Ad Matters 18.10.24

It’s been a packed week for advertising on the world stage.

We wrapped up last week with our international trade director Aisling Conlon ringing the bell for UK Advertising at Advertising Week New York (she literally joined the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony to signal the opening of the day’s trading). Then, we promptly entered this week to hear a new industrial strategy from the Government which positioned advertising within their key growth sectors.

It was timely moment, therefore, to gather at the annual Cannes Lions reps’ meeting, which took place in London. The AA is proud to be the UK rep for LIONS, making it our job to let the industry know all about the juror opps, entry process and how to enter the Young Lions competition. For those who have questions about the key dates, look no further than this piece on the seven things you need to know about Cannes Lions in 2025.

In the spirit of continuing international gatherings, our UK Advertising Exports Group moved from west to east this week – hosting the UK & China Brand and Business Forum at none other than Chelsea Football Club. Over two days, UKAEG’s event with the CAA and DBT brought together senior leaders from both markets and ended in a landmark moment with our CEO Stephen Woodford signing a MOU with the President of the CAA. Check out all the social here for the full download.

With UK advertising exports hitting a record-breaking £18 billion in 2023 and room for growth, UKAEG’s journey will continue on Monday with a webinar all about Athar Festival (more below).

Our must-reads:

• The IPA Bellwether Report reveals the latest on marketing budgets as brands wait for certainty from the autumn Budget. (The Media Leader)
• Following the Government’s Industrial Strategy launch, industry leaders including our CEO have welcomed the inclusion of advertising within their growth sectors. (Performance Marketing World)
• Outvertising and All In have released a Pronouns in Adland resource to help guide conversations around sharing pronouns at work. (Campaign)
• Channel 4 has set out its new regional strategy with plans for 600 roles outside of London and an updated skills programme. (Prolific North)
• Looking for the cutting-edge trends from Advertising Week New York? Conversations centred around AI and the surge of retail media. (The Drum)
• Dentsu Lab opens in London to drive tech innovation in their marketing. (Campaign)

Our pick of ads:

• Hilltop Honey is creating a buzz for ‘Honey heads’ in this ad by St Luke’s.
• Just Eat marks the additions of Boots and Waitrose to its offering, including using some snazzy bus wraps by McCann London.
• Interesting new campaign from Severn Trent Water in partnership with Nectar to support sustainable behaviour change when it comes to water usage.
• EE celebrates ‘Clocking off’ in this latest spot by Saatchi & Saatchi London.

Dates for your diary:

• To help UK Advertising companies learn more about Saudi as a market, UKAEG will be hosting a webinar on 21 October titled Navigating Saudi Arabia’s Advertising Landscape: Your Guide to Athar Festival 2024. Sign up here.
• Looking to fill your company with happiness? The AIA will be holding their annual Festival of Happiness at Google on 7 November, which is aimed at agency leaders. Check out the great line-up and book here.
• Our All In How-To Sessions are back! Learn about implementing the updated actions from our inclusion action plan, across Black Talent on 27 November, Disabled Talent on 4 December and Social Mobility on 10 December.

And finally, our thinktank, Credos, is running a short anonymous survey about the UK advertising industry. It would be fantastic if you could head here to fill out the questionnaire!