Ad Matters 13.10.2023

MAKING THE CASE FOR ADVERTISING AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE

Our team was on the ground in Liverpool this week at what some have described as the biggest ever Labour Party Conference.

The main event for us was our hosting of the Politics Home evening reception on Monday, which heard remarks from Politics Home editor, Laura Silver and an introduction from our Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Lisa Hayley-Jones. Over 200 invited guests heard from Sir Chris Bryant MP, newly appointed shadow minister for creative industries and digital, who promised to be a strong advocate for the creative industries.

On the fringes, recurring themes of interest to our industry included AI, skills (including the apprenticeships levy), net zero, exports including a new relationship with Europe, and areas of concern such as online fraud, obesity, and gambling. You can read our full debrief here.

Our conference circuit is almost finished! We’ll be heading to the SNP conference to champion advertising in Scotland this weekend for the last leg.

NEW LOOK FOR NATIONWIDE

Our Front Foot member, Nationwide, has unveiled an exciting new look this week, backed by an ad campaign featuring actor Dominic West.

In its biggest rebrand since 1987, the building society challenges other banks in their commitment to the high street as it reveals the news that it has the largest number of branches in the UK.

Its new research shows that two thirds of people (63%) value their local branch, as Nationwide renews its Branch Promise to not leave any town or city in which it is based until at least 2026.

Hollywood star Dominic West features in a playful ad by agency New Commercial Arts, accompanied by comedian Sunil Patel to drive home the message about the building society’s ‘a good way to bank’ values.

Find out more about their latest news here and watch the campaign video in full!

WINNERS OF OCEAN OUTDOOR’S ANNUAL COMPETITION REVEALED 

Ocean Outdoor, our Front Foot member, announced the winners of their annual digital creative competition at a sparkling industry event hosted at Frameless, London this week.

Replicating last year’s successful partnership, Saatchi & Saatchi and EE once again took first prize in the brand category, this time for the creation of the first ever interactive OOH schools’ field trip, while first prize in the charity category went to Mr President and Stonewall Housing for Behind Closed Doors which draws attention to the housing crisis affecting LGBTQ+ people who are often “kicked out for coming out”.

A panel of 18 independent expert judges from the creative industries came together to choose this year’s winners. The six winners share £500,000 worth of airtime for their concepts to be shown across Ocean’s multiple environments and iconic digital formats in cities across the UK.

Find out who the other winners are here.

NEW RESEARCH UNVEILED AT IPA EFFWORKS GLOBAL 2023

It’s been a busy week for our friends at the IPA, who launched two pieces of research at their annual EffWorks Global conference.

Econometrics and the C-suite – evidence-based decision-making for business sees industry experts including Les Binet and Dr Grace Kite make the case for the value and increasing relevance of econometrics for those wanting to make marketing more accountable, more effective, and more profitable; and why the C-suite should take note of its value as a predictive tool for developing cohesive business strategies. The full report is available to purchase from £10 from the IPA website.

The IPA/Brand Finance Investment Analyst Survey revealed that UK and US investment analysts believe that brand strength is critical to a firm’s success, seeing marketing as an investment. The findings were analysed by former City analyst Ian Whittaker who has put forward various recommendations and conclusions which will be expanded upon in an upcoming IPA report.

Keep your eyes peeled for the full recordings of the conference available next month!

DISCOVERING THE ROAD TO MEDIA 3.0 WITH ADWANTED EVENTS

We were delighted to partner with Adwanted Events and attend their Future of Media conference on Wednesday, which was all about exploring Media 3.0!

With many of our members speaking at the event, we heard themes across consumer trust and transparency in media and advertising, predictions on the Future of Media, AI and privacy in media and much more.

Overall, it was a day filled with engaging and insightful discussions which helped give us a better understanding about everything Media 3.0.

You can read about all the sessions we loved 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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