10 December 2021

Australia’s digital advertising surges 42%: Report

The Australian digital advertising market has continued its growth at pace, reaching $3.232 billion for the September quarter 2021, up 42.1% year-on-year, according to data from the IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) prepared by accounting firm PwC.

Why it matters

Investment in Australia’s digital advertising continues to impress, as retail remains the leading advertiser category while video continues to be the overall star.

Key insights

• All digital advertising categories experienced double digital growth for the September quarter 2020.
• Search and directories increased 41%, general display was up 45.6% and classifieds grew 37.3%. 
• Following a strong 2nd quarter this year and the return of lockdowns, the total market declined by 1.3%. 
• Retail advertising again held the No 1 advertiser category share of display advertising investment, now representing 14.4% of display investment and leading video advertising investment. 
• Technology sector advertising experienced the largest increase in share to reach 7.8%, while automotive advertising’s share of total spend continued to retract on supply challenges.
• The travel sector saw the largest decrease in share, thanks to lockdowns reversing the increases experienced by travel in the June quarter.
• Video advertising’s share of general display advertising peaked this quarter at 62%, an increase of 72% year-on-year to reach $784.1 million. 

Quote

“The September quarter had a mix of highs and lows with Olympics activity encouraging investment but the travel market pulling back again with local lockdowns. Overall though, investment in digital advertising market continued to impress, with the September quarter increasing 42% on the COVID impacted September 2020, but also increasing 36% compared to the 2019 September quarter.” – Gai Le Roy, CEO, IAB Australia.