The Scottish government has pulled the rug out from under agencies such as Leith, Stand, The Union and Bright Signals after abruptly ceasing all ‘non-essential’ advertising, citing budgetary pressures for the dramatic move.
The decision has caught the industry by surprise with no advance notice given, despite the knock-on financial repercussions which could lead to job losses for marketing and advertising businesses with significant public sector exposure – according to the Institute for Practitioners in Marketing (IPA).
Paul Bainsfair, director general at the IPA, explained: “While we appreciate the challenging financial position of the current Scottish economy, we very much believe that halting spend to public service advertising is a short-term decision that could cause dramatic long and indeed short-term damage for the population at large, as well as to the economy.
“Regarding the impact of this decision on the Scottish ad industry, given that the Scottish government represents the single biggest advertiser in Scotland, any stops to public service advertising could result in a loss of jobs in the sector.”
The Scottish government has blamed the measure on the need to balance its books and fund a spate of above inflation public sector pay deals amidst a projected net fiscal deficit of £22.68 billion in 2023-24.
Recent campaigns include ‘Let’s Do Net Zero’, a push to improve fuel efficiency spearheaded by The Leith Agency.