By: M4G Bureau
Last updated : April 05, 2018 10:16 am
Outdoor has delivered by far the largest growth (+29.1% year-on-year; The highest growth came from the domestic banks category
SMI’s agency data shows demand lifted 7.6% in February to a record level of $544.8 million, which in turn pushed agency bookings for the first two months of CY2018 5% higher, ensuring ad spend for the two-month period broke through $1 billion for the first time.
The data shows that In February the digital, outdoor and radio sectors all recorded record levels of agency ad spend for the month, with outdoor delivering by far the largest growth (+29.1% year-on-year without any lunar month issues). Television grew ad spend by 5.4% to its best February result since 2015.
The higher demand came from a broad range of advertisers, with eight of the market’s 10 largest product categories reporting double digit growth in February. The highest growth came from the domestic banks category, which grew ad spend by 56.6% year-on-year as they seek to mitigate the impact of the Financial Services Royal Commission. Other large categories reporting double digit gains include retail (+11.8%), food/produce/dairy (+16.5%), insurance (+23.4%), government (+26.9% in a month that included SA and Tasmanian elections), toiletries/cosmetics (+27.7%) and restaurants (+21.1%).