AD MATTERS 29.10.21

RECORD ADSPEND FIGURES!

Yesterday we published the latest AA/WARC Expenditure Report, which looks back at UK adspend figures for Q2 2021 and details projections for 2022.

In fantastic news, the report forecasts UK adspend to grow by 24.8% this year to reach a total of £29.3bn, which surpasses July’s projection and makes this the largest annual rise on record. We are also excited to reveal that we are expecting our favourite time of year (Christmas, obviously) to see another record, with nearly a billion pounds more spent on advertising than in 2020 – a total of £7.9bn!

Looking ahead to 2022, the Expenditure Report predicts that we will see a 7.7% increase year-on-year to more than £31.5bn, with media channels in particular set for significant recovery following the pandemic.

These findings suggest that the UK is still on course to achieve the fastest ad trade recovery of any major European market this year, bouncing back from the decline in 2020. This is some serious proof of advertising’s role as a vital engine for growth in the UK economy, particularly during the festive season, and we are super proud of this!

These figures were covered widely in the media including, for example, The Guardian, Business Telegraph, Politics Home, Campaign, Mediatel, Ad Week, The Drum and many more. It was also included in print in The Telegraph and City A.M..

You can find out more about the AA/WARC Expenditure Report via its dedicated page on our website here.

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK

We are now less than a week away from our biggest event of the year – the Ad Net Zero Global Summit – and we couldn’t be more excited!

We are delighted to be closing in on more than 1,500 registrations from over 30 countries. This number is proof that as an industry we are ready to make positive change – doing our part to tackle the climate emergency is not only something that we want to do, it’s something that we need to do. We simply cannot ignore what is happening.

It’s set to be an incredibly inspiring event, taking place over two days and broadcast live from STV’s studios in Glasgow during COP26. Our stellar line-up of speakers from companies such as Unilever, Mastercard, Pepsi, WPP and Facebook will take us through a mix of thought leadership sessions and practical workshops. You can check out the full programme here.

If you’re reading this and you haven’t booked a ticket to a free event that will provide you with the practical steps that you can take in your daily working lives to help tackle the climate emergency, why haven’t you? There’s still time. Spread the word and book your spot here.

On this topic, we also want to flag these two incredibly insightful articles via Campaign on how adland is risking new business to back the planet and how 4 in 5 agencies are prepared to reject work with clients that lack sustainability ambition.

PARLIAMENTARY RECEPTION

It was great to see so many of you at our Parliamentary Reception, hosted in the Churchill Room in the House of Commons. We recognise that the advertising industry can play a role in helping to build a net zero economy and lasts night’s reception really did a great job at highlighting this!

First up Damian Collins MP, who very kindly hosted the reception, gave a wonderful talk focusing on how advertising can help to build a sustainable environment in the UK. After this, we heard from Andrew Griffith MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, who talked about his support for businesses taking action on environmental change and the successes of Ad Net Zero and Ad Green, the world’s first zero-waste, zero-carbon advertising production standard.

Sebastian Munden, Chair of Ad Net Zero and EVP and General Manager of Unilever UK & Ireland, talked us through each tenet of the Ad Net Zero Action Plan, including the work that is underway to measure industry emissions and get to real net zero. We also heard about Ad Net Zero’s upcoming Essentials Certificate qualification which aims to help people working in the advertising and marketing services industries understand the climate crisis and the actions to achieve net zero emissions in our industry by 2030.

To read more on our parliamentary reception, click here. We hope to see you all again soon and we’re looking forward to our next event, the Ad Net Zero Summit on 3 & 4th November – if you haven’t already registered, you can here!

COMMENTING ON THE BUDGET

In Wednesday’s budget, the Chancellor announced increase skills spending by £3.8bn – an increase of 42%. In response, we issued a joint statement with the DMA and MRS calling for a portion of this to go into industry-led training programmes and digital skills development.

This was covered in title such as The Drum and Marketing Week, and we continue to make the case to Government. You can read Stephen’s comment in full here.

NESTLE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS JOINS UK HOUSE AT BRAZIL

UK House on tour is heading to Brazil on November 9th. We are delighted to welcome Frank Pflaumer, Nestlé’s Vice President of Marketing, Communication and Corporate Affairs to the event to join Julian Boulding, The network one in conversation. Frank works with 21 product categories and daily exercises his interest in delving into different subjects.

Topics in the session include:
• The differences between doing business in UK / Europe and Brazil; drawing on your experience working in Switzerland as well as Brazil.
• Special characteristics of the Brazilian market, which affect marketing and communications: for example, the requirement for a single agency to manage creative production and media buying
• The media landscape in Brazil: relative importance of TV, mobile, social, events, direct.. which delivers the best results in market?
• Conversely: how do you see opportunities for Brazilian advertisers to engage with UK as a market – and UK agencies as service providers?
• How would you describe the image of UK as a country, from a Brazilian point of view? Are there areas where UK has a high reputation, like design, or technology for example?
• And speaking as a CMO: what are the challenges a CMO faces today? And how do you see the future role of a CMO?

See the full line-up and save your free seat for the event here.

AD OF THE WEEK

You’ve made it this far – why not treat yourself and watch our ad of the week?

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