Ad spend back to growth in March, early April data shows bookings surge

After two consecutive months of trending downwards, Australia’s media agency market recorded growth in ad spend for the month of March, with digital bookings leading the way.

Digital spend grew 15.6% year-on-year, with Standard Media Index (SMI) reporting the result came after a $166 million surge in late digital bookings. Programmatic media bookings rose 28%, while Social Media was up 20.1% and Search grew 16.5%.

Television remains a strong performer, as it has been so far this year, with a 7.2% jump in spend.