Harvey Norman, Myers among top Black Friday ad spenders according to Nielsen

Nielsen Ad Intel, the preeminent ad spend monitoring service in Australia, has released its findings on the highest indexing advertisers investing in this year's Black Friday sales, with Harvey Norman, Myer and Chemist Warehouse among the top ad spenders.

The comprehensive breakdown of ad spend, spanning TV, radio, print, digital, and outdoor channels, reveals a cumulative expenditure of over $187 million across the retail sector. 

Australian retail's top 10 biggest Black Friday ad spenders. Source: Nielsen

Rose Lopreiato, Australia commercial lead at Nielsen Ad Intel, highlighted the strategic significance of robust advertising investments during Black Friday. She commented, "These Ad Intel numbers for the Black Friday sales clearly show that retail’s ‘big guns’ are strongly backing advertising as the best way to connect brands with customers during one of the most competitive retail periods of the year."

Lopreiato also stressed the imperative for marketers to leverage data effectively, stating, "The large ad budgets involved in Black Friday make it even more crucial for marketers to make the smartest decisions possible about how they invest those ad dollars, utilising the very best data to get an edge on their competition and maximise their ROI, which is what Ad Intel does best."

Earlier this year, November 2023, Mediaweek partnered with Nielsen and its Ad Intel product to conduct an in-depth analysis of the top 20 advertisers in terms of spend for the 2023 financial year. The findings similarly positioned Harvey Norman among the leading spenders.

The study extended to the top 50 advertisers, with the results showing a diverse range of significant players in the industry. Notably, the advertisers play a pivotal role in financing ad-supported content on free-to-air TV, radio, and publishing platforms across Australia.

Harvey Norman retained its position as the largest advertiser in FY 2023, with Myer also making a notable impact in the competitive advertising landscape, coming in the top 50. The retail sector, as reflected in the rankings, remains a dominant force in ad spending, contributing to the $2,502 billion total spend in FY2023, marking a 4% year-on-year increase.

See also: Nielsen ranks biggest-spending marketers with Harvey Norman and Maccas on top