Australian ad spending decline continues into February with 8.6 percent dip: SMI

Ad spend in Australia has continued to decline year-on-year due to unusually high levels of spending in 2022, according to Standard Media Index.

SMI said spending in February 2023 declined 8.6 percent to $544.4 million, from the $595.7 million reported in the same period last year.

The company said the decline was largely due to a 50 percent drop in spending from the government, with February 2022 also benefiting from the broadcast of the Beijing Winter Olympics. With the government category bookings removed, the underlying decline in ad spending is at 5.5 percent.