Radio and out-of-home drive July ad spend, offsetting digital and TV falls, says SMI
Australian media spending edged 0.5% higher in July to $542.3m, driven by radio and outdoor advertising, reports the Standard Media Index.
Driving the higher figures over the same period last year were spending on radio and out of home, while TV and digital dipped 0.5% and 0.3% respectively in the month’s survey which included Cummins & Partners and Atomic 212 for the first time.
Softer demand in regional and subscription TV drove the decline in television spend, however metropolitan stations reported 2.7% growth for the month.
Out-of-home advertising reported an 8.8% jump on July 2017, while radio gained gained 3.1%. Cinema saw the biggest increase for July with a 13.0% surge.
Within the digital category, programmatic slipped 1.2% while spending on social jumped 14%.
SMI AU/NZ Managing Director Jane Ractliffe said: “We’ve seen this year good consistency from key media such as Outdoor, Radio and Metropolitan TV but among many other media sectors there’s large changes in share allocations from categories that are having a big influence on which media deliver growth each month.
“The Digital media, for example, has seen its demand impacted by reduced spending by the Automotive Brand category, and for many years that has been the media’s largest advertiser group. At the same time, the Banks, Media and Consumer Electronics categories are delivering record levels of July ad spend to outdoor.’’
SMI’s ad spend data for the calendar year-to-date showed the market continues to be ahead of last year’s spend, with total spending up 4.9% to $4.105bn – the first time it has ever broken through the $4bn mark seven months into a new calendar year.
I have always been a strong believer in the power of radio, a medium to which I have been devoted since 1968. Like some other media, radio has suffered from over corporatism and enthusiastic business degree inputs, but it still manages to hold its head high in a changing advertising world.
All theatre requires a careful balance of financial and artistic control, Radio has lost too much of its core artistic power in recent years.
This article makes some excellent points and delivers encouraging information, but Ms Ratcliffe should know that if there is an effect from two or more changes in share allocations from categories that are having a big influence on which media deliver growth, then There ARE large changes……
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