With a little help from Andrea Bocelli, the John Lewis Christmas advert continues to be made by a UK agency.
Ad spend within the UK is expected to reach £36 billion this year, a moderate real terms fall but not a bad result in the current economy.
Continuing growth in internet advertising is part of this, amounting to 77% of UK spend. Search optimisation and search ads lead the way, with TV, radio and to a greater extent direct mail seeing falling expenditure.
One older medium bucking the trend is cinema, helped by blockbuster releases such as Barbie, Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible.
With 23,000 UK companies in the advertising business, a sound performance matters to our economy. This especially applies to the 8,000 ad sector businesses which export their services around the globe.
A Changing Pattern
The UK exported over £15 billion in advertising and market research services in 2022, with the first half of 2023 looking likely to see further growth.
Despite a fall, the EU remains the largest market, at around £2.4 billion. What has changed is the amount of business in other markets, more than making up for a lower EU footprint and the levelling off at home.
A surge in ad sector exports to the US brought a 16% increase last year, with confirmed sales at £878 million. There has also been reasonable growth in sales to China, India, the Middle East and North Africa.
The bodies collating data for and supporting the sector put this down to a deliberate effort to engage in international activities.
Taking Opportunities
The UK Advertising Exports Group believe the change is down to “Government support, trade agreements, and strategic collaborations offering opportunities worldwide”, along with people choosing to make use of them.
The knowledge, technology and creative ability UK companies offer have helped but so has the will to be involved in trade missions, or other activities.
The advertising industry feel they are no more insulated from Brexit, or a range of factors than other sectors. They believe that many British companies can be competitive in fresh markets, helping their customers to innovate and grow.
Testing The Waters
We appreciate that some sectors will have unique issues beyond their control but for many, investigating new markets will prove worthwhile.
If this involves a demonstration trip, or attending a business fair, our team are happy to advise and organise an ATA carnet for your goods, or equipment. The same applies if you need a carnet for film equipment, or other media needs.
Changing technology means much discussion and support can now take place online. Often a helpful option going forward, although initial contact in person still matters, allowing people to see what you have to offer and get to know you.
Carnets are now suitable for temporary exports to the EU and this will remain a prime market for many UK companies. There can however be no harm in adding to this, with British goods and services respected in so many places.