WRC Event Reveals New Opportunity to Grow Global Advertising Business

The UK has led the way in recent years in creating some of the most innovative Christmas advertising campaigns that really get the consumer in the holiday spirit ahead of the most important sales period of the year.

Think of the anticipation surrounding the launch of the latest John Lewis Christmas ad; or the global stars and cartoon characters we have seen in offerings from Marks & Spencer; or the focus on diverse family celebrations we have seen from Tesco.

Drawing on this rich expertise, a panel at this week’s World Retail Congress in Madrid aimed to give the UK perspective on: “Advertising strategies for the new consumer age: Planning your campaign to deliver the ultimate Golden Quarter”. 

Taking part in the panel were:

Janet Hull, Director of Marketing Strategy at the UK’s Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA)

Orlando Wood, Chief Innovation Officer at advertising strategy and research consultancy System 1 Group

Tammy Einav, CEO of adam&eveDDB London

Neil Henderson, CEO of leading UK creative agency, St Luke’s

The panel drew on the UK’s advertising heritage and global reputation for planning, creativity and effectiveness. The speakers also showcased the winning strategies for retail brands in both the on and offline world in the most competitive ‘make or break’ season of the year

The event also featured pioneering advertising tracking research from System 1 Group, and case examples from two of the UK’s best loved retailers – John Lewis and Very (Shop Direct). The aim was to demonstrate to delegates how to make their brand stand out, how emotion drives brand consideration, and how to optimise multi-platform to boost sales.

The event was also an opportunity to highlight the recent launch of Promote UK by the Advertising Association as a new industry group to position the UK as the top global hub and centre of excellence for advertising. The group’s objectives are to raise awareness of UK advertising to drive reputation; target key influencers and decision-makers for in-depth engagement; and to highlight British advertising excellence to the global business community.

Janet Hull commented: “The UK is a global leader in advertising, producing some of the most innovative and successful campaigns worldwide. Nowhere is this more evident than during the crucial run-up to Christmas, when getting the right advert and getting people talking about the advertiser is vital.

“We in the UK advertising industry recognise this and we have a wealth of experience to share with businesses across the world in creating powerful and effective campaigns. This session at the World Retail Congress gave us the opportunity to share some of this knowledge and bang the drum for UK advertising on a global retail platform”.