Abnormal 2016 Government Category Ad Spend Skews Agency Bookings in May 2017 - SMI data
Announcement posted by Third Avenue Consulting 15 Jun 2017
AUSTRALIA’S media Agency market is being badly impacted by abnormally high Government Category advertising expenditure in May 2017 given the extra Government bookings in the lead up to last year’s Federal election.
As a result, the market is reporting a 9.7% top line decline in ad spend to $589.5 million, but if the abnormal Government category bookings were removed the underlying result is closer to a decline of 5%.
Also the June long weekend has reduced the time in which Agencies can retrospectively pay for their May Digital campaigns, so a larger than usual number of late Digital bookings are expected at month end, and that should bring the market back to a stable position.
As a result, this month SMI is yet to see growth in any major media, although that changes when Government bookings are removed to highlight the underlying trend. For example, total Television ad spend grows by 0.9% year-on-year when Government category spend is removed for both periods.
SMI AU/NZ Managing Director Jane Schulze said that as there are numerous one-off factors affecting the market this month it’s too simplistic to look at the top line decline in isolation.
``Federal elections are like Olympic broadcasts from an advertising revenue perspective in that they’re absolutely abnormal events that bring in an exceptionally high amount of revenue that is usually one-off in nature," she said.
``So it’s important to look at the underlying result and also the longer term trends. In that regard, SMI shows total ad spend for the five months of this calendar year is back only 1.2% and is still up 0.9% in the current financial year period.’’
Ms Schulze said the fall in Government Category ad spend also disguised continuing growth from other key product categories with the market’s two largest – Automotive Brand and Retail – continuing to report strong double digit growth in media investment.
Other categories reporting strong growth in May 2017 included Toiletries/Cosmetics (+12.5% YOY) and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+28.5%).
For more detail contact Jane Schulze on 0401 704 348
SMI AU May 2017 Media Data.
| May 2017
| % Change YOY
|
| Television (excluding Digital) | -2.9% |
| Digital (interim result) | -16.9% |
| Outdoor | -3.2% |
| Newspapers (excluding Digital and late bookings) | -29.0% |
| Radio (excluding Digital) | -12.5% |
| Magazines (excluding Digital) | -18.3% |
| Cinema | -20.7% |
| Other | -19% |
| Grand Total
| -9.7%
|
SMI AU May 2017 Category Data
| Key Changes May 2017 v May 2016
| ||||
| SMI Category Data
| May 17
| Change ($)
| Change (%)
| |
| Top Gains
| Retail | 50,709,239 | 11,529,422 | 29% |
| Automotive Brand | 71,013,451 | 7,336,852 | 12% | |
| Top Declines
| Government | 22,832,984 | -30,399,571 | -57% |
| Food/Produce/Dairy | 32,866,639 | -12,030,890 | -27% | |
Influencing Factors: May 2017
Events and timing issues affecting the May 2017 ad spend data:
- Abnormal Government category ad spend in May 2016 as Federal Election approached
- One less Sunday in May 2017 compared to May 2016, affecting Newspaper spend as there was one less edition of the Sunday papers (which are the week’s largest)
- State of Origin Game 1 broadcast on May 31, 2017 but in 2016 it was broadcast in June, and therefore inflated TV figures
- Extended June long weekend break will mean a greater proportion of Digital bookings come in closer to the end of the month