Kings of the world: Industry tops £66.6bn and 1.7m jobs

The advertising and marketing industry is contributing a record amount to the UK economy, with British businesses investing an estimated £66.6bn in the sector in 2024, while supporting over 1.7 million jobs across the country and leading the world in ecommerce.

That is the decidedly upbeat conclusion of a new report, Advertising Pays 2025, from think tank Credos, which reveals the industry also contributed £109bn of gross added value to the UK economy in 2024. This means advertising now represents 4% of total UK GVA.

In fact, in 2024, 3.5 million businesses spent £42.6bn on media, £7.4bn on agencies and production, and £16.6bn on marketing professionals, meaning 64% of the UK’s 5.5 million businesses rely on services provided by the advertising sector.

On average, £1 spent on advertising now generates a profit ROI of £4.11 for medium-large businesses and £1.89 for micro-small businesses. Consequently, advertising directly funds a broad range of roles across the UK’s media and digital industries to the tune of £42.6bn through businesses’ advertising investment.

This means that advertising and marketing now supports 5% of UK employment, while advertising remains the “currency” that funds and supports many valued UK industries and services, such as TV and radio programming, journalism, cinema, and streaming services. Online tools such as maps, search, and educational content would also be significantly more expensive without advertising income.

Notably, the report also reveals that 60% of advertising and marketing jobs were based outside of London. The North-West is the largest hub outside of London, accounting for 12% of UK employment, followed by the South-East (11%) and Yorkshire and Humber (8%).

Since 2017, there has been a change in the distribution of the advertising and marketing workforce, with a decline in London (down 3 percentage points). In contrast, the proportion of advertising and marketing professionals in the North-West increased from 8% in 2017 to 12% in 2024. This growth is largely driven by increased employment in Manchester and Leeds, though Liverpool and Sheffield also entered the top 10 city hubs for the first time in 2024.

The report maintains that advertising is uniquely positioned within both the creative industries and professional services, with its GVA outstripping that of other major industries such as film, TV, law, and accounting.

Other key areas of change and growth for the industry highlighted in the report include the industry’s overseas influence, with £17.9bn worth of UK advertising services exported in 2024, second only to the US.

Meanwhile, Britain is now a leader within the global advertising market, with findings showing that the UK’s share of ecommerce in retail sales of goods (30%) is the highest in the world, ahead of the US (24%).

Finally, the UK’s influencer market has expanded significantly and was estimated to be worth £828m in 2023, with spend anticipated to reach £1bn in the UK by 2026.

The report goes on to expand on the changes taking place within the advertising industry, including the distribution of the advertising and marketing workforce, consumer habits and behaviours, and the changing landscape of TV, print, and audio.

Credos director Dan Wilks said: “Advertising Pays 2025 reflects on the first quarter of this century and shows the full scale of advertising’s value to the UK’s changing economy.

“This report not only demonstrates advertising’s economic impact but its unique position within the creative and professional services, contributing a record amount of GVA towards the UK economy.

“Advertising Pays 2025 highlights how advertising is continuing to thrive across all media, from out of home to social, to ecommerce. Advertising is increasingly innovative and adaptable, and our industry’s world-leading creative talent is proof of this.”

Advertising Association president Andria Vidler added: “This report contains a valuable set of messages for us all to share about what our industry contributes and provides many answers to those who ask what value the advertising industry brings to the UK.

“To my mind though, these messages not only serve as a baseline to grow from, but they can also be used as a springboard for action to go further and help more businesses and organisations to grow sustainably, to support growth, jobs, and exports, all for the long term.”