The Digest

THE DIGEST

LEAD 2025

It was fantastic to see so many people at LEAD 2025, hosted once again at the QEII Centre in Westminster, a fitting venue to set the agenda for the year ahead in Labour’s first full year of government.

This year’s theme, Growth and Value, put a spotlight on the vital role advertising plays in driving the UK’s economy, while addressing key issues including brand safety, AI, and the power of creativity to rebuild trust and break new boundaries.

The 2025 agenda brought together a stellar line-up of political and industry leaders to discuss the pressing topics shaping our sector. This year, we returned to a half-day format, offering a dynamic programme and outstanding opportunities to connect with industry colleagues across our combined memberships.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our wonderful partners for their support and to our talented speakers for sharing their insights and expertise.

As always, we are committed to championing the power of advertising and ensuring our industry continues to deliver impact and value for years to come.

Advertising Association, IPA, ISBA

GOVERNMENT KEYNOTE

SPEAKERS:

SUMMARY:

Sir Chris Bryant outlined the government’s plans for the creative industries. He highlighted the importance of trust in advertising and the many skills required within the ecosystem of the industry. He noted that the UK has much to be proud of within our Creative Industries and said that Labour is determined to enable growth in our sector.

1. The Minister credited the important economic role of advertising, both domestically and through exports, alongside its rich offering of imagination and craft.

2. Political, fiscal and economic stability were noted as important for this industry to grow in the UK and allow people to make long term investments.

3. A good education includes a good creative education. Bryant outlined the Government’s intention for every child in the UK to consider a creative career, such as advertising, as a possible future career for them.

4. The Minister talked about the importance of a strong copyright system in the UK, acknowledging the work done by the industry via AI working groups and urged the room to engage with the Government’s consultation.

5. Regarding Less Healthy Food, he stated the Government’s priority is proportionate regulation and clear guidance for businesses operating in the sector.

SESSION LENGTH:

Read the Advertising Association’s Director of Policy and Government Affairs

Lisa Hayley-Jones’ response to the speech here.

SHAPING THE UK’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

SPEAKERS:

Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor, The Telegraph

Kevin Schofield, Political Editor, HuffPost

Lara Spirit, Political Correspondent, The Times

Alison Phillips, Senior Advisor, MHP Group; Former Editor in Chief, The Mirror

SUMMARY:

This panel of renowned political editors unpacked the key issues and events set to define the UK’s political agenda and beyond in 2025. From major policy debates to world events and shifting public sentiment, they gave us expert insights into the stories that will shape the nation’s future.

1. The panel discussed the importance of trusted news during the recent rise in misinformation and changing social media models surrounding fact-checking.

2. It was noted that trusted news sources check their facts and are subject to regulatory and legal constraints.

3. There is a challenge in striking a balance between the public feeling overwhelmed by the volume of news and their hunger for information.

4. The inauguration of President Trump and the impact on both the US and UK’s political climate and news coverage was discussed, particularly noting how the nature of his negotiation strategies and speeches provides ideal content and headlines for news coverage.

5. The future plans of the UK’s government were debated, particularly surrounding progression regarding welfare, the Budget and the Prime Minister’s growth philosophy.

SESSION LENGTH:

30 minutes

WATCH FULL SESSION BELOW:

ADVERTISING PAYS 2025:

SPEAKERS:

Dan Wilks, Director, Credos

Laura Fenton, Chief Executive, OMG UK

Catherine Kehoe, Chief Customer Officer, Nationwide

Kelly Williams, Managing Director, Commercial, ITV

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association

SUMMARY:

Credos, advertising’s think tank, will be launching the latest edition of its Advertising Pays series this year. The report will feature fresh research, data and insights evidencing advertising’s economic impact and its evolving role in the UK economy during the first quarter of the 21st Century. This session gave an exclusive preview of the key findings from the report, followed by a panel discussion with some of the contributors.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. On average, £1 spent on advertising generates a profit ROI of £4.11 for medium-large businesses (Profit Ability 2, Thinkbox 2024) and £1.89 for micro-small businesses.

2. The advertising industry supports four million jobs across the UK, including agencies, marketing, media and digital industries.

3. Promoting the power of advertising through case studies on the positive financial and social impacts of ads will lead to increased growth and success for brands.

4. Brands should consider taking a cross-channel approach to compete in an intensive ‘attention economy’.

5. Retail media is set to rise due to the growth in online ad spend. In 2023, people in the UK bought over £400bn of goods and services online, up from £170bn in 2010.

