Comm Games & Banking Royal Commission Deliver Agencies A “Mini Boom” In April

Comm Games & Banking Royal Commission Deliver Agencies A “Mini Boom” In April
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



Australia’s media market is experiencing a mini advertising boom, with Standard Media Index reporting unprecedented demand for the month of April (total spend up 9.6 per cent to $586.5 million) and for the calendar and financial year periods.

The market is being aided by a series of one-off events and timing issues in April, but even so the underlying market also remains strong with ad spend for the four months of the calendar year up 6.1 per cent and ad spend for the 10 months of the financial year breaking through $6 billion for the first time.

The Commonwealth Games were a key driver of higher demand this month, lifting the metropolitan TV sector by 15 per cent YOY to its highest level in eight years, while Seven’s online streaming of the Games ensured the digital video sites sector was the fastest growing in the digital media this month (up 54.9 per cent YOY) with Seven Digital becoming the second largest revenue contributor after YouTube.

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SMI AU/NZ managing director Jane Ractliffe said the financial services royal commission also continued to drive advertising demand, with domestic bank category emerging as the fastest growing for the month (up 54.9 per cent YOY) to make that category the market’s third largest in April.

Total Digital ad spend lifted 13.3 per cent in April (or 11.3 per cent with the Comm Games streaming excluded) with social sites still being unaffected by the ongoing debate on data privacy (total social bookings grew 18.9 per cent) but by far the highest growth this month was in Outdoor.

Total agency spending onto outdoor soared 32.5 per cent in April, but a large part of that growth was due to the fact the month of April included an extra sales cycle for the large posters/billboards and retail outdoor sectors.

Commenting on April’s results, Ractliffe said: “We really are seeing a perfect advertising storm with the Commonwealth Games, the Royal Commission and a lesser Easter impact this month combining to deliver record ad spend,.

“But even without the timing and event-related impact, we can see the strength of the underlying market with seven of the ten largest product categories reporting double digit growth in April which is truly incredible.’’

Among those categories delivering higher spend in April, SMI is reporting a 15.4 per cent increase in ad spend from the largest category of auto brand, a 10.8 per cent increase in insurance ad spend and a 20.7 per cent increase in government ad spend.




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