New boost to showcase ‘best of British’ creativity abroad
New chair of the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board announced alongside £1 million funding
- Leading advertising CEO Annette King appointed chair of new Creative Industries Trade and Investment board
- Government support for international creative industries activity increased to £5 million
- The board will aim to increase creative industries’ exports by 50 per cent by 2023
Creative Industries Minister Margot James will today announce a cash boost to turbocharge the UK’s international trade in the creative industries.
This cash will help the nation’s £92 billion creative industries seize international trading opportunities and target inward investment from abroad.
Speaking at Lisbon’s Museum for Art, Architecture and Technology, the Minister will confirm a further £1 million of government funding to promote the ‘best of British’ creativity abroad, taking the total to £5 million.
The Minister will also announce the appointment of leading advertising CEO Annette King as chair of the newly established Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board.
This new industry-led initiative, agreed in the Creative Industries Sector Deal, part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, aims to stimulate trade in one of the UK’s most exciting sectors and continue a great British success story.
Speaking ahead of the Creativity is Great event in Lisbon, as part of the festival’s Web Summit, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, Margot James, said:
The UK’s creative industries are globally renowned and by boosting our support we will make sure our brilliant British talent can reach new markets.
As well as increasing funding for this vibrant sector, I’m delighted to announce Annette King will chair the new Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board.
She will help make sure we are creating the right environment for our creative industries to flourish on the international stage and maintain our position as one of the world’s creative and cultural superpowers.
Through the Export Strategy, launched in August, the Department for International Trade has set out the target of increasing total UK exports to 35 per cent of GDP – an increase of five per cent from current levels – to transform the UK into one of the G7’s most successful exporting powers.
Industry Chair of the Creative Industries Council, Tim Davie, said:
I’m delighted Annette has accepted the invitation to Chair the Trade and Investment Board. This is a vital part of the landmark Sector Deal to increase creative exports and the number of business exporting from across the country.
I’m confident she will do a fantastic job of championing the whole of the UK creative industries and I look forward to supporting her from the Creative Industries Council.
Annette King, chair of the Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board, said:
Creativity is the UK’s calling card to the world; our reputation for ideas, flair, talent and imagination sitting alongside our rich cultural heritage and cutting-edge creative companies.
I’m honoured to have been asked by Tim to take the position of Chair on the CITIB and look forward to working with the talented and committed board members from across the sector to meet this target.
Today’s funding boost will support UK businesses attending the Shanghai International Advertising Festival where the UK is ‘Country of Honour,’, a new China-UK film exchange to help increase coproductions between the countries, and support an increased British presence at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The board will build on industry’s successful collaboration with Government which has already opened up business opportunities for British creative companies in the growth markets of China, the US, India and Hong Kong, providing a platform for firms to showcase their activity and meet new customers at industry events including South By South West and the London Book Fair.
The Board will include representatives from across the sector, which spans film, TV, publishing, music, games, animation, architecture, advertising, craft, design and fashion.
Recent statistics show that creative businesses are on average more likely to export than other UK businesses.
Creative industries exports in services and goods are currently worth more than £40 billion, with films produced in British studios such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman and albums from artists Little Mix, Ed Sheeran and Michael Ball. There are also more than 2,000 active video games companies in the UK, such as Rockstar North, King and Rebellion and together they employ 30,000 people.
ENDS
Notes to editors
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Annette King is the chief executive of Publicis Groupe UK, a role where she oversees all of its agencies in the UK. She joined from Ogilvy, where she spent 17 years in various different roles, from running and building OgilvyOne in the UK and then EMEA to leading Ogilvy UK Group’s ten operating companies.
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The chair and board membership are unpaid.
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The new Board was a landmark part of the Industry Strategy Sector Deal agreed between government and industry under the leadership of the Creative Industries Council. The Creative Industries was one of the early sectors to strike a sector deal.
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The Board will develop and oversee delivery of an export strategy and explore, support and advise on high-value opportunities for Inward Investment and Foreign Direct Investment.
Full list of confirmed board members:
- Film: Amanda Nevill, BFI’s CEO
- TV: Dawn McCarthy-Simpson, PACT Director of International Strategy
- Publishing: Stephen Lotinga, Publishers Association CEO
- Music: Tom Kiehl, UK Music Deputy CEO and Director of Government and Public Affairs
- Games: Jo Twist, UKIE CEO
- Animation: Kate O’Connor, UK Screen Alliance Executive Chair
- Architecture: Alan Vallance, RIBA, Chief Executive
- Advertising: Stephen Woodford, Promote UK and Janet Hull, Promote UK
- Craft: Rosy Greenlees, Craft Council Executive Director
- Design: Deborah Dawton, Design Business Association CEO
- Fashion: Adam Mansell, UK Fashion and Textiles CEO and Caroline Rush, BFC CEO
- Innovate UK: Tom Fiddian, Creative Economy Lead
- GREAT campaign: Sarah Anderson, Head of Brand and Partnerships
- Inward Investment: Adrian Wootton, British Film Commission CEO
- Experience Economy: Lizzy Moriarty, Consultant. Ex Natural History and British Museum
- Creative Industries Federation: Alan Bishop, CEO
- Independent Member: Deborah Williams, Creative Diversity Network, Chief Executive
- Independent Member: Janet Hull, IPA Director of Marketing Strategy
- Independent Member: Jamal Edwards, Founder of SB.TV
- Department for International Trade: Sue Bishop, Head, Creative, Lifestyle and Learning
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport: Creative Industries Deputy Director