International trade in UK advertising and market research services was worth £11.7bn in 2020, sustaining the same level as the pre-pandemic conditions of 2019.
Record exports make advertising a great British success story
Newly released figures paint a picture of rude health for the UK’s advertising and marketing exports in 2019 – so how will the industry cope with the challenges posed by the pandemic?
The Advertising Association’s recently published UK Advertising Exports Report 2021 wasn’t short of headline figures. The report covered the latest data taken from 2019, when 7% year-on-year growth led the industry to a new record level of £11bn in international trade. That put UK exports of advertising and market research services in third place among comparable industries, behind insurance and pension services (at £20bn) and computer services (£12bn).
The report, called
UK Advertising Exports Report 2021, says that international trade of advertising and market research rose 7% year-on-year in 2019, the most recent year for which data exists.
This ranks advertising and market research third among similar export industries, behind insurance and pensions (£20bn) and computer services (£12bn).
The figures are taken from an analysis by advertising industry think tank Credos of data from the Office for National Statistics’
Pink Book, which shows the UK’s balance of payments.
The US remains the largest importer of UK advertising and market research services, with £1.1bn in 2019.
France (£785m), Germany (£712m), Switzerland (£643m) and Ireland (£539m) are the next largest importers of UK advertising, market research and opinion polling services.