Could Canada’s ad spend recovery be swifter than others?

Financial results for Q2 indicated that few in media were immune to the economic effects of COVID-19 – regardless of country or media type.

Some early Q3 data from the likes of international players like Snapchat and local media companies like Rogers and Corus indicate, however, that even if some aren’t fully out of the woods yet, things are trending in the right direction. New data from Standard Media Index confirms exactly that – and also finds that in some regards Canada is standing out.

SMI’s data so far has shown that Canada was the hardest-hit of all its measured markets in Q2, with overall ad spend dropping by 47%. The latest results (for the period of September to July) show what a difference a quarter makes – overall spend was down 10% from Q3 2019. That puts its recovery as being quicker than that of Australia and the U.K. – although the U.S. is in the lead, at only 5% below last year’s Q3. This is partially as a result of federal election spending.