Britain's got ad talent but very few working class heroes

The advertising industry appears to be making steady progress in many areas, including creating a decent work/life balance, female representation and AI adoption but there is still plenty of work to be done, especially around trust, discrimination and attracting working class talent.

That is according to the results of the third biennial All In Census of practitioners from across the advertising and marketing industry, spanning agencies, media owners, tech companies and brand marketing teams.

Launched in 2021 by the Advertising Association, in partnership with ISBA and the IPA, and conducted by Kantar, the All In Census asks important questions about experience and representation within advertising.

While participation is down to 14,000 practitioners, from 19,000 in 2023 and 16,000 in 2021, there are now nearly 50,000 responses since the first survey to inform the ongoing All In Action plan to support talent retention and recruitment.

The results reveal that most respondents (78%) enjoy working in advertising, though more work is required to be an industry viewed by its workforce as trustworthy (40%) or producing a positive social contribution (44%).

Results also reveal an Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of +6%, which measures the likelihood of professionals to recommend advertising to others as a career choice.

When it comes to hybrid working, respondents felt that the practice has led to an increase in work/life balance (59%), productivity (58%), freedom to choose when and where people work (50%), meeting customer needs (35%) and less work burnout or fatigue (31%).

Even so, respondents with client-facing roles – including office services, C-suite, production, account planning and sales – are spending more time back in the office.

Findings showed that on average, respondents are working 2.6 days a week in the office, 2.2 days at home, and 0.3 as ‘other’.

In contrast, the preferred number of days respondents would like to work in the office is 2.1 days a week, with 2.5 at home, and 0.4 as ‘other’.

Meanwhile, gender representation in the ad industry is getting better, although men still seem to be dominating C-suite positions. This year, six in ten (60%) of the survey’s respondents were women, while 46% of C-suite roles were held by them. Although there is considerable room for improvement, the figure is higher than previous years (43% in 2023, and 39% in 2021).

On the down side, sexual discrimination is still a problem for the industry, with 10% of female respondents saying they had experienced issues within the past 12 months, compared to 3% of male respondents. This figure rises to 42% for trans respondents.

Six in ten (60%) trans industry members also report being made to feel uncomfortable in the workplace, versus a 15% average among all respondents. Around a quarter (23%) of trans respondents say they are likely to leave the industry due to a lack of inclusion/discrimination, compared to a 9% average among all respondents.

Black respondents were the most likely to have experienced discrimination (16%), followed by Asian respondents (12%), Muslims (12%) and Women (10%), although these levels are lower than 2021’s results.

While progress has been made attracting those from ethnic backgrounds – 18% of All In respondents were this cohort compared to 14% of the UK working population – the “working class” is still significantly underrepresented.

Using the definition outlined by the UK Government’s Social Mobility Commission, practitioners from this socio-economic group make up only 19% of the ad industry, while making up 40% of the UK population.

The number of disabled respondents (using the definition from the UK Equality Act) is close to the number of disabled people in the UK working population (12%, versus 14%); 9% hold a C-suite role in the ad industry.

Finally, it seems that most (63%) advertising and marketing practitioners are enthusiastic to use AI more in their roles, with only 15% feeling the opposite. Some 44% of respondents agree that AI has made them more effective in their job, while 22% disagree.

Even so, use of generative AI to complete tasks is fairly evenly split between respondents who do so regularly (41%) versus those who don’t (39%).

Advertising Association commercial director and talent and inclusion lead Sharon Lloyd Barnes said: “This latest set of data underlines the importance of continued focus on improving the workplace for all. While progress has been made, thanks in part to the industry-wide effort around key actions, there is always work to be done.

“The All In data is the crucial foundation for the All In working groups, helping define the direction of the industry action plan. Now more than ever, we need to ensure we attract, nurture and retain the best talent.

“New data from the All In Census illustrates an opportunity for the industry to champion and communicate advertising’s valuable economic and social contribution to the wider workforce.”

Chair of the Inclusion Working Group Kathryn Jacob added: “This latest iteration of the All In Census is another tremendous effort by everyone involved. In encouraging thousands of people to have their say and analysing the resulting data, we are taking positive action towards making advertising as welcoming an industry as possible for everyone.”

The executive summary of the results is available on the All In Hub.