Standard Media Inde

New Zealand’s media agency market opened the calendar year broadly steady, with January ad spend easing just 0.2% year-on-year to $65.2 million, Guideline SMI data shows.

Key highlights are as follows:

• Digital ad spend again led the way, lifting 2.6% YOY to take its share of the January market to 51%

• Within Digital, the largest percentage growth came from Video Streaming sites where revenues soared 49.2%

• Social Networks achieved the largest $ gains, up $2.2 million, or 39.3% but Search continues to decline, back 10.7%

• Billboards delivered growth in January for Outdoor, up 27.2%, although spending in most other formats softened, particularly Street Furniture (-43.0%) as the market adjusts to new contracts

• Metropolitan and Regional Newspapers joined the revival, gaining 5.1% compared with last January

• Cinema soared 75.9% from its lower base

• Linear TV revenues slipped 9.7% but within that, Pay TV gained 9.1%

• Radio bookings declined 6.1% YOY and Magazine bookings were back 50.8%

• For the FYTD the NZ market is now back 2.7%

• Among key product categories Government, Specialty Retail and Communications sectors were stronger over this period, offsetting reduced spending from Utilities, Retail, Food and Restaurant brands