Amid growing industry speculation about cuts to digital advertising budgets, Zenith has found no evidence that advertisers as a whole are shifting budgets away from online advertising – in fact, its share of global advertising expenditure continues to rise rapidly. Zenith forecasts that advertisers will spend 40.2% of their budgets on online advertising this year, up from 37.6% in 2017, according to the Zenith Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report for 2018.

This growth in spend is part of the wider process of digital transformation, as advertisers invest in technology, data and innovation to revolutionise their relationships with consumers.

In Australia, total ad spend is forecast to rise by 2.6% to $16 billion this year. The rise can be attributed to the strong online classifieds sector and marginal growth in metro TV in the last quarter of 2017.

“We are observing sustained ROI from digital transformation,” said Vittorio Bonori, Zenith’s global brand president. “And we are now at the forefront of a transformation as brands shift budgets along the consumer journey, benefit from powerful algorithms and advanced machine learning techniques, and invest in new e-commerce solutions. This transformation is at the heart of driving brand growth.”

New research from Zenith demonstrates the value of investing in transformational digital marketing. Zenith created a standard index of brand growth, comparing results from prominent studies and matching brand performance with a series of communications and media benchmarks. Initial findings indicate that the fastest growing brands within categories such as communications, financial services and automotive tend to perform strongly on measures such as share of category search and website traffic, along with effective content marketing and strong performance in earned digital media.

Zenith has also seen clear correlations between brands with high capabilities in marketing and media, and categories in which digital channels have high influence on the consumer journey. This suggests a positive reinforcement between the recognition of the digitisation of consumer behaviour and the positive transformation of marketing organisations.

Globally, advertisers continue to increase the share of their budgets allocated to paid digital channels. According to the March 2018 edition of Zenith’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, published today, online advertising grew by 13.7% in 2017 to US$204bn. It accounted for 37.6% of global advertising expenditure in 2017, up from 34.3% in 2016.

This year Zenith expects online advertising’s market share to exceed 40% globally for the first time, reaching 40.2%. In 2017 online advertising already accounted for more than 55% of ad spend in three markets (China, Sweden and the UK), so there is plenty of potential for further growth. By 2020 Zenith expects online advertising to account for 44.6% of global ad spend.

Biggest upgrade in global ad spend forecasts for seven years

Confidence in the global ad market is currently improving rapidly. In December Zenith forecast that global ad spend would rise by 4.1% in 2018, towards the bottom of the 4%-5% annual growth range that the market has maintained since 2011. Zenith now expects the market to rise by 4.6% this year, thanks in particular to improved economic growth in China and Argentina. A 0.5 percentage point revision to the forecasts is unusual – the last time Zenith revised them upwards by so much was back in March 2011.

“In Australia, our ad spend growth is slower and fuelled by strong online classifieds and some marginal growth in metro TV during the pre-Christmas retail period. In addition, digital and out-of-home continue to enjoy growth ahead of the market. However, the rate of growth of digital out-of-home is to starting to slow,” Zenith Australia CEO, Nickie Scriven, said.

“Among advertisers, automotive and retail continue to drive growth, while government and food/produce/dairy have had the largest declines in volume.”

Zenith’s global forecasts for 2019 and 2020 are also above the forecasts it made three months ago, though not by so much. Zenith forecasts 4.4% growth in 2019 and 4.3% growth in 2020, both forecasts being up by 0.2 percentage points.

“The global ad market grew by 4.0% last year,” said Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s Head of Forecasting and Director of Global Intelligence. “After a jump in confidence, we now expect it to grow substantially faster this year, boosted by the Winter Olympics, football World Cup and US midterm elections.”

Photo: Zenith Australia CEO Nickie Scriven

The series – comprising eight 50-minute episodes – will be directed by Toa Fraser (Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Iron Fist, 6 Days) and written by Stephen M Irwin (Secrets & Lies, Harrow) and will shoot in south-east Queensland.

Tidelands follows Cal McTeer, a young woman who returns home to the small fishing village of Orphelin Bay after 10 years in juvenile detention. But her hometown is shrouded in mysteries, the greatest of which is the commune of outcasts who live in a hidden pocket of the bay: the Tidelanders.

Charlotte Best (Home & Away, Puberty Blues) will star as Cal McTeer, a resilient and fiercely independent ex-con, whom everyone underestimates to their peril. Aaron Jakubenko (The Shannara Chronicles, Spartacus: War of the Damned) will star as Cal’s fisherman brother Augie McTeer, Peter O’Brien (Underbelly, X-men Origins: Wolverine) as deckhand Bill Sentelle and Mattias Inwood (Will) as Corey Welch, the handsome, conflicted Senior Constable.

Elsa Pataky (The Fast & Furious franchise) will star as Adrielle Cuthbert, the darkly enigmatic and keenly intelligent leader of the Tidelanders, a woman unafraid to do anything to meet her ruthless ends. Dalip Sondhi, Caroline Brazier and Madeleine Madden have also been cast on the series.

Executive producers are Hoodlum’s Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield who produced the acclaimed Australian hit series Secret & Lies and its remake for the US, as well as Harrow.

Hoodlum’s Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield

“The Netflix audience demands an international cast, and Tidelands has truly embraced what it means to bring together a stellar, diverse ensemble,” said Mayfield, chief creative officer and co-founder of Hoodlum. “We’re thrilled to be working with Netflix on this first original Australian drama series and can’t wait to share the rich and unique Tidelands universe with audiences around the world.

“The opportunity to be involved with world class Australian storytellers was too good to pass up,” said Kelly Luegenbiehl, vice president, international originals, Netflix, “We are looking forward to working with Hoodlum Entertainment to bring this incredibly unique and mysterious Aussie series to our worldwide audience.”

Tidelands is the latest of Netflix’s investments in Australian content including the recently announced Chris Lilley original series, and co-productions Pine Gap, Cargo, The New Legends of Monkey, Glitch, Bottersnikes & Gumbles, Kazoops, Mako Mermaids: An H20 Adventure and The White Rabbit Project. Netflix also licenses much-loved Australian-grown content like Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and The Code for distribution to Netflix’s 117 million members around the world.

Tidelands will premiere globally on Netflix.

The untitled project will be led by a female creative team who will produce 10 stand-alone episodes, each based on a celebrated work of Shakespeare updated to comment on our modern, global society. The series is the first project to be announced from the partnership between the ABC, Australian production company Hoodlum (Harrow), LuckyChap Entertainment (I, Tonya) and ABC Studios International (Harrow).

Hoodlum, LuckyChap and ABC Studios International will work with female writers/writer-directors to update the Bard’s works with unique and distinct voices, and reflect different cultures and areas. Series concept creator Giula Sandler will work across the series and will also write one episode.

Margot Robbie and Brett Hedblom from LuckyChap, Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield from Hoodlum, Keli Lee from ABC Studios International, and Sally Riley from ABC (Australia) are executive producers on the project, with Aran Michael from Aran Michael Management an associate producer.

LuckyChap Entertainment said: “We are thrilled about this Australian partnership as an opportunity to showcase unique, distinctly female voices in writing, and to demonstrate the high quality of the Australian film and television industry. The project will share diverse points of view from writers representing the different cultures and areas within Australia, which many would not readily associate with works of Shakespeare.”

David Anderson, director of entertainment and specialist for the ABC, said: “The ABC is thrilled to be able to develop this locally produced drama in partnership with LuckyChap Entertainment, Hoodlum and ABC Studios International.

“The ABC is dedicated to delivering high quality, relevant storytelling free to all Australians. We are excited that this female-led team celebrates strong female creative talent, transforming traditional classic tales from a very different era into modern and culturally diverse stories.”

Tracey Robertson from Hoodlum said: “This project will bring together leading and emerging female voices in Australian screen to re-imagine Shakespeare in a modern context.

“We’re delighted to partner with ABC, ABC Studios International and LuckyChap on such an ambitious and exciting project. This is an incredibly original and bold approach for a television series and I can’t wait to see the stories that will emerge.”

Keli Lee, managing director at ABC Studios International, said: “ABC Studios International is thrilled to be a partner in this unique project. This production is a chance to create something classic yet boldly original and modern. The works of Shakespeare are iconic and this will present them in a way they’ve never been seen before.”

This project will be produced in Australia, with filming anticipated to commence in late 2018.

Disney Media Distribution will handle international distribution of the series outside of Australia.

Photo: Margot Robbie (credit: Shutterstock)

By Andrew Mercado

And because they’re on an island instead of a mansion, that means more bikinis, cocktails with bigger umbrellas and “more drama than High School Musical”, an opening night observation that was so meta someone must already be pitching a new HSC romance reality show.

Shows with this much narcissism can be mind-numbing at times, but turning off the volume means you can focus on its prettier aspects, like the body-hugging outfits and carefully selected jewellery statements – and that’s just on the men. The women seem more concerned about using fans to keep their makeup intact and that’s possibly because it appears that nobody has their own room and everyone is going to live on multiple cushions scattered around the bar and beach.

That may seem a bit rough, but it’s still a step up from those tiny apartments on MAFS that overlooked a freeway. Paradise offers nonstop sun but don’t expect there’ll be nothing but fun, given those promos that promise tears, tears and more tears.

