The 2024 media year is set to be “incredibly vibrant”, with the growth of new advertising categories and major events, such as the Paris Olympics, according to Guideline SMI APAC managing director Jane Ractliffe.
Ractliffe told Mediaweek the emergence of new products and categories, such as electric vehicles, are primed for growth as brands increase advertising spend over the next 12 months.
These growing categories and sectors, combined with the expected increase in activity around major events such as the Olympic Games & Paralympic Games, would contribute to a vibrant year for Australia’s media industry.
Ractliffe shared her thoughts on the sector ahead of an upcoming exclusive webinar presentation in partnership with Mediaweek.
The webinar will draw from forward pacings data for 2024 to identify ad spend trends, the key media channels poised for growth, and the product categories most likely to deliver above-average growth this year.
Ractliffe will also examine the potential impact of major events such as the Olympics, the US Presidential election and the ongoing global uncertainty while also forecasting the media trends set to dominate the industry over the next 12 months.
The webinar will also use Guideline SMI’s local and international historical database to recap the highlights from 2023 and explore the recovery of the automotive sector, the impact of decreased government ad spending and the categories yet to return to pre-Covid levels.
Guideline SMI’s most recent data revealed that while advertising spend dropped -2.7% to hit $660m or 8.2% in 2023, it still delivered the second-largest total of annual ad spend ever recorded.
Ratcliffe will be joined by media industry heavyweights GroupM chief investment officer Melissa Hey, Omnicom Media Group’s chief investment officer Kristiaan Kroon and Nunn Media Sydney managing director Chris Walton.
The media experts will break down the trends and report findings to provide an in-depth analysis of the key factors steering ad market demand in 2024 via a panel discussion hosted by Mediaweek’s group managing editor, Danielle Long.
Ractliffe said, “The 2024 media year looks set to be incredibly vibrant with a number of major events – including the Paris Olympics – and with so much on the agenda, this webinar is vital to media stakeholders’ understanding of what to expect from an ad demand perspective as these events play out.
“We’ll be taking attendees through these key issues and how we see the ad market reacting across both key product categories and media based on reactions to similar events in the past. The webinar will give attendees a solid starting point for understanding how the media year will play out.”
The webinar will take place on Thursday, 22 February.
Click here to secure your webinar ticket and exclusive access to Guideline SMI’s latest ad spend data.
See also: Ad spend fell in 2023 but delivered the second-largest annual spend ever