‘Marketers are adopting a more cautious approach’: Aussie ad spend plummets in Q1

Soft marketing spend during the month of March has dragged down the entire first quarter, despite a huge increase in Government spending.

Guideline SMI’s results for the month of March show a 6.6% fall in ad demand, which it says is “partly due to Easter timing”.

This has resulted in a 3.7% drop in spend for the March quarter – compared to the first three months of 2023. This is despite the success of various sector within – Outdoor is reporting Q1 spend rose 1.4%, Digital jumped 2.7%, and Cinema was up 8.4%.

The month of March saw government spent up 36%, year on year, due to the Tasmanian election. This was offset by drastic drops in Travel and Communications marketing.