Ad Spend dropped 8% across key Anglo markets

The pandemic contributed to an 8% decline in ad spend across key Anglo markets (the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada) last year according to Standard Media Index, with Canada faring the worst among the five markets tracked by the advertising intelligence firm.

Canadian ad spending dropped 19% year-over-year in 2020, and the market is rebounding slower than its counterparts, said SMI. The combined US$7.6 billion decline in total ad investment across the five markets is the largest drop ever seen by SMI, which uses media agency billing data to compile its reports.

But while the pandemic’s initial shock led to what SMI described as a “devastating” 32% drop across the five markets in the second quarter—and a 48% drop in Canada—it noted that the market has been steadily recovering in recent months.