Ad Matters 03.11.2023

LATEST ADSPEND FIGURES ARE IN

On Tuesday we released the latest AA/WARC figures, covering Q2 of 2023. The report shows that UK advertising spend rose marginally by 1.0% to a total of £9.0bn between April-June 2023, thanks to growth in adspend in online formats. The figures demonstrate resilience against a backdrop of economic downturn, with the latest report expecting the UK’s ad market to grow by a further 2.6% to reach £35.6bn this year.

So what do the latest results tell us?

“Advertising continues to show itself as a weathervane for the UK economy, with the advertising market expected to grow slightly more than the economy, with both barely in positive figures”, said our CEO Stephen Woodford. “Looking ahead to 2024, we expect to see more channels experience growth again, as the ad market grows to £37bn for the year.”

Check out the full story here and don’t forget, members can exclusively download the executive summary on our adspend hub here.

You can also learn more via Campaign, Creative Brief and Creative Salon.

CONGRATS TO THE CAMPAIGN AD NET ZERO AWARD WI

The winners of the second Campaign Ad Net Zero Awards have been revealed, which the AA was delighted to be a partner of!

Over 200 guests gathered to recognise efforts to make the advertising ecosystem more sustainable, with the winning case studies aimed at inspiring the industry to change the way they work and deliver more campaigns that support a sustainable future.

Two top prizes were awarded, with Grey Colombia and Makro taking the International Grand Prix for their ‘Life Extending Stickers’ and ITV and E-Bay taking the UK prize for their Love Island collaboration promoting pre-loved fashion. The Grand Prix awards were selected by a special jury of cross-party parliamentarians: Kerry McCarthy MP, Shadow Climate Change Minister; Baroness Parminter, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee; and Chris Skidmore MP who chaired the Independent Net Zero Review.

View the full list of winners and download the ‘Book of the Night’ here. And a big thanks to Google for their headline sponsorship!

LEAD RETURNS FOR 2024

We are delighted to announce the return of LEAD, the advertising industry’s annual summit, for 2024!

Held together with the IPA and ISBA, LEAD will bring together advertising and politics to feature a star-studded lineup including Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer MP; Kate McCann, Political Editor, Times Radio; Veriça Djurdjevic, Chief Revenue Officer, Channel 4 and many more.

The summit will be centred around responsible growth highlighting the trusted, inclusive and sustainable role of advertising in helping the UK economy return to prosperity.

Bringing together some 400 leaders across the industry, the event will be held on February 8, 2024, at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.

Book your tickets here.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER DG ANDREW BROWN

This week, we have paid tribute to our former Director General, Andrew Brown, who recently passed away.

Andrew (pictured above on the left, with our current CEO Stephen), right had an illustrious career spanning 28 years working for advertising agency, JWT, where he was appointed Board Director in 1982. He joined us in 1993 and led the AA for over a decade until 2006.

There were many achievements during Andrew’s tenure as DG, with his strongest legacy being the ASA ‘one stop shop’ for all advertising. Andrew set up an Industry Taskforce to make the case to the Government and Ofcom to bring broadcast advertising into the ASA’s remit.

Paying tribute, our CEO, Stephen Woodford said: “Andrew contributed a huge amount to the advertising industry, both in his 13 years at the helm of the Advertising Association and during his time as Chair of CAP and BCAP. It was such a pleasure to see him recently at an AA event and we are all shocked and saddened by his passing. We all owe him our gratitude for all the valuable work he did to improve our industry.”

You can read the full obituary celebrating the life and career of Andrew Brown on our website here.

If you would like to pay tribute, please send any messages to tributes@adassoc.org.uk.

VCCP CROWNED TALENT TRAILBLAZER 

A huge congratulations to VCCP’s Stoke Academy for winning our Talent Trailblazer Award in partnership with Marketing Week!

The Stoke Academy is designed to inspire, identify and unlock creative talent in Stoke, enabling young people to pursue successful careers in marketing and advertising without the need to relocate to London. Highly commended for the award was the Brixton Finishing School’s family of change making programmes.

We would also like to thank our fellow judges, our very own Commercial Director, Sharon Lloyd Barnes, Richie Brooker from Hearst UK, Nicky Ivory-Chapman from Channel 4, Ewen MacPherson at Havas, and Sarah Skinner of the Grace Blue Partnership, as well as Marketing Week editor-in-chief Russell Parsons, for their invaluable expertise in the selection process.

Also crowned at the Marketing Week Awards this week was our Front Foot Chair, Pete Markey, who was named Marketer of the Year for his role as CMO of Boots.

Huge congratulations from us all! Check out all the winners here.

WHY JOURNALISM MATTERS

Lastly, we were pleased to attend the NMA’s Parliamentary Reception on Tuesday to celebrate Journalism Matters, a week dedicated to championing the vital role of news media in a democratic society. We heard speeches from the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer MP and editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, who outlined how trusted news should be supported in an ever-changing future.

The week culminated in the announcement of the winners of the annual Making a Difference Award, which saw the Metro and the Inverness Courier take the top prizes.

Find out more 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!

AD OF THE WEEK

You made it this far – why not check our ad of the week? 

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