Ad Matters 17.01.2025

A packed Picturehouse Central was the venue this week for the Campaign Year Ahead Breakfast Briefing. Whilst there were many diverse angles and insights from the impressive line-up of speakers and panellists, the golden thread running through it was the importance of trust and authenticity in today’s volatile world. With so many people feeling out of control of the macro environment, it’s therapeutic hobbies and micro-moments of simple pleasures we can rely upon that have become so important – and where so many trusted brands can and do make a difference to people’s lives. 

Speaking of trust, Wednesday saw the ASA presenting the results of the research into the third wave of their ad awareness campaign, alongside the AA’s Credos Trust Tracker 2024 results. Both reported really positive news on increases in trust in advertising and the insights into what drove these in 2024. We are incredibly thankful to all the parts of our industry who come together to make this campaign a success – and would love to do more in 2025 with your support.

Our must-reads:

• The latest IPA Bellwether report is out and marketing budgets were reportedly on the up for Q4 2024, following a sluggish Q3. (Campaign)
• Make 2025 a year of responsible advertising, writes our CEO Stephen Woodford. (Creative Brief)
• This week saw an important update on the incoming Less Healthy Foods regulation from CAP. (Marketing Week)
• Huge news for our member the Alliance of Independent Agencies which has expanded their independent agency community. (The Media Leader)
• New jury presidents have been revealed for Cannes Lions, including three repping the UK – OMG’s Dan Clays, Saatchi’s Kate Stanners, and dentsu’s Patricial McDonald. (LBB)
• Our UK Advertising Exports Group has produced a fantastic year in review, which saw a doubling of their trade missions to create many new business opportunities for members. (UKAEG)

 Our pick of the ads:

• Less than three weeks to go until LEAD 2025! Join a host of advertising leaders, political editors, and even the DCMS Minister Sir Chris Bryant at our industry summit on February 6 at the QEII Centre. Book your tickets here.

And finally, this week also included our first Media Business Course Showcase event, which gave people the chance to experience a taste of the magic created at the full event each year and showed how MBC accelerates careers in our industry. Do head here if you’d like to know more about the course in July!