How Advertising Fuels the Economy

How advertising fuels the economy

Advertising and growth

• Advertising adds £120bn to UK GDP by raising the level of economic activity and boosting productivity
• Advertising boosts competition
• Advertising matches buyers and sellers more efficiently
• Advertising accelerates the growth of new businesses and ideas
• Higher levels of advertising spend increase GDP
• On average, £1 of advertising spend generates £6 for the UK economy.
  
  

Advertising and the creative industries

The UK advertising industry is central to the UK creative industries. Outside of the public sector, advertising is a main source of revenue for both on and offline media:

• 1/3rd of UK television revenues come from advertising
• 2/3rds of UK newspaper revenues come from advertising
• 90% of UK Google revenues come from advertising
• Advertising employs the services of other creative industries; from music, fashion, film production and special effects, to animation, games and photography, and provides steady income for some of the UK's most talented artists.

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Advertising and employment

• According to the official 2015 Government statistics, there are 499,000 advertising and marketing jobs in the UK creative economy, including 332,000 that are advertising and marketing roles outside the creative industries.
  
  
• One million UK jobs depend on advertising, according to the Advertising Association.

Advertising and export

• Thanks to its international reputation, UK advertising helps to export over £2bn in advertising services each year. In addition, successful advertising enables UK brands to enjoy strong international recognition, enabling the UK to export a much wider range of goods and services.
  
  

Advertising Standards

• The UK’s Advertising Standards (ASA) model is the global gold standard for self-regulation.

You can download reports on UK advertising here.