Media agency bookings have continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a reduced year-on-year decline of 2.6% to $557.9 million in February, according to SMI figures.
The latest numbers, which include IPG Mediabrands data, mark a “two-speed recovery”, with TV returning as the largest media for the month after temporarily losing the title to digital in January.
TV delivered the strongest growth with total bookings up 8.5%, led by metropolitan TV, up 12%, which was buoyed by the delayed Australian Open.
Digital ad spend grew just 1.2% in February and reported patchy demand with strong growth in ad spend to social media, up 12.3% and video sites, up 12.7%. However, the value of ad spend to the largest digital sector of search fell by 8.4%.
