The coronavirus and the advertising industry

The march of the coronavirus may or may not accelerate as it spreads across the world, causing sickness and death, but the economic impact is already in Australia.

The fallout, in what is early days for the crisis for Australia, is adding more weight on the back of a weakened ad spend canary.

And it could be mid year before the trend starts to reverse. Along the way, Australia will skim near the definition of a recession, according to several market economists.

The first sectors to feel the pain are travel (Qantas, Sydney Airport, Flight Centre, Webjet), retail and education. They are missing the flow of tourists, and students, from mainland China.