UK firms urged to join trade mission to Cannes Lions

UK advertising and marketing businesses – including brands, agencies and suppliers – are being urged to sign up to join this year’s trade mission to Cannes Lions, which is designed to showcase the global strengths of the British industry.

The move, part of a joint initiative between the UK Advertising Exports Group (UKAEG) and the Department for Business & Trade (DBT) is led by a campaign and two trade missions to help companies take their business global.

Companies from across the sector offering services ranging from creative, ecommerce, B2B, adtech, production, social, media, immersive, events and sports marketing are being invited to take part, whether they are scaling quickly or just beginning to test the waters for international growth.

The UKAEG is providing the first trade mission for businesses to expand their international client rosters and is working with partners such as the American Advertising Federation and The Marketing Society to host several exclusive networking events during Cannes, including roundtables, meet-ups, plus the Great global dinner to facilitate conversations on the future of the creative economy with UK industry leaders.

Additionally for 2023, UKAEG and DBT have announced a second trade mission designed primarily for businesses who have not visited Cannes Lions before, to provide support and guidance on how to get the best results from what is arguably the world’s biggest festival of creativity.

A dedicated campaign will run in support, showing how UK advertising is setting the standard for the global creative economy and the results it can deliver.

It has been developed by the Great Global Trade campaign, in association with UKAEG and will be supported online across DBT and industry channels as well as on-the-ground during the festival.

The UK Advertising @ Cannes Lions campaign is backed by industry partners including the Advertising Association, Clear Channel UK, TikTok and BENlabs.

The collaboration between UKAEG and DBT is part of a wider initiative to ensure the UK industry is at the cutting edge of global advertising innovation as it prepares to secure the next decade of growth for the sector.

Department for Business & Trade sector specialist for advertising and creative technology David Moody said: “We recognise the value of the UK’s creative sector as proven by the recent record exports figures of £15bn in advertising and market research services. The figures highlighted a strong rebound from 2020 and represented a 32.5% increase in year-on-year growth.

“The UK’s long-established expertise in managing global brands across multiple markets supports our position as a gateway location for companies looking to go global whilst thinking local. A presence at Cannes Lions gives our most creative and cutting-edge companies the opportunity to show the world’s buyers that the UK is the go-to place to invest in creativity.”

Advertising Association chief executive Stephen Woodford added: “As the UK representative for Cannes Lions, we are proud to be launching this trade mission, which is another example of the fantastic partnership we have with our DBT and our industry supporters.

“Cannes Lions is one of the best places to do business internationally as we prepare to secure the next decade of our industry’s export growth, following our record exports figures from 2021. We want our industry to be represented in the most creatively effective, innovative and sustainable way possible.”