The UK advertising industry may well be punching above its weight globally, but competitors from new markets are appearing
The UK advertising industry may well be punching above its weight globally, according to Facebook executive Nicola Mendelsohn. However, she warns that the UK should be prepared to face new challenges from emerging markets.
"If global brands can buy creativity in Mumbai for half the price, they will. We have to keep making great advertising, to compete and to innovate – particularly in clever uses of data to ensure UK advertising is effective," said Mendelsohn.
Facebook's vice-president in Europe, the Middle East and Africa praised the industry's contribution to the UK economy and its success in the digital world at a parliamentary reception to celebrate the advertising industry on Tuesday, at which business secretary Vince Cable was also present.
"We attract one quarter of all digital ad spend in Europe. That's funding our digital economy and is one of the reasons why the UK is a world leader in online content, services, platforms and commerce."
UK advertising in 2011 generated £100bn in the UK economy, according to a report published earlier this year by the Advertising Association and Deloitte. Their analysis found that for every £1 spent on advertising, an average of £6 is generated across the economy. The ONS estimates that the export of advertising services exceeds £2bn per year, while the Advertising Association claims the advertising industry is responsible for providing more than half a million jobs across the UK, from those working directly in the sector to those supported by revenue.
The parliamentary reception to raise the profile of the sector's contribution to the economy was also aimed at promoting the Advertising Association's first advertising campaign to push the benefits of the industry. Posters with messages such as 'Imagine Downton Abbey without the ad breaks. You'd have to. It wouldn't exist without ad breaks' have been designed to reinforce the importance of one of the UK's largest creative industries.
And there's been some good news for the industry - Group M forecast total UK advertising spending to reach £14bn this year, higher than pre-financial crash levels, and the advertising industry recently saw its 2014 forecast revised to an all-time high of £18.7bn.
Group M, WPP's media buying arm, states that digital advertising will account for 44.2% of the UK ad market in 2013. Mendelsohn is eager to assert the UK's advertising leadership in the digital market claiming that in the last year, online advertising revenues surpassed those on television. Mendelsohn, co-chair of the Creative Industries Council, told attendees that the negative image of the advertising industry also poses a challenge: "if you ask people about advertising in general, the response is often negative … nothing more than out of touch Mad Men selling unwanted products. Just as in politics, people fail to see the bigger picture."
She called on government to provide the ad industry with the support it needs, joking that "few industries are so important that they have not one but two government departments."
Speaking ahead of the reception, Tim Lefroy, CEO of the Advertising Association, said: "Our message to policymakers is simple: promote the UK as a global advertising services hub; protect the communication freedoms which underpin UK brand investment; and make the UK – creatively and commercially – the best place to invest in advertising-funded content."
Advertising Week Europe, which is due to come to London in March next year, "proves the edge" UK advertising has, insists Lefroy, though like Mendelsohn he expresses caution: "It's an advantage we should work to retain." Reported by guardian.co.uk 7 hours ago.
The UK advertising industry may well be punching above its weight globally, according to Facebook executive Nicola Mendelsohn. However, she warns that the UK should be prepared to face new challenges from emerging markets.
"If global brands can buy creativity in Mumbai for half the price, they will. We have to keep making great advertising, to compete and to innovate – particularly in clever uses of data to ensure UK advertising is effective," said Mendelsohn.
Facebook's vice-president in Europe, the Middle East and Africa praised the industry's contribution to the UK economy and its success in the digital world at a parliamentary reception to celebrate the advertising industry on Tuesday, at which business secretary Vince Cable was also present.
"We attract one quarter of all digital ad spend in Europe. That's funding our digital economy and is one of the reasons why the UK is a world leader in online content, services, platforms and commerce."
UK advertising in 2011 generated £100bn in the UK economy, according to a report published earlier this year by the Advertising Association and Deloitte. Their analysis found that for every £1 spent on advertising, an average of £6 is generated across the economy. The ONS estimates that the export of advertising services exceeds £2bn per year, while the Advertising Association claims the advertising industry is responsible for providing more than half a million jobs across the UK, from those working directly in the sector to those supported by revenue.
The parliamentary reception to raise the profile of the sector's contribution to the economy was also aimed at promoting the Advertising Association's first advertising campaign to push the benefits of the industry. Posters with messages such as 'Imagine Downton Abbey without the ad breaks. You'd have to. It wouldn't exist without ad breaks' have been designed to reinforce the importance of one of the UK's largest creative industries.
And there's been some good news for the industry - Group M forecast total UK advertising spending to reach £14bn this year, higher than pre-financial crash levels, and the advertising industry recently saw its 2014 forecast revised to an all-time high of £18.7bn.
Group M, WPP's media buying arm, states that digital advertising will account for 44.2% of the UK ad market in 2013. Mendelsohn is eager to assert the UK's advertising leadership in the digital market claiming that in the last year, online advertising revenues surpassed those on television. Mendelsohn, co-chair of the Creative Industries Council, told attendees that the negative image of the advertising industry also poses a challenge: "if you ask people about advertising in general, the response is often negative … nothing more than out of touch Mad Men selling unwanted products. Just as in politics, people fail to see the bigger picture."
She called on government to provide the ad industry with the support it needs, joking that "few industries are so important that they have not one but two government departments."
Speaking ahead of the reception, Tim Lefroy, CEO of the Advertising Association, said: "Our message to policymakers is simple: promote the UK as a global advertising services hub; protect the communication freedoms which underpin UK brand investment; and make the UK – creatively and commercially – the best place to invest in advertising-funded content."
Advertising Week Europe, which is due to come to London in March next year, "proves the edge" UK advertising has, insists Lefroy, though like Mendelsohn he expresses caution: "It's an advantage we should work to retain." Reported by guardian.co.uk 7 hours ago.