the market is back 4.2 per cent but again only back 0.7 per cent with Government and Political Party ad spend removed.

 

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Ad spends 2023 SMI Data

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