Australian online ad spending grows, despite the GFC

Stuart Corner
Monday, 10 August 2009 02:48

IT Industry - Strategy

Australia's online advertising market has defied advertising market trends, recording growth of 18.5 percent for the full financial year according to figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia in its Online Advertising Expenditure Report.

The report, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that online advertising expenditure in Australia for the financial year ending June 30 2009 exceeded $1.8b and totalled $453m for the quarter to 30 June 2009.

For the full financial year, search and directories accounted for 49 percent of the total advertising expenditure, general display accounted for 27 percent and classifieds 24 percent. Search and directories grew 25 percent for the full financial year; general display grew 19.6 percent and classifieds six percent.

Paul Fisher, CEO of IAB Australia, said: "The latest revenue figures demonstrate the continued confidence marketers and agencies have in online as an advertising medium both when times are good and when times are tough. Search continues to drive the growth in the industry, with display advertising also well supported. Unsurprisingly, online classifieds advertising has been impacted by declines in the employment, real estate and automotive markets.

According to Fisher, "The continued growth of online advertising expenditure coupled with anecdotal increases in online advertising activity already this quarter, position the industry strongly. With the economy showing early signs of recovery, the online industry is on track to exceed $2b in calendar 2009."

The finance, computers & communications and motor vehicles sectors continue to be the dominant users of general display advertising, accounting for 45.5 percent of general display spending. Motor vehicles – manufacturers was the largest subcategory with 9.8 percent of general display spending for the quarter. Government also increased its share of general display from 2.7 percent for the six months to June 2008 to 4.5 percent for the six months to June 2009.

The full report covers more than 1,000 websites. An executive summary is available at www.iabaustralia.com.au . IAB Australia is one of over 25 IAB offices globally. It was launched in 2005 by Australia's six major online publishers - News Digital Media, Fairfax Digital, ninemsn, Yahoo!7, Google and Sensis Media Smart - and the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA).