Brisbane’s media, marketing and advertising community turned out in numbers this week for the fourth annual IAB Australia Brisbane Market Update.
This year’s event reflected a market that’s not just growing but maturing. Attendees were treated to discussions that went well beyond surface-level trends, exploring the structural and strategic changes reshaping advertising from the redefinition of retail media to the commercial realities of AI and automation.
IAB Australia shared insights on shifting consumer behaviour (spoiler: AI and aging are underpinning a lot of changing media habits), ad investment trends, data and privacy reforms, and the latest technical standards shaping digital buying and measurement. The updates underscored how capability building and cross-market collaboration are now critical for maintaining momentum in an environment where technology is moving faster than most teams can keep up.
OMD Australia’s Alison Costello and Amart Furniture’s Taylor Murray illustrated what this looks like in practice, unpacking how their partnership has fused data-driven decision-making with creative agility to fuel Amart’s growth. Their approach is to look for a fruitful human and algorithmic partnership and their “progress over perfection” approach to content creation has boosted Amart’s reach and market share. Proof that experimentation and consistency can win the day.
The retail media conversation with sector leaders Janice Hoogeveen (TerryWhite Chemmart) and Rob Odd (Epsilon) cut through the hype to tackle what sustainable growth really requires. Both highlighted the need to develop new talent pipelines, reshape team structures, and manage expectations between retailers and brands as investment ramps up. The message was clear: the opportunity is massive, but so is the need for disciplined education and shared standards.
A local panel featuring Kelly Healy (News Corp Australia), Casey Greig (Audience Group), Kirsten Bucceri (Nine), Marcel Hashimoto (Youi Insurance) and moderator Vikki Pearce (Zenith Media Australia) captured what makes the Queensland market distinctive—a blend of speed, pragmatism, and genuine collaboration. Panellists noted that Brisbane’s scale allows it to move faster than the southern states, and that deep, trust-based relationships between brands, agencies and media owners remain its defining strength.
The high percentage of people from Brisbane who have retuned to the market after spending years away in other markets that have returned speaks volumes about the opportunity and enjoyability of the market. This returning talent feeding into local agencies, in-house teams like Youi and local media sales teams has contributed to the strength of the local industry.
The prevailing sentiment: when one player succeeds in Queensland, the whole market lifts.
“The Brisbane Market Update has quickly become one of our most engaged and energised local events. It’s fantastic to see such strong industry connection and insight emerging from the Queensland market; the energy in the room on Tuesday night was a real testament to the momentum in the region,” said IAB Australia CEO Gai Le Roy, reflecting on the event.
The event was supported by News Australia.
