Australian ad spend nears $9bn in 2022: SMI
The advertising spend in Australia closed in on the $9 billion mark in 2022 and represented a 6.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase, according to figures from Standard Media Index (SMI).
The current market size is now 10.9 per cent or $875.7 million larger than the pre-COVID level in 2019. SMI AU/NZ managing director, Jane Ractliffe, said at this rate, the Australian ad market’s value “will be well north of $10 billion in the next few years”.
“Growth in the Australian ad market looks to be accelerating not just post-COVID but also more broadly as we can see that in the past ten years the value of the ad market has grown by a remarkable 39.4 per cent, which represents an extra $2.5 billion in advertising bookings,’’ she said.
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However, Ractliffe said the Q4 spend saw sustained growth and achieved just $5 million below the record level from the same period in 2021.
“The fourth quarter period was the first in CY2019 to turn positive following the depths of the COVID decline that year, and every year since Q4 ad spend has continued to deliver strong growth so it’s no surprise to see the market try to find a new baseline.”
Digital media is now the largest on a standalone basis (with digital-related ad spend from other media included). But when digital spend is reallocated to the originating content, the Video/TV media remains
the largest.
The fastest-growing digital sector remains social media, whose total ad spend was up 14.7 per cent for the year. Meanwhile, outdoor and cinema are both on the road to recovery with a jump of 24.6 per cent and 82 per cent in booking respectively.
Formats hitting $1 billion in ad spend for the first time in 2022 were video-based and search media.
In terms of category, Government spearheaded ad spend due to the Federal and Victorian elections, followed by other big categories including Retail, Insurance and Restaurants.
The travel category saw the biggest growth rate of 54.7 per cent, representing growth of $141.5 million from its COVID-related decline. Automotive, on the other hand, failed to match its 2018 peak despite a 7.7 per cent increase in ad spend this year.
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Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.
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