Insights

The global COVID pandemic has delivered the largest decline in ad spend yet seen in key advertising markets, with national ad spend in the Anglo Markets decreasing by 8% in 2020. However, our data also shows that while the decline in ad spend has been at a record level, the market recovery is well underway with these markets reporting combined growth of +5% in the final quarter.

After a dismal second quarter 2020, the national ad marketplace ended with a strong fourth quarter. SMI reported no category was stronger in the final quarter than Consumer Packaged Goods, with year-over-year ad spend growth of +34%, the most of any vertical. For calendar year 2020, CPG ad spend grew +10%, compared to -7% for the entire ad market.

SMI’s upfront/scatter report provides insight on where and when national TV ad dollars were allocated by programming genre and by broadcast or cable TV, during the first quarter (Oct-Dec 2020) of the 2020-21 broadcast season.

I was asked this month to share some AVOD and OTT insights at the Global – Future of TV Forum. As you know, OTT consumption has been growing with new platforms and with more premium video content available. And consumer adoption, especially during the pandemic, grew considerably. As a result, advertisers are allocating more of their ad budget on this fast-growing medium.

Performance during the July to September quarter is key for the media industry, with the transition from Summer into Fall; and in some markets, it represents the conclusion of a broadcast season and the start of a new one. This year’s third quarter was even more interesting, as the media industry across all Anglo markets attempted to recover from a disastrous second quarter as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown.

In second quarter 2020 the full impact of the COVID pandemic on the ad marketplace was felt globally. According to Standard Media Index (SMI), second quarter ad spend dropped by an average of -37.1% across five major Anglo markets, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, year-over-year. SMI reports ad spend declines had continued and even accelerated throughout second quarter after the pandemic first hit in mid-March. There are, fortunately, indications of a partial recovery in the ad marketplace within third quarter.

After more than three months, live sports returned to the delight of fans, publishers and advertisers. Starting in late July, three of Canada’s most popular team sports; hockey, basketball and baseball were back in action. After a dismal second quarter, caused by the lack of sports, this could not happen fast enough for the advertising marketplace.

Sophisticated media advertising markets are averaging a 28.2% decline in advertising expenditure in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to expert data analysis by the world’s leading advertising intelligence company.

STRONG growth in Newspaper ad spend is the common early COVID-19 ad spend trend across the Australian and New Zealand media markets, although total media market trends vary markedly in March.

Over the past few months COVID-19 has brought the world to a startling halt. Across Canada, strict lockdown measures in mid-March forced Canadians to stay home. We saw the cancellation of all sporting and live events, the closure of bricks and mortar store fronts, and a significant impact to the economy.

The industry’s most trusted source of ad intelligence and pricing data, announced the appointment of Ben Tatta as President for the U.S. market. In this role Tatta will lead the growth and expansion of the business in the U.S., reporting directly to Global CEO, James Fennessy.

The effect of Covid-19 on advertising and media industries were first felt with the final three weeks of March, impacting the revenue of the month and to a lesser extent first quarter 2020. SMI’s AccuTV Broadcast Report for the month and quarter point this out. James Fennessy, the CEO of Standard Media Index says, “In March we began to see the impact of Cov-19 on the advertising marketplace. SMI with its unique ability to accurately measure the ad marketplace, will be able to know not only how deep the economic slowdown will be, but also when the ad marketplace will rebound”.

STRONG growth in Newspaper ad spend is the common early COVID-19 ad spend trend across the Australian and New Zealand media markets, although total media market trends vary markedly in March.