Active International Reports On Australian Corporate Barter

Newspapers and metropolitan television are a tough sell in Australia, according to Darren Riley, international media director of Active International, which opened corporate-barter offices in Australia nine years ago.

However media companies including Ten Network, Southern Cross Broadcasting, and Seven & Nine regional affiliates have begun to barter their ad inventory within the $20 million secondary advertising market.

The company’s Australian offices are run by former advertising executives Gary Kearley, Graham Lawrence and Stephen Farr. In the past financial year Active traded around $20 million of advertising in Australia, compared with $25 million the previous year. About 75% of its trade credits are redeemed through advertising.

Active expects to trade advertising worth more than $1 billion in the U.S. this year, ranking the company among the top 10 media agencies. The global corporate-barter company has offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and plans expansion into South America. For more information on Active International go to www.activeinternational.com.