Australian advertisers resign themselves to marginal market growth: Starcom MediaVest

These results are based on the media group's Media Futures survey which polled 53 senior media executives for both regional and metropolitan markets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. The fieldwork and data for this study was provided by McNair Ingenuity research. 

“This very marginal growth is the ‘new normal’ and it’s a continuation of a trend we’ve seen for the past few years,” said Starcom MediaVest Group chairman John Sintras.

The survey found that the media sectors most likely to register stronger growth are online search (up 14.5 per cent), display (up 9.4 per cent) and mobile (11.6 per cent) as the internet advertising market continues to outperform more established media channels.

“Online media across all platforms continues to outperform the more established channels in terms of revenue growth," said Sintras. "The availability and quality of performance data, allowing real-time optimisation and industry-leading ROI evaluation, will only see this trend continue."

Newspapers, magazines and out-of-home are forecast to be the hardest hit media this year, with falls of 3.2 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

While most advertisers (92 per cent) used online display advertising in 2012, free-to-air (FTA) TV was still the most frequently used medium, and 85 per cent of advertisers say they will use FTA primary channels again this year.

Media executives anticipate the biggest uplift in TV revenues will come from sports and special events. Government and automotive are predicted to be the best performing categories, with 67 per cent and 62 per cent of executives anticipating growth in these categories respectively. Retail, finance and telecommunications are also likely to see an increase in spending. On the other hand, budgets for FMCG and food are expected to decrease substantially.

“We’re heading into a new federal election cycle in 2013 and we expect this will have a positive effect, especially on FTA TV advertising,” Sintras said. “With Nine and Fox Sports paying a record price for NRL rights, and with the AFL being ever popular around the country, it’s no surprise that sports will be what drives TV revenue in 2013."

In terms of “below-the-line” media, almost three quarters of marketers used public relations in 2012 and anticipate they will do the same in 2013. Mobile internet is the big growth medium, with 32 per cent of marketers saying they will use it this year, compared with 25 per cent in 2012. Catalogues, unaddressed direct mail, exhibitions and branded content are all likely to see budgets contract.