By Ori Gold, CEO & co-founder at full-service media agency Bench Media
The impact of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariffs may seem like issues for policymakers and trade officials, however, they carry ripple effects that will be felt across marketing, media, and commerce.
We have already seen the local impact of Trump’s threats to penalise countries imposing digital service taxes on U.S. tech firms, with the government’s u-turn surrounding the News Media Bargaining Code.
The government’s half-hearted and sluggish attempt to nudge the digital platforms into financially supporting local media operations via the threat of a digital levy has officially gone on hold. With the approaching Federal election, it was already clear that the government would struggle to legislate its promised policy. However, with Trump’s escalating economic confrontations on a global scale, the issue has now been shelved indefinitely.
These levies, aimed at ensuring fairer contributions from digital giants, could prompt tech firms to renegotiate agreements or withdraw from them altogether. If Google and Meta pull back, media organisations, including major players like Nine Entertainment, News Corp Australia, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), could face a funding crunch, leading to reduced coverage, layoffs, or even shuttering smaller news outlets.
The impact for advertisers is significant. Australian news publishers have been an important part of the digital advertising ecosystem, offering credibility and audience trust. A reduction in their influence may push more advertising dollars toward non-news digital platforms, which come with their own brand safety and misinformation risks.
If media platforms like Meta and Google start withdrawing or limiting their agreements with Australian news publishers, they could regain even more control over digital ad distribution.
Ori Gold
For brands, this means less bargaining power when negotiating advertising placements. Google and Meta already dominate digital advertising, but their competition with news publishers has helped maintain some level of market balance. If news media loses funding and scale, brands will have fewer high-quality inventory options, leading to potential cost increases and a greater dependency on tech platforms with opaque ad pricing structures.
One of the unintended consequences of a strained news ecosystem is a less diverse and pluralistic media environment. If small and medium-sized publishers struggle to stay afloat, Australia could see further media consolidation, where only the largest publishers and digital giants survive. This means fewer independent voices, less investigative journalism, and more homogenized content.
For marketers, this presents a challenge. A diverse media ecosystem fosters creativity, engagement, and nuanced storytelling opportunities. Without it, brands will have fewer ways to reach niche, high-value audiences in meaningful ways. CMOs should prepare for a future where their audience cohorts may shift as access to high-quality, independent journalism declines. Marketers relying on premium content partnerships may need to rethink their approach to audience targeting and brand positioning.
Trump’s tariffs might seem like a distant geopolitical issue, but their effects will be felt in the boardrooms of Australian marketers. A weakened news industry benefits no one except digital monopolies, and brands that fail to anticipate these shifts may find themselves with fewer quality advertising avenues, higher costs, and reputational risks.
For brands and marketers, the time to act is now. Adapting media strategies, supporting local journalism, and diversifying spend will be key to navigating this turbulent landscape. Australia’s media ecosystem and advertising industry’s future depends on it.