Ad spend in June the highest first half spend since SMI measurement began August 3, 2021 8:47 The Australian ad market’s remarkable recovery from its COVID doldrums continued in June, with ad spend going past pre-COVID levels of June 2019 and also being the highest ever month recorded in a first half in Standard Media Index history. Bookings grew 44.3% year-on-year for the month of June, reaching $754 million, higher than any month in the January to June period since SMI began collecting data in 2009. SMI AU/NZ managing director Jane Ractliffe said such figures show that advertising’s recover is sustainable moving forward. “It’s simply an incredible accomplishment to have achieved such a level of ad spend when the market is still in recovery mode. Who would have even thought this could be possible a year ago?