The IPA has issued its reaction to the Creative Industries Federation research, published today (17 June) and conducted by Oxford Economics, that warns that the UK’s creative industries are on the brink of devastation.
According to the new report, The Projected Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the UK Creative Industries, it is feared that the creative sector will be hit twice as hard as the wider economy in 2020, with a projected GVA shortfall of £29 billion.
For the advertising and market research sector specifically, it projects a potential drop in turnover of £19 billion (-44%), job losses of 26% (49,000), and spend on advertising expected to drop by £4 billion in 2020 (-17%).
Says Paul Bainsfair, Director General, IPA:
“These stark projections are based on the toughest overall trading times that any of us will have ever experienced. They also echo what we were beginning to see in our Q1 IPA Bellwether Report regarding UK companies’ marketing budget and employment intentions. To minimise the damage, it is essential that we work together on a macro and micro level.
On a macro level, we fully back the Advertising Association’s call to Government for a tax credit for advertising. On an industry-level, it is essential that agencies continue to assert the value of advertising in transforming businesses and ensure they have the most skilled and diverse teams in place to prosper. Recovery starts in recession.
Spending in tough times may raise eyebrows in the boardroom but in the long term the hard data proves it is more than worth the investment."
For more information, visit the Creative Industries Federation website.