SESSION LENGTH:

35 minutes

PRIORITIES FOR CMO s IN 2025

SPEAKERS:

Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer, Boots UK; President, ISBA

SUMMARY:

ISBA’s President, Pete Markey, outlined the key areas of focus for marketing leaders in the coming year by considering ‘what keeps him awake at night’.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. Pete Markey described how being CMO of Boots, Chair of the AA Front Foot Network as well as the President of ISBA allows him to see the perspectives of agencies, brands and advertisers and look ahead to see the challenges and opportunities for 2025 when representing the industry.

2. Priorities for CMOs for 2025 include using cross-media measurements and recognising the growth in retail media, which is being integrated with traditional media and giving us new supply chain opportunities and challenges for both media owners and advertisers.

3. Commerce media will be high on the Boots agenda in 2025, as outside the retail sector there is a potential for brands to use their own first party data to drive their growth.

4. Sectors like travel and finance offer new ways for advertisers to reach consumers, which will be an opportunity for both advertisers and brand owners in 2025.

5. The Ad Accessibility Alliance will be launching a new resource to make brand advertising more accessible and trusted. Pete felt passionate that advertising should be made with responsible choices, and ISBA will publish the Responsible Media Framework in the Spring.

5 minutes

SESSION LENGTH: WATCH FULL SESSION BELOW:

DO MARKETERS BELIEVE AI WILL GENERATE REAL GROWTH?

SPEAKERS:

Simon Valcarcel, Marketing Director, Virgin Media O2

Anneli Ritari-Stewart, Head of Digital Marketing, Royal London

Phil Warfield, Marketing Director, Cadbury Equity

Sameer Amin, Global Director of Data Driven Marketing & Media, Reckitt

Maisie McCabe, UK Editor, Campaign

SUMMARY:

This panel explored marketers’ perspectives on AI’s potential to drive tangible business growth. It helped the audience discover insights into how AI tools are shaping strategies, fostering innovation, and delivering measurable results in today’s competitive landscape.

1. AI should be a tool, not a strategy. It is important for campaigns to still have a ‘human touch’ and sense of authenticity, as consumers are concerned by excessive homogenous AI content which lacks creativity.

2. The large-scale personalisation of AI provides a more tailored consumer experience, allowing brands to stand out in a competitive market

3. AI complements creativity by allowing creatives to reinvest in craft through its efficiency and research tool capacity.

4. The large-scale personalisation of AI provides brands allows a more tailored consumer experience, thus allowing them to stand out in a competitive market and increase profits.

5. AI can help reduce bias through the use of multiple sources, but there remain complications, with information inputted being from potentially biased individuals and perspectives.

SESSION LENGTH:

30 minutes

WATCH FULL SESSION BELOW:

WHAT NEXT FOR PLATFORM BRAND SAFETY IN THE UK?

SPEAKERS:

Sarah Bakai, Head of Safety, Privacy & Integrity Solutions Marketing, Meta

Dyana Najdi, Managing Director, Google Advertising UKI

Kris Boger, General Manager, Global Business Solutions, TikTok UK

Phil Smith, Director General, ISBA

SUMMARY:

This session considered the future of platform brand safety in the UK. As a global leader in online brand safety initiatives, the UK champions transparent reporting and innovative tools to combat harmful content, ensuring a safer online environment for brands, audiences and creators alike.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. The panel discussed the community standards and content moderation of their platforms.

2. From a brand perspective, ISBA’s Director General outlined how advertising next to harmful content can ruin brand reputation and described advertisers’ increasing concerns relating to changes to standards.

3. Meta talked about their Community Standards, describing that content moderators will still be in place to remove harmful content, and they will continue to produce their Community Standards Enforcement Report.

4. TikTok explained it has safety embedded into its design, using proactive controls to protect younger users. They outlined how all content must pass through community guidelines as TikTok partners with 20 fact-checking organisations.

5. Google outlined their evolution from safety to suitability and responsibility. On YouTube, recommendations are restricted from teenagers around the world and parents are empowered use the family settings to limit recommendations.

THE ENDURING VALUE OF CREATIVITY

SPEAKERS:

Josh Krichefski, CEO, GroupM EMEA; President, IPA

SUMMARY:

IPA President Josh Krichefski spoke about why creativity needs to remain a top priority for advertising agencies, to drive innovation and deliver effective campaigns that consumers connect with.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. Creativity continues to be the cornerstone of success for advertising, helping brands stand out in an overcrowded marketplace.

