Ryvalmedia Pulse (Vol.55)

YouGov: Australians Weary of AI Misinformation in Media Content

YouGov data reveals that while Australian's acknowledge the potential benefits of generative AI in media, significant concerns exist regarding its usage; particularly around misinformation, deep fakes and the need for stronger regulation. Regionally, Australian's express an overall lower level of trust in AI-generated media, such as news, compared to other Asia-Pacific countries; with over 87% believing that there needs to be greater transparency regarding disclosing the inclusion of AI generated content in media. 

Overall, this report signifies the increasing responsibility that Australian media companies have in ensuring they provide transparent disclosures when generated content has been utilised, as well as the ongoing consideration of increased regulation regarding AI-usage as it's usage is increasingly normalised.

Government media bookings offset lower February demand

Whilst the Australian advertising market experienced a 0.5% decrease in spend YoY across February, Guideline SMI data has revealed that Government organisation spending had increased 46% YoY; adding an additional $12M to the market.

Meanwhile, the overall market observed strong growth in investment across Cinema (+21% YoY), Outdoor (+9.2%) and Radio (3.4%) across the month. However, Guideline SMI APAC Director, Jane Ractliffe has noted that they anticipate government and to a larger extent; political organisation spending to remain favourable in the ongoing lead up to the 2025 Federal election.

This highlights the ongoing importance for brands to maintain flexible campaign timelines and to strategically plan around the upcoming election cycle to avoid the increased competition and to maximise the impact of their campaigns on consumers, particularly to ensure they stand out amongst out amongst the impending political messaging onslaught.

Media industry increasingly diversifying investment beyond reliance on Big Tech

The media industry is increasingly investing across direct media in an effort to diversify beyond the big tech platforms, with over 70% of Australian brands feeling they are over reliant on, and 75% concerned about consumer data usage in these efforts.

A Trade Desk ANZ survey of Australian marketers reveals over half are already diversifying their media partnerships; seen as enabling them the ability to avoid the increasingly 'walled garden' nature of these platforms, and as an avenue to satisfy their clients desires for greater transparency and control of their first-party data. This shift has been intensified amidst ongoing big-tech changes (e.g. Chrome's 3rd party cookie reversal), whilst providing brands with the potential for greater outcome-based measurement and improved outcomes overall.

Strategy Corner

Advertising in tough economic times - a cost or an investment?

Tariff wars, real wars, inflation, consumer confidence still slow to rebound despite a recent and rumoured interest rate cut - it's tough to sell stuff out there and many marketers are feeling the squeeze. Quite often the first cut made during tough economic times is the marketing budget, while pressure builds on marketing teams to deliver more with less.

During times like this, however, it's important to learn from the mistakes of the past and thankfully there is plenty of peer-reviewed studies out there as to why cutting your advertising budget won't just hurt your brand in the short term, but also create irreversible harm in the long term.

 The data is clear - if a brand stops advertising, its sales could fall by up to 16% after one year and 25% after two years. Not only that, they find it much harder to win back customers when the economy eventually bounces back.

For those currently having those tough conversations internally, don't worry - we've got you covered. We've included a link to a great article by our strategic brand tracking partners, Tracksuit, that demonstrates why brands should see their advertising spend as an investment rather than a cost during periods in economic instability.