Media feel the pinch from advertisers

Outdoor advertising bucked the trend, growing by $7 million. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Advertisers have reduced their spend for the first time since 1998, according to figures from the Advertising Standards Authority.

They spent spent $2.224 billion on media last year, $5 million less than in 2005.

Newspapers and television maintained their first and second places, but industry organisations said results reflected difficult conditions.

"Television had a difficult start to the year that was not repeated in 2007," said Bruce Wallace, executive director of the Television Broadcasters Council.

Lincoln Gould, chief executive of the Newspaper Publishers Association, noted: "It was an uncertain year with eddies and surges."

In the 12 months to September last year - the most recent data - the economy grew just 1.4 per cent, the slowest growth in five years.

Newspapers remained the biggest medium and took $810 million (a 36.4 per cent share) compared to $830 million (37.2 per cent) in 2005. Television, including Sky, fell from $666 million and a 29.9 per cent share to $641 million and a 28.8 per cent share.

The smallest and fastest growing sector - online - believes it has been under-reported. Online advertising increased from $44 million and a 2 per cent share to $65 million and a 2.9 per cent share.

Mark Evans of the Internet Advertising Bureau said the figures did not include search engine advertising and a welter of small websites.

Keith Norris, chief executive of the Marketing Association, which represents the direct mail industry, said the $100 million counted as direct mail advertising reflected only the delivery costs. Counting creative and production costs, the industry was actually drawing about $500 million a year.

Sean McCready of advertising agency Mediaedge:cia questioned the accuracy of results for unaddressed mailouts, which had been through a growth surge. He said radio had picked up revenue mid-year when both newspapers and television had been down.