Ad Matters 15.09.2023

LEADING THE WAY – WHERE ADVERTISING MEETS POLITICS

It’s a wrap on LEAD Scotland 2023!

Following the success of the inaugural 2019 event, LEAD Scotland returned to Edinburgh yesterday, and brought together more than 200 senior leaders across the advertising, marketing and political landscapes.

The event hosted several speeches and discussions, including a VIP Keynote Address by former PM the Rt. Hon Gordon Brown, who captivated the audience with his passion for tackling poverty with his Multibank initiative and his ask for greater contributions from advertising corporates to help address this issue.

“We need more hopeful messages, people have lost hope” he said, when asked how government might use advertising in the most positive way.

LEAD Scotland also saw talks from Former Chair of DCMS Select Committee and Former Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy Damian Collins OBE MP; Murdo Fraser MSP; Foysol Choudhury MBE MSP; CEO, Bladnoch Distillers Glen Gribbon; Founder & CEO, LS Productions Marie Owen; Producer & Owner, Filming Scotland Dave Neilson and many more.

We also revealed our new research on what drives public trust in advertising, our work to address the decline of public trust began back in 2018. The updated 2023 data from Credos, advertising’s think tank, revealed three key findings:

1. The creative quality of advertising is the No. 1 driver of trust – the better the ad, the better the public’s response
2. Ad bombardment is the No. 1 driver of distrust – and this is growing in the younger audience
3. Awareness of the ASA increases levels of trust in advertising

LEAD Scotland was the perfect occasion to reflect on the period of political change in Scotland and discuss the bigger issues for the industry as the General Elections draw closer. It also gave us the opportunity to shed light on the influence of Scotland’s advertising industry and its role in the wider economy.

A big thank you to our partners, STV and The Marketing Society Scotland as well as to everyone who attended, listened and contributed to the event.

You can find out more about our trust research here. You can also view some photos from yesterday here!

Photography credits to Euan Cherry.

OUT OF HOME ADVERTISING SUPPORTING UK SOCIETY

Almost half of Out of Home advertising revenue goes back to the UK economy.

A new report from PwC, commissioned by our member Outsmart, finds the UK Out of Home (OOH) sector contributed £411m to support public services, infrastructure, communities and employees in 2021 – representing 46% of its advertising revenue.

In addition, PwC estimates a further c.£29m helped support charities and communities by donations, heavily discounted or donated media space and staff hours given to charity.

Tim Lumb, Director of Outsmart, comments “This report highlights Out of Home is not just about fantastic advertising, it’ s also about investing in our relationship with the public by providing highly valued services up and down the country and supporting good causes.”

You can download a copy of the report here!

AIA’S FESTIVAL OF HAPPINESS 

Save the date for the Festival of Happiness!

Organized by the Alliance of Independent Agencies, The Festival of Happiness is an annual event dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing of the people working in independent agencies.

The event is centred around the theme “Happy Agencies are Successful Agencies – How can we prove this?” Learn from top-notch speakers and experts about fostering a positive work environment, enhancing employee wellbeing, and boosting overall agency performance.

The event will be taking place on November 14 at 123 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0, United Kingdom. You can book your tickets here!

THIS WEEK: UK ADVERTISING IN THE MEDIA

It’s our specially-curated selection of must-reads from across our industry media.

Check it out here!