April ad spend drops 7.6% from last year’s record high

The Australian ad market suffered a 7.6% decline in April to $522m, compared to last year’s record-breaking ad spend driven by the Commonwealth Games, according to the Standard Media Index’s (SMI) latest report.

The Commonwealth Games last year and timing of the Easter and Anzac Day public holidays this year, combined with a high-level of business caution in the lead up to May’s federal election, meant that more than a third of SMI product categories reported a drop in demand. This was led by domestic banks, which reduced ad spend by 35.5%, driven by unusually high demand last year during the Financial Services Royal Commission. The two largest categories, retail and automotive, also saw significant April declines of 7.1% and 21% respectively.