Growth topped the agenda at the Advertising Association, IPA and ISBA’s flagship Lead conference. On the 6th of February, advertising leaders and political editors gathered at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster to discuss some of the most pressing issues that the advertising industry is facing in 2025. 

Following a turbulent, election-filled 2024 that left both businesses and consumers feeling the squeeze, the conference focused on the opportunities for growth that 2025 brings. Themes of growth, trust, technology and talent took centre stage. 

Growth

Lead kicked off with a keynote from Chris Bryant MP, Minister of State for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries where Bryant identified the creative industries as one of the eight key growth sectors for the freshly elected Labour government. The UK ad industry is the 2nd biggest exporter of advertising in the world. As Bryant explained: “Without which the UK would be poorer and weaker.”     

Bryant underlined the importance of skills building, a creative education and improved regulation as key pillars for nurturing growth. He also shared plans for the government to work closely with the sector on HFSS regulation, reassuring advertisers that regulations will be ‘proportionate’.

Credos, Advertising’s think tank’s latest Advertising Pays report provides research, data and insights outlining the pivotal role the industry plays in the wider economy. Dan Wilks, Director at Credos, shared compelling statistics from the report which showed the industry’s £174.1bn contribution to the UK economy, supporting over 4 million jobs across the UK. 

A panel session with Laura Fenton, Chief Executive at OMG UK, Catherine Kehoe, Chief Customer Officer at Nationwide, Kelly Williams, Managing Director, Commercial at ITV and Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive at Advertising Association sought to identify how we can use the findings of the Credos report to maintain the industry’s significant economic contribution and drive growth. 

Kehoe shared that while the industry has undergone much change, the fundamentals of growth remain the same; creative is still the most important and brand remains a cornerstone of decision making. The panel championed the importance of embracing an econometric model to prove the impact of advertising in the boardroom and pointed to the IPA Effectiveness Awards as a proof point for success.

Trust

With Trump in office for a second time, it seems as though we are living in a post-truth or even post-post-truth world. In advertising terms, maybe chicken is the only thing we can truly believe in?

Trump's post-truth era is leaving political journalists perplexed. A ‘politician's answer’ was once the very definition of careful word choice and avoidance. Trump's words make everyday box office moments for the press. Yet, a say-do gap is growing. The importance of reporting on both what is said and what is done in an accurate and trusted way has never been more important. A session with renowned political editors spotlighted the importance of trusted media for audiences who simply don’t know what to believe anymore. The session considered the role of social media in news, “social media freedoms are used as a stick with which to beat traditional news,” noted Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor, The Telegraph. Lara Spirit, Political Correspondent at The Times added: “Without mainstream media, social is ‘opinion dressed up as fact’.” Trusted journalism is more important than ever.

Following news from Meta that it is rolling back third-party fact-checking programme in the US, LEAD gave leaders from Meta, Google and TikTok the stage to outline their safety plans for the year ahead. Each aimed to reassure that safety is top of mind with the introduction of mirrored accounts for younger users and content moderation tools. The words of Dyana Najdi, Managing Director at Google Advertising UKI are indicative of the mammoth challenge tech platforms face in this arena: “Trust at its core is gained in drops lost in buckets,” she says.

A session with Paul Bainsfair, Director General, IPA, Miranda Hipwell, Chief Executive, of Adam&eveDDB, James Murphy, UK Group Chief Executive at Ogilvy and Rak Patel, Chief Commercial Officer at Channel 4 on winning back trust in advertising echoed the message that trust is earnt.

With data showing the industry remains one of the least trusted, news from social media platforms around rollbacks on fact-checking contributes to setbacks. “We are affected by our context - the corrosion of the environment,” shared Murphy. To gain back trust the panel advocated for a long-term strategy made up of brand building and education. Campaigns from the ASA also help to promote to audiences that the industry is managed and regulated. 

“We must uphold our standards even when others are dropping theirs across everything - trust, DEI and sustainability,” added Hipwell.

Technology

Moving the conversation on from fear mongering around AI killing jobs and creativity, this year industry experts considered how we can use technology to drive growth and channel efficiencies.

Campaign’s UK Editor, Maisie McCabe sat down with Simon Valcarcel, Marketing Director at Virgin Media O2, Anneli Ritari-Stewart, Head of Digital Marketing at Royal London, Phil Warfield, Equity Marketing Director at Cadbury and Sameer Amin, Global Director of Data Driven Marketing and Media at Reckitt to consider the potential of AI and how AI tools can foster innovation. 

Cadbury’s ‘My Cadbury Era’ campaign from VCCP used a Gen-AI-powered tool to place users in classic Cadbury posters to celebrate its 200-year heritage. O2’s AI ‘Granny’ could be used to answer fraudsters in real-time, keeping them on the phone and away from customers. The two brands used AI as a tool to facilitate well-received creative campaigns that wouldn’t have been able to achieve their reach or awareness impact without AI. 

Beyond the execution of creative campaigns, the panel shared how AI tools can be used to free up time to reinvest in craft. They advocated for ‘replacing tasks rather than jobs’ and considered restructuring around the types of tools available. Valcarcel shared the importance of ‘creating a culture that encourages the use of AI’ to avoid secret use or shame, encouraging experimentation. 

Amin added that it is important to remember the ‘unintended consequences’ and consider where it is still important to educate junior talent despite AI efficiencies. AI will no doubt have a significant impact on marketing activity but the fundamentals of marketing remain the same. Technology is driven by talent.

Talent

The power of creativity proves that the industry’s most important asset is its people. 

In a world of AI, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl cheekily points to the perils of technology using humour to deliver a universal truth. Gavin Strange, Director and Designer at Aardman shared that the studio is able to keep on connecting with everyday, ordinary but lovable characters like Wallace and Gromit through comedy, story, craft and character. The studio’s success worldwide shows the impact that can be made when people are at the heart of everything you do. Those visible fingerprints in the clay show a human has been there and brings the craft to life.

Creativity is crucial to the success of the industry. Josh Krichefski, CEO at GroupM and President of the IPA pointed to Winston Churchill’s famous quote about corkscrew thinkers noting that the industry is full of people who see the world differently and find creative solutions.

In Alessandra Bellini’s last address as President of the Advertising Association, she shared that talent has always been top of her agenda. For her, collaboration is key as she shared: ‘we are all dependent on one another for growth.’

The industry-wide All-In Census returns on March 12th. Find out more here.

Photo credit: Bronac McNeill