Agency bookings continued to lag in November 2018 with a 4.4% decline.
The slump follows a significant drop in October that saw a 10.2% drop in overall spend.
The previous SMIs showed a significant decline in October bookings compared to the year prior largely attributed to the lack of events, such as sport and the same-sex marriage debate.
Similarly, November figures for 2018 show a weaker market compared to 2017, which also held state elections.
The trend of increased government spending can be expected as we gear up for federal and state elections in 2019.
In November, SMI introduced a new category called the Political Parties/Industry Assoc/Union category and said it is reporting a year-on-year growth of 19.1% to $11.14 million due to the Victorian elections.
Once government spending is removed from the November data the decline is reduced to just 1.6%.
November Media Bookings
Radio, outdoor and cinema were the sectors that reported growth at 4%, 6% and 25.4% respectively.
Meanwhile TV was down 6.4% and digital 6%, while newspapers were hit with a 21.5% drop and magazines 19.5%.
The Retail and Automotive sector had record growth in November ad spend with retail up 13% and auto rising 17%.
Food and alcohol provided the most growth for retail giving it a 10% boost.
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