THIS WEEK: UK ADVERTISING IN THE MEDIA

In this weekly series we pull together, in one place, a selection of must-reads from across our industry media. Hope you find it a useful edit of another week in advertising!

Xmas quarter facing worse than expected 10% ad decline, AA/WARC warns

UK adspend may show a worse than expected decline in the run-up to Christmas, with revenues expected to fall 10.5% year on year to £6.2bn in the three months to December, the latest Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report has warned.

Industry reacts to AA/WARC’s downgraded adspend forecasts

The UK ad market is now not expected to recover fully until 2022, according to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report. Here, industry bosses comment on the findings.

UK marketing budgets continue to contract markedly amid impact of Covid-19

UK companies registered another drastic reduction in marketing budgets during the third quarter amid ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report.

Group M and VMLY&R easy pain for WPP as Q3 drops 7.6%

WPP said Group M “recovered strongly” and VMLY&R was down “only slightly” in the third quarter, as its revenue slump in Q3 improved by almost half compared with the worst of the coronavirus lockdown in Q2.

Can agencies retain their prized culture under remote working conditions?

Office culture is so much more than foosball, Hawaiian shirt Fridays and kombucha on tap – it sits at the heart of any successful company, binding people together under one distinctive ethos. As part of The Drum’s Agencies4Growth festival, they caught up with three agency leaders to hear how their cultures have been affected by the pandemic and how they’re striving to retain what makes their companies unique under trying conditions.

Coronavirus may reshape the creative jobs map of UK

Advertising, more than most industries, is shockingly London-centric – a trend that has intensified in the past 25 years because of globalisation. Nearly 32,000 work for the big six global agency groups in the UK (even after Covid-19 job cuts) and about 27,000, or around 85%, work in London, according to research by Campaign.

Planners & creators must reconcile ahead of Christmas campaigns

All Christianne Wahl from VidMob wants for Christmas this year is for creative and media to unite in time for the festivities.

Why we must reach out to help out and protect mental health at work

Mental health wellbeing in the workplace has long been a high priority for businesses – but Covid-19 has elevated the challenge to another level. As companies pivot to remote working, the wellbeing strategies we modelled around the traditional office environment are needing to flex to a whole new normal. It’s time to be agile – for the sake of our mental health.

Is working from home dulling our creative spark?

The Bank of England economist reckons businesses are less innovative with home working – but what do creative leaders think?

Could Covid-19 actually bring us closer together?

Limehouse MD and creative partner Duncan Harriss on how we are moving through and experiencing The Five Stages of Grief whether we’re conscious of it or not…