Tuesdata: Media market faces a chilly Christmas
Welcome to Tuesdata, our weekly analysis for Unmade’s paying members.
Below, we examine marketer sentiment leading into the Christmas retail period, and what trading directors of Australia’s leading media agencies make of the state of consumer and client confidence ahead of what should be the busiest time of the year.
Further down, the Unmade Index outperforms the ASX.
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A soft market, unsold inventory, and cautious marketers: The lead-up to Christmas is making everyone nervous
Seja Al Zaidi writes:
Shaky economic conditions have led marketers to tighten the pursestrings and exercise greater caution leading into Christmas - that’s the consensus from trading directors and bosses of the country’s leading media agencies.
The period is typically a spending bonanza for consumers and marketers alike, but inflationary jitters are creating concerns that shoppers may hold back. Meanwhile marketers are seeing their own budget challenges in the fourth quarter, which has translated into far more vacant inventory for media owners than usual.
Below, we talk to some of those closest to the market including Zenith’s chief investment officer Elizabeth Baker; Hatched Sydney’s chairman Mike Wilson; Atomic 212 chairman Barry O’Brien; iProspect’s national head of investment Ken Lam; and Standard Media Index MD Jane Ractliffe.
“At this point in time, we are definitely seeing a reduction in Q4 ad spend, and December is included within that,” says Zenith’s chief investment officer Elizabeth Baker.
“We're getting client sign offs, release of budgets and approvals coming a lot later than they normally have been,” Baker added.