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Yesterday we published the latest AA/WARC Expenditure Report, which shows incredible growth for UK adspend during the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
To give you an overview, UK adspend reached a record £32bn for 2021’s final figure, marking a 34.4% year-on-year growth.
The ad market therefore emerged £8bn larger than April 2020’s original forecast of £24bn, which was set at the beginning of the pandemic. This is powered by a boom in the online sector, with three in every four pounds now spent online, and in part due to inflationary pressures.
These adspend figures were extra special to us because they provided us with the opportunity, for the first time, to assess the impact of the pandemic on the size and shape of the UK ad market, and so we published a shiny new accompanying report – UK Advertising’s Adspend Review: The Pandemic Effect. The report dives deeper into the notable shifts that we’ve seen in adspend during the pandemic and includes contributions from WARC, Credos and some of our members.
We were delighted to preview the figures and new report with our Front Foot members at an exclusive in-person event on Wednesday morning. We’re loving the comeback of IRL occasions and gathering with our members to talk about the issues affecting us all. There will be more in the coming months…
You can read the full release on the figures here. Members can access the accompanying report and a sample of the Executive Summary here. The figures were covered widely in publications such as Campaign, The Media Leader, and Creative Brief, and an op-ed by our CEO Stephen Woodford was featured in Politics Home.
On Wednesday, UK advertising’s award-winning non-profit education programme, Media Smart, and youth-centred creative business, Livity, launched a brilliant new report – Teens and screens – exploring the relationship between young people and digital advertising.
Research from the report reveals that 80% of 13 to 16 year-olds are more likely to buy a product promoted by an influencer, compared to 50% of 10 to 12 year-olds, who are not even able to distinguish between ads and non-ads. The report also shows that the younger age group are more concerned about what is ‘safe’, whilst the older age group worry more about what is ‘real’.
Looking at what young people need help with to stay safe and empowered online, ‘Teens and screens’ sets out the requirement for more focus in schools on media literacy, with regular conversations on topics such as body image, advertising and influencer content.
Dan Clays, Chair of Media Smart and Chief Executive of OMG UK, commented: “This latest report reinforces the growing importance to the industry of Media Smart and our work with partners to help younger audiences better understand and interpret advertising and commercial messaging across platforms.”
Head here to read the full release and check out the report here. This was also covered in titles such as Little Black Book, New Digital Age and WARC.
Mediatel’s Future of Brands event took place this Wednesday & Thursday and we were proud to be an official media partner!
It was great to see two of our own sessions take place in the programme.
Firstly, our Credos Chair James Best was joined by Sebastian Munden, EVP and General Manager of Unilever UK&I, and Helen Brain, Mediacom’s Head of Sustainability, to discuss delivering net zero by 2030. It rounded off with James asking for one piece of advice from his panel. Sebastian said that we need to focus on both clear intent and measurement, and Helen called for everyone to value action over ambition and progress over perfection. Great food for thought!
Secondly, our Inclusion Lead and Commercial Director Sharon Lloyd Barnes was joined by Jerry Daykin, VP, Head of Media at Beam Suntory, and Suman Karki, Marketing Chapter Lead at Direct Line Group, to discuss the pathway to our inclusive industry. This was a brilliant discussion about our All In Action Plan and the practical first steps companies can take to become more inclusive.
Two incredibly important topics and we were delighted to talk to everyone about them. Find out more about Ad Net Zero here and All In here.
On Thursday, our Comms Director Matt Bourn gave evidence to the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee.
The Committee wanted to hear from the witnesses about how media, advertising and Government communications cover climate change and the environment, and how this impacts related climate goals. Matt spoke about our Ad Net Zero programme, the power of advertising in stimulating behaviour change, and how the Government plays a role in making sustainable choices more accessible – to name just a few of the points raised.
You can read more about the session 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’ve made it this far – why not treat yourself and watch our ad of the week?
Want the full edition to land in your inbox every Friday? Drop us an email on aa@adassoc.org.uk and quote ‘Ad Matters’.
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