There is even going to be a lesbian romance so that should give MAFS some idea on how to be even more outrageous next year. Hell, even MKR might get in on the act with dinner parties bursting with bisexuals so that nothing or nobody is off limits. Bachelor’s Fijian bartender already seems hot to trot so maybe Manu has to take it one step further than flirting if MKR wants to get back on top… and I mean that literally too.

At the very least, Bachelor In Paradise will lift TEN’s ratings after they faced a familiar problem: what to do at 7.30pm in between reality franchises.

Can we all agree that All Star Family Feud has done its dash? And that The Graham Norton Show does not become any more special just because it gets a new night and title (particularly when it’s as stupid as Super Superman Night because Superman actor Henry Cavill sits next to superstar Tom Cruise)?

Let’s give TEN a thumbs up though for starting the show in the non-ratings Easter period and they are not the only ones offering something fresh, albeit another spinoff. Young Sheldon, a prequel to The Big Bang Theory has been brought forward from Tuesday to Monday and that could be to take on Bachelor In Paradise or just a way to distract us from the multiple Transformers movies they are also airing this week.

Today’s TV “stars” have a lot in common with movie robots. There is no need for any discernible talent, except for how to look good, deliver snappy sound bites and have a desire to be the centre of attention. But, as Ten keeps showing us, self-deprecation goes a long way. After striking comedy gold with Sophie Monk, big things are expected of Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins. Oddly though, none of the female Goggleboxers were laughing along with him, because they were too busy talking about how he wasn’t good looking enough.

Maybe they will have more luck with the beefcake selection on Love Island, yet another romance reality show coming soon to a digital channel. It’s going to be hosted by Sophie Monk, and if that was as good as it gets after The Bachelorette, it’s no wonder she might need to spin out the truth about why she broke up with Stu.

So far, there has been just one interview on ACA and while it possibly was a pitch for a spinoff series (Sophie Wants A Baby), it revealed nothing else apart from Stu’s teenage daughters needing to be considered. That’s admirable, but it probably would have been better for everyone if Stu had thought of his kids before going on national TV to chase a hot blonde. So, let the singles mingle because the dads are duds.

By James Manning

Singles

Little movement at the top with Drake continuing to top the chart.

There was just one newcomer to the top 10, with XXXTentacion (pictured) seeing “Sad!” jumping from #22 to #9 in its third week.

The sole two top 50 debuts were:

#18: Lil Dicky with “Freaky Friday” featuring Chris Brown
#50: The Chainsmokers with “Everybody Hates Me”

Last week we optimistically hoped Jessica Mauboy’s Eurovision entry “We Got Love” might climb higher this week after its debut at #49 last week. That certainly didn’t happen – in fact Australia turned its back on the tune big time and it dropped out of the top 100 in its second week! We can only hope Europeans are a little more supportive.

Albums

“?” from XXXTentacion was the week’s big deal with a chart debut at #3, pushing its way amongst Ed Sheeran albums clogging the top 10.

One album from lower down the chart found its way into the top 10:

#17 to #9: Dua Lipa with “Dua Lipa” after 36 weeks on the chart – her current tour has pushed the album to a new peak.

Two other albums debuted inside the top 50:

#20: Billy Ray Cyrus with “Thin Line”
#38: Stone Temple Pilots with “Stone Temple Pilots”

By James Manning

Seven

Seven’s first Sunday afternoon AFL game of the year in Melbourne was a cliffhanger and ran to just after 6pm, which helped push the metro news number to 1.13m with 390,000 in Melbourne.

Australian Spartan was not able to hang onto those numbers for its Easter resurrection with just 473,000 watching after its launch earlier this year on 816,000, which turned into 524,000 a week later.

Sunday Night then did 436,000.

Nine

60 Minutes got the early slot for Nine with Tom Steinfort opening the show reporting from the gun control rally in Washington. The episode ranked #3 for the night on 778,000.

Blue Planet II then had a Sunday slot with 591,000, which is similar to what the show has been doing on Saturday nights. The new series had close to 250,000 watching in both Sydney and Melbourne.

TEN

The channel had its second 14%+ share in four days thanks to the launch of Bachelor In Paradise. The reality spinoff using contestants from earlier series of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette launched with 750,000, which is the channel’s best audience since a couple of episodes of I’m A Celebrity did better than that. The Bachelor In Paradise numbers secured TEN first place 25-54.

NCIS then did 371,000.

Earlier in the day the Australian Grand Prix did 612,000 for the race. The 2017 Australian GP did 705,000.

The Sunday Project was then live from the Melbourne F1 track and had 424,000 watching after 7pm, well up on last week’s 250,000. Waleed Aly reported from Washington on the gun control march.

ABC

Grand Designs did 624,000 followed by the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala with 366,000.

SBS

The channel’s biggest audience came after 8.30pm with the doco Wasted! The Story Of Food Waste on 194,000.