Agency bookings dropped 4.3% in quarter three, and in a bleak assessment of the local industry GroupM chairman and chief executive John Steedman has argued the final quarter will not be any prettier.
Standard Media Index figures for quarter three indicated a 4.3% drop in agency bookings, while September was flat, falling 0.3% to $648.9 million.
In recent months, several media buyers have been repeatedly arguing that the market will pick up in the final quarter. Steedman admitted that until a month ago he was one of those media buyers, but has since changed his tune.
“If you'd asked me a month ago, I would have said the market will pick up,” Steedman told AdNews. “But based on what I am seeing at the moment, those SMI figures are in line with the market, and there are no signs of improvement.
“In previous months people were more optimistic but the market has slowed. There are lots of influencing factors, with retail being the way it is, and FMCG advertisers pulling back, and the global economy, and the consumer uncertainty.
“There are no signs this will improve, certainly not this year. On the global stage it's very difficult. Moving into next year will be tough. I wish there was a more positive story to tell.”
Mediabrands executive chairman Henry Tajer has offered a
different perspective on the SMI figures. For his opposing point of
view, click here.
In September, SMI figures have indicated that newspapers fell 15%, magazines fell 12.5% and radio dropped 11.7%.
On a more positive note, television increased 0.6%, outdoor increased 10.4%, and digital surged 21.7%.
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