Tightened belts in Canberra squeeze adland and media companies

Last financial year was especially tough in adland, as Canberra’s campaign media spending plunged to $131.4m, after an outlay of $239.6m in the previous 12 months by the Morrison government.

Over the past decade, media buyers have switched government advertising away from traditional media outlets to digital platforms. Picture: AFP

Last financial year was especially tough in adland, as Canberra’s campaign media spending plunged to $131.4m, after an outlay of $239.6m in the previous 12 months by the Morrison government.

The squeeze on advertising was acute for the press, particularly regional newspapers, as spending was cut by 87 per cent in that category, from $15m in 2021-22 to $1.9m.

Federal government spending on radio advertising dropped by 64 per cent to $11.8m; on TV it fell by 45 per cent to $40.8m and on digital platforms it decreased by 24 per cent to $56.3m; for out-of-home modes, such as billboards and transport shelters, spending dropped by 56 per cent to $16.1m.

Over the past decade, media buyers have switched government advertising away from traditional media outlets to digital platforms, as the mega players such as Google and Meta (owner of Facebook) dominated the terrain here and overseas. In February 2021, the Morrison government introduced a world-first News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code to address the bargaining power imbalance between news media businesses and digital platforms.

Last financial year, digital accounted for 43 per cent of Canberra’s total media spend on campaigns. A decade earlier, digital advertising made up 21 per cent of the pie.

In 2012-13, TV won 47 per cent of the media share; last year, it accounted for 31 per cent. Printed newspapers last year received 1.4 per cent of campaign media outlays, whereas a decade earlier its share was 13 per cent.