The ad spend canary is still finding it tough in Australia but in New Zealand the flightless kiwi is finding its strength.
The Australian media agency market posted an 8.2% fall in ad spend for January 2020, according to numbers from SMI (Standard Media Index).
All major Australian media reported lower advertising investment in the first month of the calendar year.
Retail spend fell 27.9% and Automotive 10.8%.
Bright spots included Cinema with ad spend back only 0.8%, the National newspaper sector reported a 32% increase in January bookings and the Regional Radio market lifted 0.8%.
Spending to Social Media sites was down just 0.3%.
It was a different story in New Zealand where the media market grew 2%.
NZ SMI rep\orted Radio to be the star performer with agency investment rising 29% year-on-year, TV bookings up 2%, Outdoor spend up 0.2% and Digital back just 0.8%.
Jane Ractliffe, SMI AU/NZ managing director, says the difference in advertising demand across both countries is perplexing, especially when there are so many large trans-Tasman advertisers.
General Retail ad spend grew 4.8% in NZ in January but in Australia the same category reported a 10.8% fall.
And Home Furnishing/Appliance ad spend in Australia fell 3.6% but grew 14% in NZ.
Ractliffe says the New Zealand market was also far more stable, returning to growth in January after only three months of softer demand following its record September month which featured the Rugby World Cup and local elections.
"Unfortunately the Australian market is not showing the same resilience and that is out of step with what SMI has been seeing in the US and UK markets where ad spending has continued to grow despite the global uncertainties,’’ she says.
A full comparison of the AU and NZ markets’ ten largest product categories:
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