Online ads surge 11% to $16.4bn in 2024, driven by strong growth in video

Australia’s online advertising market grew 11.1% year-on-year to reach AU$16.4 billion in 2024, according to the latest IAB Australia Online Advertising Revenue Report (IARR).

The report, created by PwC Australia, shows a 19.6% surge in video advertising to $4.5 billion, making it the fastest-growing online category. Search and directories rose 10.1% to $7.2 billion, while classifieds grew 8.3% to $2.6 billion. Display advertising (excluding video) saw more modest growth at 1.7% to $2 billion, while audio advertising jumped 17.8% to $313 million.

Video ads fuel market expansion

All video formats saw double-digit growth throughout 2024, with social media platforms commanding more than a third of total video ad spend, surpassing BVOD and other digital video formats. The Paris Olympics in Q3 was a key driver behind the surge in video investment.

For content publishers, connected TV now accounts for 51% of video ad spend, reaching its highest share yet, while mobile and desktop video spend declined.

Buying trends and industry breakdown

The buying type for content publishers display inventory remained steady, with internet advertising from an agency via insertion order stable at 44%, client direct buying at 17% and programmatic purchasing at 39%.

Among all advertiser categories, retail retained the largest share of display ad spend (17.1%), followed by automotive (14.8%), which continued its post-Covid rebound. Finance rounded out the top three despite a slight dip to 8%.

Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia, said after a modest 3.7% growth in 2023, online advertising rebounded with strong double-digit gains in 2024.

“As always growth is mixed across the market, and it is tougher for those content publishers who do not have significant video inventory and are relying on standard display inventory,” she said.

In Q4, automotive advertising accounted for 17.3% of total ad spend, followed by retail (14.6%), while entertainment (7.6%), FMCG (7.5%), and finance (7.5%) all gained share.