Digital ad spend drops for first time since 2009 as industry wrestles multiple issues

Digital ad spend has gone backwards for the first time since April 2009, with spend during February down 1.7% year-on-year.

The decline comes as as brands and marketers boycott YouTube over fears ads are running next to offensive content with the likes of Holden, Kia, and the Australian Government suspending advertising on the video platform.

However, overnight Google has sought to downplay the level of exposure advertisers have had to “unsafe content” saying only a “fraction of a percent” of ads ever appeared alongside offensive content.