Ad market posts 12th consecutive month of decline in August, down 8.9%
August was the 12th consecutive month of decline for Australia’s media-agency-funded ad market, according to the latest numbers from the Standard Media Index (SMI).
The total market was back by 8.9% compared to August 2018, with all formats experiencing reduced spend. TV bookings were down 5.8%, digital 8.6%, outdoor 12.6% and radio 10%.
SMI’s forecast released just a week ago had its August forecast off in the span of a week; it was forecasting Aug 19 to be on similar level to Aug 18.
Instead Aug 19 is below even Aug 17 numbers.
Even if their initial forecast of industry going back to growth in October, that still puts it on a similar level to October 2016, which SMI have said to be outlier years.
https://staging.mumbrella.com.au/ad-spend-decline-across-every-major-media-for-the-first-time-since-smi-records-began-555290
Instead, last year’s October figures look more on par with the historical trend, with the exception of 2016 and 2017. We’d be lucky if the industry can go back to even last year’s level I think.