Ad Matters 28.04.2023

ADSPEND NEWS OUT NOW 

On Thursday, we held an exclusive breakfast event to discuss the latest AA/WARC adspend figures for our Front Foot membership at the News UK building.

The session began with an introductory speech from our CEO, Stephen Woodford before James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence and Forecasting at WARC gave a fantastic presentation which ran through the updated figures.

The panel chaired by Stephen comprised of Sue Frogley, CEO, Publicis Media UK; Richard Warren, Former Director of Communications & Marketing, Lloyds Banking Group and Caroline Tredget, Commercial Director, The Times who discussed all things adspend which included some brilliant insights and positive looks to the future.

And in terms of the headline figures …  

The UK’s ad market grew 8.8% to £34.8bn in 2022, despite a dip in the final quarter of the year. Revised forecasts suggest minimal growth (+0.5%) in 2023, with spend expected to reach £35.0bn, before a 3.9% rise in 2024 to a total of £36.3bn. The revisions follow confirmation that UK advertising spend fell by 5.8% to a total of £8.6bn between October and December 2022, the first time spend had decreased during a fourth quarter since 2009.

You can read the full report on our dedicated AA/WARC adspend hub here.

SNAP UP THE MBC EARLYBIRD 

After last year’s sell-out success, the prestigious Media Business Course will be returning in July 2023!

Delegates will be creating a full media strategy before pitching against each other in front of a panel of industry experts to become the coveted MBC winners.

The speaker line-up includes Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy; Amy Kean, Author & Founder, Good Shout; Dominic Grant, Director of Sales, Spotify; Katrina Dodd, Editor-at-Large, Contagious and many more.

Last year’s course received a unanimously positive response, with attendees reporting that the course was life-changing and opened them up to new ways of thinking.

The course will be taking place from 11-14 July at the Grand in Brighton, with today being the last day to get your hands on the earlybird tickets.

THE CAMPAIGN AD NET ZERO AWARDS RETURN 

We’re delighted to be continuing the partnership between Campaign and Ad Net Zero to bring you the second year of our very special awards.

The awards will recognise work from the advertising ecosystem that is helping to build a net zero economy.

In the words of Ad Net Zero Chair, Sebastian Munden, “We want to see how our industry is helping to make the big brands better, and the better brands bigger.”

There will be a range of sector-specific categories – such as food, drink and media – best practice categories as well as awards celebrating innovation. You don’t have to be an Ad Net Zero supporter to apply, with entries accepted from brands, agencies, media owners, production and tech companies. Once again, there are special rates for SMEs.

Big thanks to our headline partner, Google!

Get your entries in for the Early Bird deadline by June 8 and show us how your work is helping build a net zero economy!

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF BRANDS 

On Tuesday, we stepped into AdWanted’s the Future of Brands, where our President Alessandra Bellini participated in a panel exploring what brand leaders really think.

Alongside Omar Oakes, Editor of the Media Leader, Becky Moffat, CMO of HSBC and Deirdre McGettrick, Founder of ufurnish, the session looked at why brand building is vital during tough economic times. It also explored how we can build a more trusted, inclusive and sustainable future for advertising, with Alessandra speaking about our recent talent report and how we can strive to create an attractive industry for everyone wishing to develop their careers.

In the afternoon, we also caught our Front Foot Chair, Pete Markey, in discussion with Outvertising reviewing the Boots Christmas Campaign – it was great to see so many of our colleagues and members there!

GIVE A LISTEN TO SOME ‘LEADING CONVERSATIONS’ 

Check out our AA Scotland member, The Lane Agency’s ‘Leading Conversations’ podcast!

In the podcast, they speak to various senior leaders within the marketing industry in Scotland to discuss a wide range of topics and highlight the creativity, passion, resilience and success of some of our talented industry colleagues.

The podcast is in association with The Marketing Society Scotland and is hosted by Lane Media Managing Director Barry Fearn.

You can listen to the podcast here.

ALL CHANGE AT DRUMMOND CENTRAL

Our Front Foot member, Drummond Central, is becoming an employee-owned business!

After 20 years in business, the founders of the Newcastle based creative agency – Julie and Stephen Drummond – have sold their shares to a newly-formed employee ownership trust. The trust will ensure that the business runs in a way that protects the agency and its people and owns the business for the benefit of all staff equally.

Drummond Central has enjoyed a strong few years, winning many prestigious creative and effectiveness awards and has produced advertising for global and national clients including Greggs, KitKat, Amazon Prime, bet365, Triumph Motorcycles and the NHS.

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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