THE
advertising market bounced back into growth last month, with a sharp recovery
in print and outdoor signalling an end to the sharpest media downturn in more
than 50 years.
Advertising placed by agencies rose 6
per cent in November to $673 million compared with the same period last year.
It was the first year-on-year increase of 2009, according to revenue
measurement firm SMI, which monitors about half the activity in the $13 billion
industry.
Australian newspaper publishers
appeared to buck trends that have seen print advertising in markets such as the
US continue to fall, with display revenues last month believed to have
outstripped the levels of two years ago, before the downturn occurred.
"Actual media agency dollars
allocated to newspapers was higher in November 09 than November 07," SMI
publisher Jane Schulze said. However, SMI figures do not include most
classified advertising spending.
News
Limited sales chief Tony Kendall confirmed News would report strong growth this
quarter. "Our Newsnet numbers for November are tracking more than 6 per
cent ahead of last year," he said. "December is looking as though
it's going to be as strong again."
Alasdair
MacLeod, managing director of Nationwide News, which includes The Daily
Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Australian, said revenues in print and
online were up 14 per cent in the first week of December compared with the same
period last year.
He
said he was optimistic the division would report year-on-year growth in the six
months to June 2010. "We're hoping that we'll do a little better than the
equivalent period last (financial) year," he said. "I think what's
really happening is that the last few weeks have been very good and everyone's
trying not to get too carried away."
Pacific
Magazines commercial director Peter Zavecz said the sector was experiencing
high single-digit growth. "February and March are looking good as
well," he said. "There are very positive signs from all the
traditional magazine-sector clients in food and beauty and retail."
The
picture is even better in outdoor, with SMI reporting double-digit growth in
agency spending last month compared with November last year. Toby Jenner, chief
of media agency MediaCom, said GroupM's Matrix revenue tracker showed outdoor
advertising levels were also rivalling those of 2007.
Steve
McCarthy, of street furniture company Adshel, said year-on-year spending for
the December quarter had "rebounded a lot stronger than we would have
thought in the middle of the September quarter".
Radio
advertising figures released last week showed metropolitan revenues up 4.15 per
cent to $59m last month compared with the same period last year. Revenues at
pay-TV sales company MCN were up 20 per cent last month, according to chief
executive Anthony Fitzgerald. "November has been an absolute boomer for us
and December is very strong as well," he said.
He
said pay-TV had not been affected by the launch this year of three commercial
free-to-air digital multi-channels.
Ten
chairman Nick Falloon last week said the free-to-air TV market continued to
improve, and Seven sales chief James Warburton said there had been modest
growth in the December quarter.