There was a further boost for the industry today as data revealed exports of UK advertising services reached a new record high of £19.4bn in 2025, securing the UK’s position as the world’s second-largest advertising exporter.
This follows on from yesterday’s news that OOH revenues have grown by 15% YoY in Q1 despite the general economic doldrums affecting much of the world.
The new report, published today at UK House during SXSW London by the Advertising Association and UK think tank Credos, reveals 38% year-on-year export growth, outpacing any comparable UK services sector, alongside a £4.2 billion trade surplus. The United States remains the UK’s largest market, with exports reaching £5,514m in 2025.
By combining ONS export analysis and international case studies, the report demonstrates how “UK advertising operates as a strategic enabler of wider macroeconomic growth, helping brands and businesses compete globally through creativity, strategy, production, technology, and data-led communications.”
To maintain the sector’s momentum, the report outlines a three-year plan focused on deepening the UK’s commercial presence in priority global markets, including the US, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
The Advertising Association has set out three key recommendations to the UK Government to ensure the infrastructure matches the industry’s economic significance:
- Formal Infrastructure Recognition: Formally integrate advertising into the UK’s creative export support infrastructure, aligning it with successfully supported sectors like screen and music.
- Innovation & AdTech Support: Improve access to innovation infrastructure specifically tailored for advertising and AdTech businesses.
- International Talent Mobility: Establish stronger, more flexible talent mobility frameworks to seamlessly support project-based, cross-border creative work.
Aisling Conlon, international director for UK Advertising and the Advertising Association, said: “This report shows the immense scale of what UK advertising already delivers internationally, not only as an export sector in its own right, but as a driver of growth and commercial success for businesses across the wider economy. UK advertising does not need rescue. It needs recognition as one of the UK’s great global growth industries.”
Julian Douglas, chair of the UK Advertising Export Group and group CEO of VCCP, said: “Pound for pound, the UK is the most respected creative advertising market in the world. But reputation alone doesn’t win business – presence does. The agencies that grow internationally are the ones who show up consistently, build relationships and stay visible in market. The Advertising Association is building exactly that infrastructure, and this report makes the case for why Government needs to back it.”
