advertising matters 26.01.18

#LEAD18 – don’t follow!

Business leaders from across Adland descended on King’s Place for advertising’s seventh industry summit – a huge thank you to everyone who came along, you made it a very special event. Our theme was “Growth beyond Brexit” and, although we do say so ourselves, a killer speaker line-up grabbed hold of that agenda and motored through the most important points for us to work together on as an industry – growth in exports, growth across the UK and growth in trust in advertising.

Our very own Stephen Woodford opened proceedings, sharing preliminary adspend results which have reached a record UK level in 2017, up to £22.1bn – an increase of 3.4% from 2016 and the eighth consecutive year of market growth. This has been achieved despite the headwinds we face as an industry, from Brexit and from the technological changes to consumer experiences of advertising.

International Trade Secretary Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP delivered a personal recorded message to delegates outlining his department’s support for our industry and our partnership – Promote UK – to turbo-boost growth for Global Britain. He also highlighted the sector’s important contribution to the UK economy and his determination to see us export more ad services and thrive in a post-Brexit world.

Then, and with an entirely different perspective on the merits of Brexit, was Labour MP for Streatham Chuka Umunna, who was clear he believes Brexit is not a process that can be delivered as promised before the referendum of 2016. His take? There is “no legal or political obstacle to Britain staying in the EU if we don’t like the Brexit deal”. He also said the ad industry must ensure its voice is heard by Government as negotiations progress. Chuka’s speech received extensive coverage across the media. Read more here.

Leading Economist and Former Head of the UK Government Economic Service, Vicky Pryce, explained the economic facts behind the political rhetoric and gave us all a reality check on the risks and opportunities that lie ahead.

During our panel session on Brexit’s impact on management and talent, which included WPP’s Lindsay Pattison and James Wildman of Hearst, our Chairman James Murphy reminded delegates of the importance of being proactive in the Brexit debate. He warned that although the industry is facing issues on a number of fronts, “if we’re not careful, Brexit is something that will happen to us from the outside”. CEO of Channel 4, Alex Mahon, in her first public speaking appearance, pointed to the referendum exposing “huge rifts” in the UK – between different regions and different generations, and that this poses questions for us all as a country.

Political commentator, Steve Richards, gave us his inimitable take on the UK political scene in a ‘Rock and Roll’ Brexit, highlighting the James Bond-style ‘flight through the night’ of Theresa May to sign the deal in Brussels just before Christmas, and the Shakespearean turn of many of the Government’s actions over the last year. Ad-land meets Shakespeare? Guess that would be the the (B)Ad of Avon if we had such a chronicler of our industry!

Steve also gave his predictions on what 2018 may hold for UK politics. A risky thing to do these days, surely?!

A quick coffee and then we turned to growth across the UK and research from Credos – advertising’s think tank – which shows 57% of the UK marketing and advertising workforce is located outside London. Siobhan Kenny of Radiocentre chaired a panel that included Mayor of the West Midlands and retail guru Andy Street, who beautifully articulated how the region is rebuilding its economy and driving growth, by drawing on its heritage as birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Andy also expressed interest and support for the AA’s plan for a West Midlands regional pilot to promote growth in advertising among SMEs in the area.

Fellow West Midlander and Credos Director Karen Fraser outlined SME’s perceived barriers to advertising, raising issues such as believing it’s too expensive for their company or that they do not have the time or resources to advertise. Keith Morgan, CEO of the British Business Bank, reiterated the financial assistance in place to help SMEs grow their businesses, notably highlighting the sausage firm Heck, and commented that the Bank and the AA should work together.

Then it was time for our ‘Investing for impact’ panel led by Michelle McEttrick, Group Brand Director of Tesco, who outlined the ways the retailer is reconnecting with customers and successfully reinvigorating its offer to shoppers. Manjiry Tamhane, Global CEO of Gain Theory joined a panel alongside Nick Manning and Credit Suisse’s Alan Erskine to discuss how marketing can take its rightful place in the boardroom as the engine of growth for businesses.

Finally, Stefan Feitoza, Marketing Director Northern Europe of Procter & Gamble, gave the closing keynote speech on how the company is using its brands as a force for good to continue sustainable growth in Europe. He also shared his own journey as a Brazilian to lead a multinational’s marketing operations in Europe from the UK. A true example of our world class advertising talent right here in the UK.

Our President, Andy Duncan eloquently captured the mood of the summit. “Will we continue to have the right to advertise and self-regulate? We’ve made some progress but by no means has that battle been won.”

After a packed agenda, it was out into the afternoon and back to doing what everyone at LEAD does best: delivering that world-class advertising you’re all damn good at.

As always, thank you to speakers, attendees and, particularly our headline sponsors – WPP, The Guardian and Advertising Week Europe and our supporters, Connor Broadley Wealth Management, the Direct Marketing Association and Campaign.

See you next year!

You’ve read the whole thing! You deserve a treat – our ad of the week: