The nation’s independent media agency sector is predicting an increase in advertising expenditure in the next financial year, the Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA)’s 2025 Indie Census has revealed.
The annual census, released today by the IMAA, is designed to provide insights into the needs, challenges and opportunities facing Australia’s independent media agencies.
This year’s census includes responses from 157 independent agencies across the nation, taking the temperature on everything from forecast ad spend, media channel growth expectations, to recruitment plans.
According to the data, nearly eight in 10 (77 per cent) IMAA members expect an increase or flat advertising spend in the next financial year, with more than a third (32 per cent) predicting advertising spend will increase by up to 10 per cent on last year.
The forecast aligns with recorded year-on-year indie ad spend growth, with nearly two thirds of IMAA member agencies now billing more than $11 million annually. The number of agencies billing between $30 million and $50 million has also doubled in the past 12 months, to 16 per cent.
Agencies are expecting the biggest advertising spend growth in the coming 12 months to be across media channels including CTV/BVOD, programmatic out-of-home, podcasts, digital video and social media.
Almost 70 per cent of indie agencies predicted CTV/BVOD to grow by up to 25 per cent in FY 26 and more than 60 per cent said audio/podcasts would grow by a similar amount. In addition, three in four agencies are adding programmatic OOH to their media plans.
The positive prediction around advertising dollars is also driving growth in recruitment. According to the data, more than 70 per cent of indie agencies are set to increase their staff numbers in the coming financial year, with nearly 60 per cent set to hire up to five new team members.
When it comes to media buying and planning across channels, just over half the respondents (50.92 per cent) said they had a unified strategy when it comes to planning and buying audio, which includes broadcast, radio, streaming radio and podcasts. Nearly two thirds of respondents (60.1 per cent) said they planned to manage media buying across Australia’s retail media in the coming financial year, while programmatic out-of-home is also gaining traction, with three in four agencies adding it to their FY25 media plans.
IMAA member agencies said budgets, ROI and lead times were the biggest challenges around implementing digital branded content into their media plans, while education and budgets were the biggest sticking points around introducing advanced measurement solutions.
The census data showed AI and privacy are still top-of-mind for IMAA members. Most agencies are using AI to improve their operational efficiency (57 per cent) or to manage and optimise campaign outcomes, KPIs and ROI. When it comes to choosing a publisher or vendor platform, almost three quarters (74 per cent) said privacy was important.
“Our latest Indie Census is demonstrative of the buoyancy in the national indie media agency sector. Despite the cost-of-living crisis and reduced consumer spending, our members continue to feel positive about advertising spend and business growth, reflecting the overall state-of-play in the indie agency landscape,” said IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen significant momentum for independent media agencies nationwide, with major account wins and investment, as brands realise the many benefits of working with indie agencies. Our members anticipate double-digit growth in ad spend in the next financial year, which is a vote of confidence in our Australian independent media sector, and backed by the IMAA’s industry-leading professional development and education initiatives”.
