Introducing Value Ad— Value Ad is our new regular product covering all of our proprietary ad counts, web traffic stats and KPIs for REA, SEK, CAR & Domain (FXJ). Ad counts provide a very timely indicator of revenue trends for online classifieds companies. Issue 1 includes 30 charts, and will be expanded over time. Note that all growth rates are YoY.
Key highlights — REA Premiere volumes were +14% in April. Domain’s lead over REA is shrinking in high-value Syd/Mel suburbs. Blue collar (housing construction) jobs have been the key driver of Seek Australia ad volumes, contribution a third of total ad volume growth in the past three years.
REA: Premiere ad volumes +14% in April — We estimate that REA’s Premiere ad volume growth was +14% in Apr, an improvement on the +11% seen in the March quarter. Total depth listings (Feature, Highlight & Premiere) have steadily improved through this calendar year following a very soft start, with -8% in Jan, -8% in Feb, -2% in Mar and now +14% in April. Take-up of Premiere & Highlight was particularly strong in Melbourne during early Apr, although this has come off again post-Easter.
Domain (FXJ): Lead over REA in high-value suburbs contracting — Domain has maintained its lead over REA in its key regions, although this gap appears to be shrinking. In Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, Premium Plus volumes were 41% ahead of REA’s Premiere in Feb, 39% in Mar and down to 29% in Apr. In Melbourne (Stonnington & Boroondara) that gap has shrunk more rapidly, with the lead at 25% in Feb, 16% in Mar & only 6% in April. While this could potentially reflect an early impact of Domain’s ~20% price rise at the start of the year, there may also be seasonal/promotional factors at play and the traditional lead appears to be expanding again post-Easter.
Could it be that pimping out your brand doesn’t actually work?
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
