We have been marking the performance of UK advertising on the world stage this week through our new Exports Report. My colleagues, Aisling and Dan, have been reviewing the latest figures to identify how we are performing and where we can do even better. In short, we exported £19.4bn in 2025, second only to the US and our surplus (the profit coming from the balance of imports / exports) grew by 38%. All of this is important because it feeds back into the UK creative economy, of which advertising is a significant part.
Exports or international revenue comes in three forms – an international client looks for support in the UK market, from the UK into an international market, or a UK business goes into an international market and delivers work from there. Often it’s a combination of the three.
I find all this fascinating. Some of you may know I used to run a PR consultancy and we were always on the new business treadmill, pitching and opening up new client revenues. I wish the UK Advertising Exports Group had existed then. It’s a superb way for a business, particularly those with a strong, distinct UK offering and/or from the independent agency sector, to open up new prospects from international markets.
We will be doing exactly that for the companies on our Cannes Lions trade mission in a couple of weeks time. If you want to know more about this and how to get involved, drop me a line.
Our must-reads:
- Outsmart reported that OOH advertising revenues for Q1 2026 reached a total of £341.2m in their figures collated by PwC. (Outsmart)
- TikTok, Mail Metro Media, and ITV gave their view on whether the World Cup is a bigger opportunity for brands than Christmas. (Campaign)
- New forecasts from IAB UK predict AI-driven adspend to account for one-third of digital adspend by 2030. (The Media Leader)
- A new handbook has been released by Melanoma Focus to teach barbers how to be the first line of defence against skin cancer. (LBB)
Our pick of the ads:
- Our Ad in the A is EE and WPP Media’s ‘Yes Boys‘ campaign, helping young boys on and off the pitch to navigate the online world with confidence and positivity.
- Tesco has partnered with BBH London to launch ‘Quality Around the Corner‘, which highlights their high-quality food sources from around the world.
- T&P transformed household products into oversized installations in ‘More Than Toys’ in a bid to prove that Argos is a multi-category retailer.
- ‘Find the beautiful game‘ has been unveiled by VCCP for O2, to celebrate their EU roaming service ahead of the World Cup.
Dates for your diary:
- The Mayor of London’s AI and Jobs Taskforce wants to understand what employers are seeing and experiencing as AI reshapes our work. Join us in completing the survey by 19 June here.
- From 15 June until 5pm on 15 September, AA members can book the ASA’s live virtual advice sessions at an enhanced discounted group rate. Use code AAgroup35 for groups of 4–24 delegates to get 35% off, or AAgroup60 for 25+ delegates for 60% off. T&Cs apply
- Fancy being in sunny Eastbourne 7-10 July for a transformative career highlight? Then why not take one of the last places on our famous Media Business Course? Find out more and book here.
- CreatorFest 2026 on 14-15 July has a packed two-day agenda of networking and panels. Get 20% off your tickets using the code AA20OFF here.
And finally, my Ad Net Zero colleague Alex spoke at The Programmatic Pioneers Summit alongside the IPA and The Guardian, and the World Out Of Home Organisation Global Congress with Omnicom this week – building the case for every company to adopt the Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF). More to follow on that at London Climate Week and Cannes this month.