UK advertising exports hit £15.6bn

The findings, which are based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that advertising exports have more than doubled since 2016, when they were valued at £7.1bn.

Credos said the rise in export figures was partly due to the growing number of UK advertising and market research companies engaging in international activities.

The research said that almost a third of UK advertising and marketing-related service companies currently export, with the UK Advertising Exports Group (UKAEG) set up in 2020 to support the UK advertising industry’s global growth.

The UKAEG is backed by the Advertising Association (AA), Advertising Producers Association, BPMA, Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and the Department for Business and Trade.

Julian Douglas (pictured), international chief executive officer and vice-chairman at VCCP and former IPA president, has been named as the UKAEG’s new chair.

UKAEG said its focus for the year ahead will be on key international markets such as the US, China, India and the Middle East and North Africa, with plans for multiple trade missions in 2024.

Douglas said: “By joining forces with the UKAEG and the Department for Business and Trade, businesses can tap into new markets and drive economic growth.

“Government support, trade agreements, and strategic collaborations offer opportunities worldwide. UK Advertising is ready to compete and win on a global scale. We have the smarts, the technology and the pure creative firepower to change the world and our position in it.”

Stephen Woodford, chief executive at the AA, said: “Dougie was a charismatic and visionary representative for the industry during his IPA presidency and has proven himself to be a committed and tenacious leader in our export group. I am excited that he’s taken on this new role.”

Lord Offord, minister for exports, said: “The UK’s creative industries are world leading, and these record export figures provide a welcome boost as we aim to sell £1 trillion of goods and services a year to the world by 2030.

“There are more than 200,000 people working at over 20,000 businesses in our advertising industry and I look forward to helping more of them expand into new markets, creating more jobs and cementing the UK as a services superpower.”