The ACT government spent a record amount on advertising in 2018, forking out almost $1 million more than the previous year.
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New figures show $2.8 million was spent by the government on campaign and non-campaign related advertising last year, up from almost $1.9 million during 2017.
Almost $250,000 of the 2018 ad spend was on social media advertising.
Ads on the internet were the most common type of advertising used last year, with $1.2 million spent, followed by $497,000 on print media, $333,000 on radio and $269,000 on television.
The amount spent on internet ads almost doubled in 2018, increasing by $540,000.
An ACT government spokeswoman said ad spending varied from year to year because of changing circumstances.
"Advertising is not allocated centrally, and is subject to new government priorities, the implementation of new programs or external events that require government communication, including environmental impacts like extreme heat," the spokeswoman said.
Ad spending by the ACT government has increased almost every year since 2013.
Previous reports found $850,000 was spent in 2013, $397,000 in 2014, $1,077,606 in 2015 and $1,097,574 in 2016.
Between July 2012 and June 2017, more than $6 million was spent on territory government advertising.
Among the largest advertising campaigns in 2018 were those for Floriade, the Enlighten festival and campaigns for the controversial changes to Canberra's bus network.
The ad campaign for the bus network changes cost taxpayers $138,000, with more than $50,000 of that spent on the creation of the ads.
Other campaigns included ads for the after hours bus service, the University of Canberra Hospital, land sales along Northbourne Avenue in Braddon and Turner and land sales in Ginninderry.
The launch of Canberra's light rail would mean an increase in ad spending by Transport Canberra, the spokeswoman said.
"There will be significant changes to public transport in 2019," the spokeswoman said.
"We would expect advertising in this area to increase to ensure the public is kept informed of the changes."
The Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate was the biggest advertising spender last year, making up almost 50 per cent of all government advertising with almost $1.3 million.
The spokeswoman said the directorate's large spend last year was due to large amounts of tourism advertising by Visit Canberra, which included Floriade and Enlighten.
The Suburban Land Agency was the next biggest spender, forking out more than $500,000 on ads.
Other large-spending directorates included ACT Health with $341,000 and the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate with $325,000.
The government spokeswoman said ad spending priorities for the coming year included campaigns for health services, public transport, tourism, road safety and further land sales.