2. The campaigns that resonate most with consumers are those that initiate an emotional response, tapping into consumers’ feelings, aspirations and pain points. Meaningful connections elevate a campaign from ‘good’ to ‘unforgettable’.

3. The key to staying relevant is the ability to adapt, using imagination to find solutions to new challenges, such as the rise of social media and AI adoption.

4. There are limits to what technology and AI can do. Creativity that resonates with people comes from the human touch.

5. "Corkscrew thinkers" are invaluable: People who can approach problems unconventionally and find opportunities in obstacles are crucial for innovation.

SESSION LENGTH:

5 minutes

WATCH FULL SESSION BELOW:

WINNING BACK TRUST IN ADVERTISING

SPEAKERS:

Paul Bainsfair, Director General, IPA

Miranda Hipwell, CEO, adam&eveDDB

James Murphy , UK Group Chief Executive, Ogilvy

Rak Patel, Chief Commercial Officer, Channel 4

SUMMARY:

It is well known that trust plays a vital role in advertising. But how do we improve it? And how do we safeguard it once we have it? This panel of experts considered the many dimensions, angles and nuances of trust in advertising.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. Trust is the foundation and building blocks of everything – and a cornerstone of the winning IPA Effectiveness Awards.

2. Trust is an incredible ‘multiplier’ if you have it – and must be guarded closely.

3. The best long-term client-agency relationships are based on trust – it is the glue.

4. People are not inclined to trust influencers as a whole, amorphous mass – but will trust individual influencers they follow beyond almost anything else.

5. There is a quantitative and a quantitative element to trust and it is our responsibility to turn up in a way that improves people's lives.

SESSION LENGTH:

25 minutes

WATCH FULL SESSION BELOW:

THE POWER OF CREATIVITY

SPEAKERS:

Gavin Strange, Director & Designer, Aardman

SUMMARY:

Britain is famous across the globe for its contributions to culture – whether it’s music, art, theatre or indeed, advertising. Aardman’s Gavin Strange spoke about why we need to push the boundaries with our world-leading creativity.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. Comedy, story, character and craft are the four essential puzzle pieces to creating a successful and engaging campaign or artwork.

2. Trust is essential between the creative industries and recognising the work of the crews involved in the design and artistic side of a campaign will yield better, more consistent results.

3. VR is a powerful design and worldbuilding tool, and will continue to play a large part in the formation of creative campaigns.

4. Human intelligence is what drives creativity and brand strategy, and AI can’t replace the skills and talent of creative individuals.

5. A balance must be maintained between reusing old material to pay homage to previous work, and creating new material which includes new tech and fresh ideas to continuously keep consumers engaged.

SESSION LENGTH:

30 minutes

WATCH THE KEYNOTE PLUS DISCUSSION BELOW:

THE 2025 LOOK AHEAD: WITH MATT FORDE

SPEAKERS:

Matt Forde, Political Comedian and Presenter, Absolute Radio

SUMMARY:

Matt Forde concluded the event with a humorous speech of reactions to the Prime Minister’s recent news announcements, Labour’s strategy to build homes, President Donald Trump following the US election and America’s political impact on the rest of the world.

Matt Forde was amazinga real comedic genius!

SESSION LENGTH:

15 minutes

Matt Forde blew me awaypolitical comedy at its finest.

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR 15 MINUTES OF FUN, WATCH BELOW:

GROWTH AND VALUE:

TIME FOR ACTION

SPEAKERS:

Alessandra Bellini, President, Advertising Association

SUMMARY:

In the closing speech, her last as AA President, Alessandra Bellini set out what the industry should do to make a responsible contribution to the UK’s social and economic growth. She spoke about partnership with the government and interdependence across the advertising industry all coming together to build an industry where people want to build careers.

FIVE KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

1. Collaboration between stakeholders is vital to help drive both economic and social value in the advertising industry.

2. The role of legislation is key in addressing complex industry challenges and contributions to consultations were encouraged to ensure a successful outcome.

3. The UK is leading the way in advertising standards, both domestically and internationally and our interdependence is a key part of this success.

4. Talent recruitment, retention, and development are critical for the industry's future. Alessandra called for efforts to attract diverse, creative, strategic, and technical talent, and emphasised the importance of developing a career path for the best professionals in the industry.

5. Our third industry-wide All In census on March 12, 2025, will gather vital insights on inclusivity and opportunity within the advertising sector. The data will help nurture talent and ensure everyone has the opportunity to progress and succeed.

5 minutes

SESSION LENGTH: WATCH FULL SESSION BELOW: