The Advertising Association promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. We represent UK advertisers, agencies, media owners and tech companies on behalf of the entire industry, acting as the connection between industry professionals and the politicians and policy-makers.

A A A

The Advertising Association focuses on major industry and policy areas that have huge ramifications on UK advertising. This section contains our work around public health, gambling advertising, data and e-privacy, trust, the digital economy and more.

Credos is the advertising industry’s independent think tank. It produces research, evidence and reports into the impact and effectiveness of and public and political response to advertising on behalf of UK advertisers in order to enable the industry to make informed decisions.

Front Foot is our industry’s member network of over 90 businesses across UK advertising. It aims to promote the role of responsible advertising and its value to people, society and the economy through a coalition of senior leaders from advertisers, agencies and media owners.

We run a number of events throughout the year, from our annual LEAD summit to the Media Business Course and regular breakfast briefings for our members. We are also the official UK representative for the world’s biggest festival of creativity – Cannes Lions.

Advertising Matters 20.03.20

/ March 20th 2020 /
Advertising Matters

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Given the continued focus on COVID-19 and the fact that none of us have experienced anything like this before, we at the Advertising Association are working hard to advise and serve our members as best we can at this unprecedented time. We have been monitoring all advice and developments – both from Government and industry – regarding the virus and our Chief Executive Stephen Woodford has written an article on what this disruptive time means for UK advertising and what our industry’s role is during the crisis. He commented:

“We are fully aware this is a period of tremendous strain and pressure on our industry. Collectively we must do all we can to support the Government, both in its response to the coronavirus crisis, but also to be strong in our approach to help businesses do what they can through the economic and social recovery.”

You can read his piece in full on our website here. We have also pulled together a page of useful pieces of advice on our website here.  To highlight a few – you can find out the number of cases and risk level in the UK, what to do if you have symptoms and what the Government is doing about the virus from the Department of Health and Public Health England here; find guidance from BEIS for employers and businesses to advise their staff on the coronavirus, how to help prevent the spread and what to do if someone has symptoms and has been in a business setting here; and in positive news, Campaign Magazine is keeping tabs on all the good things that adland is doing amid the outbreak here.

We will of course remain vigilant and do everything we can to support the continued growth of our industry.

UK ADVERTISING EXPORTS REPORT

On Monday we published the second edition of our UK Advertising Exports Report, with new figures showing that international trade in UK advertising services grew 15% year-on-year to reach a new record level of £7.9 billion in 2018!

In further analysis of export figures by UK advertising’s think tank, Credos, at the last count, £3.7bn worth of advertising services were exported to EU nations, accounting for 53% of overall advertising exports. The report also showcases the new UK Advertising Export Group (UKAEG) – a unique partnership between the UK advertising industry and government to promote the sector around the world – and includes brilliant case studies from many of its members who have worked with businesses overseas. We have created a dedicated hub for the group, which showcases its members, what events are coming up and the latest news here.

The global crisis we are currently experiencing means that it is extremely important to ensure we are open to business with the rest of the world, and UKAEG is actively supporting its members with a number of virtual events, initiatives and workshops that will support lead generation and new business development in key territories. We are also preparing for when more normal times return, hopefully in a few months, so that we can bounce back as quickly as possible.

International Trade Minister, Graham Stuart MP, said: “The UK is one of the world’s leading creative hubs, with a global reputation for the best creative talent, innovation and ideas. This new report by the Advertising Association highlights the strength of the UK’s blooming advertising sector and the global demand for our leading services.”

Read more and download your copy of the report here. The launch of the report was covered in CampaignThe Drum and City A.M. amongst other outlets.

UK YOUNG LIONS COMPETITION

As UK Representative for Cannes Lions, we’re looking for the very best young creative talent to compete on behalf of the UK in the Young Lions competitions against other young professionals from all over the world. Over the weekend we ran our six UK Young Lions competitions – Design, Digital, Film, Marketers, Media and Print – and received almost 180 entries.

The competition brief was based on our Diversity & Inclusion initiative and the entire competition took place remotely. Six winning teams will be flown to Cannes to compete and six highly commended runners-up teams will receive tickets to our annual summit, LEAD, in January 2021. We were delighted to have recruited an amazing cohort of industry professionals to judge the work – you can meet them all here.

AD PAYS 8 CASE STUDY

Following the launch of our Advertising Pays 8 report we’ve launched a dedicated hub to highlight the best UK advertising campaigns that have made a positive contribution to society. Now that we’re in March we are highlighting campaigns that demonstrate Community Improvement. This week, find out more about Hold Them Close for Ronald McDonald House Charities by eight&four 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’.