SMI Data: Aussie Agencies Delivered A Record $8.6 billion In Expenditure In 2021

SMI Data: Aussie Agencies Delivered A Record $8.6 billion In Expenditure In 2021

Australia’s media agency market has emerged confidently from the traumatising COVID period in a far stronger position, delivering a record level of advertising expenditure in the 2021 year of $8.6 billion after reporting record levels of ad spend for the December month, quarter and half.

The year was characterised by one of continual ad market improvement with the SMI data showing consecutive year-on-year ad growth for each month in 2021, in turn ensuring the value of advertising bought by SMI’s media agency partners was $323.5 million above the previous record set in CY2018.

SMI AU/NZ Managing Director Jane Ractliffe said the results again proved the advertising economy is one of the more robust, with SMI showing that numerous product categories are spending far more on advertising now than in the pre-COVID era.

“Given advertising expenditure is so strongly correlated to GDP, this SMI data provides a very strong indication that the broader Australian economy is moving well beyond the original COVID downturn and has instead learned to function extremely effectively in the new COVID era,’’ she said.

“The SMI data clearly shows the economy is being fuelled by a level of advertising expenditure that’s never before been seen, and among the 20 largest of SMI’s product categories we can see the media investment of 14 categories is well above that reported in pre-COVID CY2019.’’

“Today’s data shows, for example, the level of ad spend from the Communications category in CY2021 was 47% higher than in CY2019; Alcoholic Beverages ad spend has grown 52% from that time, Food/Produce category ad spend has grown 25% and Technology ad spend has soared 59%. This all underscores the fact that the level of confidence in today’s market is at unprecedented levels,’’ she said.

But Ractliffe said the COVID experience has also changed the shape of Australian media, and for the first time the Digital media delivered the highest level of annual ad spend in CY2021 after growing 35% from CY2020.

“Digital media now accounts for 38.6% of all Agency ad spend and grew its share by 3.2 percentage points from the 2020 year,’’ Ractliffe said. “The only other media to grow their share this year were Outdoor (+0.2ppt) and Cinema (+0.1ppt) as they continued to recover from the huge impact on their businesses at the start of COVID.’’

But Ractliffe said that when Digital revenues were allocated back to traditional media content, the Video market remains the year’s largest (+19%) with non-traditional Digital revenues at $2.8 billion (+ 35.4%).

In terms of quarterly ad spend trends, Ractliffe said the CY2021 market was notable for the fact that ad spend continued to grow even as the prior year periods became more `normal’.

“The second quarter of 2020 bore the brunt of the COVID pandemic given the shock of the first wave of COVID, but then the economy began to pick up and these quarterly results highlight the market’s overall strength as the level of ad spend continued to grow well beyond 2019 levels throughout the year,’’ she said.

Other key trends from CY2021 are as follows:

  • December month ad spend lifts 7% YOY to move beyond $700 million for the first time
  • Metropolitan TV delivered a record level of CY2021 linear TV ad spend (+20.1% to $2.52billion) and Regional TV ad spend just 1.6% back on the high set in CY2018
  • Within Digital, Social Media was the fastest growing sector with total ad spend +51% onCY2020
  • Regional Radio reported a record level of annual ad spend in CY2021
  • National print mastheads grow 19.3% in 2021 to deliver their highest result since CY2016And Ractliffe said the current level of high demand looked set to continue, with the early view of January ad spend already showing growth mostly driven by Television given the move of the Australian Open broadcast into the month of February in 2021.

 




Please login with linkedin to comment

SMI Data

Latest News

Archibald Williams Wins NBA Digital, Activation & Fan Engagement Accounts For APAC
  • Media

Archibald Williams Wins NBA Digital, Activation & Fan Engagement Accounts For APAC

Independent brand and digital agency, Archibald Williams (AW) has been appointed to lead the NBA account across the APAC region. The NBA is one of the most prestigious sporting leagues in the world and basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in Australia. Effective immediately, AW said it was “excited” to work across all digital, […]

QMS Champions Creativity As First Most Contagious APAC 2023 Sponsor
  • Advertising

QMS Champions Creativity As First Most Contagious APAC 2023 Sponsor

Leading digital outdoor company QMS has announced it is the first-ever inaugural partner for Most Contagious APAC, the landmark London event by creative and strategic intelligence company Contagious, which will be showcased in Australia on Tuesday, 12 December in Sydney and Wednesday, 13 December in Melbourne. Most Contagious is an event that delivers key advertising […]

OMG’s Annalect First To Get Meta’s Advanced Analytics
  • Technology

OMG’s Annalect First To Get Meta’s Advanced Analytics

Omnicom’s data and analytics division Annalect has partnered with Meta, giving it access to Advanced Analytics (AA) – one of Meta’s privacy-focused measurement solutions – to provide Omnicom’s clients with future-proof, next-level measurement. Omnicom is the first holding company to have access to AA. AA allows advertisers to combine their first-party data with Meta’s ads […]

AKQA Launches Eco-Conscious AI DIY Assistant Encouraging People To Gift More Sustainably
  • Technology

AKQA Launches Eco-Conscious AI DIY Assistant Encouraging People To Gift More Sustainably

WPP’s AKQA has launched Fixmas.gift, an environmentally conscious AI-powered DIY assistant, affectionately known as Fixie, for a one-stop solution for all things repair. Fixmas.gift hosts an array of guides and inspiration to empower people to prolong the lives of their belongings or purchase pre-owned items that need a little love and care. Fixie can: Help […]

Marc Collister: AI & Automation Set To Revolutionise Creativity In 2024
  • Opinion

Marc Collister: AI & Automation Set To Revolutionise Creativity In 2024

Marc Collister (pictured) of P2 Content Creators spills the beans on his 2024 predictions drawing from two decades of experience in the advertising, film and television industry. I’m certain it will come as no surprise that in 2024, we can expect our industry to move at breakneck speed again. With even more rapid shifts in […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Zeno Group Australia Bolsters Client Offerings With An Expanded Creative Services Portfolio & New Senior Leader
  • Marketing

Zeno Group Australia Bolsters Client Offerings With An Expanded Creative Services Portfolio & New Senior Leader

Zeno Australia has announced expanded creative design capabilities and the appointment of Jim Michell (lead image) to its senior leadership team. The new moves support strong growth in the region. Zeno Australia’s clients, including Abano Healthcare, Motorola and Yorkshire Tea, can now tap into a suite of creative design services to augment the agency’s work […]

Assembled Media Inks TikTok Creator Campaign for BIC
  • Campaigns

Assembled Media Inks TikTok Creator Campaign for BIC

Assembled Media, is drawing upon the creative power of TikTok Creator Marketplace to help generate unique, impactful content for iconic stationery brand, BIC. The social activation campaign titled ‘A Pen for Every Side of You’ promotes the flexibility of BIC’s 4 Colours pen and is active nationwide on the BIC Stationery TikTok account. The campaign […]

Big data and analytics visualization technology with scientist analyzing information structure on screen with machine learning to extract predictions for business, finance, internet of things
  • Media

IAB Launches Fourth Module In Its Marketing Measurement Innovation Series

IAB Australia has launched ‘Evolution in Market Mix Modelling’, the fourth module in its Marketing Measurement Innovation Series, which has been developed by IAB Australia’s Ad Effectiveness Council. The module explores what is driving the increased use of MMM and how the technique is evolving with advances in computing power and machine learning to provide […]

Aerial view of a coal fired power station with large cooling towers emitting co2 into the atmosphere. With its lights already turned on the power station is illuminated in moody twilight.
  • Media

Scope3 Expands Carbon Measurement Capabilities To Include DOOH Advertising

Scope3, the collaborative sustainability platform leading the decarbonisation of media and advertising,  announced the addition of digital out-of-home (DOOH) to its emissions measurement. With DOOH ad spending predicted to grow from $17B in 2023 to nearly $24B by 2028, measuring this channel brings us one step closer to understanding the total impact of digital advertising […]

January 14, 2023 - New York, New York, USA: 2023 NRF Big Show press conference with Composition 2024 NRF Singapore.    Photo by Ian Wagreich / © Ian Wagreich Photography
  • Marketing

Now Open For Registration – NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific

NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific, is now open for online registrations for the main conference. Jointly organized by the National Retail Federation and Comexposium, Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific will take place from 11 – 13 June, 2024 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore and is expected to draw thousands […]