LONDON: Brexit challenges Britain’s global image of openness and tolerance, but Cool Britannia has what it takes to avoid being suddenly rebranded as uncool just because it quits the EU, advertising professionals say.
From music to film and fashion, Britain has for decades enhanced its image as a modern and dynamic culture. The ease of immigrating and working in Britain helped it build a reputation as a welcoming and hospitable society.
But the vote to leave the EU last June sent a troubling message of tighter border controls and an exit from the EU’s single market.
“Brexit is a self-inflicted wound because you are putting the image of openness at risk, that is dangerous,” said Matt Scheckner, founder and executive director of Advertising Week.
“So to send the message that Britain is open for business is vitally important.”
The effusive New Yorker organized this week the fifth London version of Advertising Week, which attracted 40,000 industry professionals to four days of seminars and events in the capital’s trendy neighborhood of Soho.
“The things that make British culture unique remain. Music, fashion, British content, creative content, television (and) film. I would say all those things are not at risk because they are driven by creative people,” said Scheckner.
“But when you look at things like tourism, which is a very big industry when you look at businesses, it has to employ young talent, the risk is being viewed as an unfriendly place for talent, for young people,” he added.
At Advertising Week, dominated by young professionals with an international outlook, there were few supporters of Brexit.
Brexit “is an inward-looking and insular process by itself,” said Melanie Read of the Aesop agency.
But most advertising executives still think it is possible to save Britain’s brand by emphasizing the positive.
“People will have to reassert the strengths of the country, the cultural strengths, in their creation,” said Matt Donegan, managing director at Social Circle marketing agency.
Similarly, advertising professionals thought Britain could emphasize other, intangible advantages such as its stable political and legal system, a qualified English-speaking workforce and even the capacity of the British people to take the best from foreign cultural influences.
Adept marketers could even turn divided public opinion into a positive — presenting a diversity of views as a counterpoint to a uniform, inward-looking bloc.
Richard Staplehurst, a partnerships manager at the Latimer agency, said he remains optimistic about the ability of young people, who mostly voted to remain in the EU, to keep good vibes flowing.
“There will be enough social media activism to show the country is open,” he said. “Many people will say ‘it is not fair, we want you to come.’”
Private activism could act as a counterweight to the often divisive public political debate.
“We are naturally outward-looking and naturally innovative,” Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox told AFP.
“It is not because we are leaving the EU that our great culture will disappear,” added Latimer’s Staplehurst.
Saving Cool Britannia image from Brexit bruise
Saving Cool Britannia image from Brexit bruise
Saudi Arabia’s approach to AI transformation delivering business value: Publicis Sapient CEO
- Nigel Vaz: We’re reimagining how, in the case of tourism, we transform Saudi Arabia into a destination that is actually relevant and attractive for people to explore
- Vaz: Our Slingshot platform handles everything from design to deployment, allowing legacy modernization and new digital apps to be built
DAVOS: As 2026 emerges as a tipping point for artificial intelligence, executives across the Middle East are moving from experimentation to scaling AI in ways that can deliver real business value, according to Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient.
Speaking to Arab News at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Vaz highlighted Saudi Arabia’s proactive approach to integrating technology into national and sectoral strategies.
“I was in meetings with the minister for tourism in Saudi Arabia (Ahmed Al-Khateeb), where we do a lot of work for them, and meetings with (Communications) Minister Abdullah Alswaha,” he said.
“What you realize is technology is incredibly critical, but it’s critical to the extent that we’re reimagining how, in the case of tourism, we transform Saudi Arabia into a destination that is actually relevant and attractive for people to explore.”
Vaz also highlighted applications of AI beyond tourism, including energy and healthcare.
“You’re thinking about how it can enable a greener approach to energy, which is a big goal for their government,” he said.
“And in healthcare, predictive and preventative approaches allow trends to be addressed before they occur, which is a significant cost saving for the government,” he added.
The shift in mindset around AI reflects a broader trend globally.
“Last year there was a lot of excitement about AI, but most work was at a proof-of-concept stage,” Vaz said. “What’s tipped this year is the recognition that AI is only valuable if it drives real business outcomes.”
This involves moving beyond automating individual tasks to enabling entire workflows or decision sets that produce superior results.
“Individual tasks being automated by AI don’t create business benefit,” he said. “Entire workflows or decision sets need to be enabled by AI, and they must deliver better outcomes than are currently possible today.”
Vaz underscored the importance of integrating people and AI rather than treating technology as a replacement, adding: “Unless you’re a technology nerd, you’re not really caring about the technology for its own sake.”
Geopolitical tensions further heighten the importance of AI for real-time, intelligent decision-making. Vaz explained that Publicis Sapient has developed platforms such as Slingshot, Bodhi and SustainAI to deliver enterprise-grade AI solutions with measurable business impact.
“Our Slingshot platform handles everything from design to deployment, allowing legacy modernization and new digital apps to be built two to three times faster and 30 to 40 percent cheaper,” he said.
Bodhi leverages industry expertise to create agentic capabilities for autonomous decision-making, while Sustain transforms IT service management, using AI to monitor systems, self-heal, and reduce manual workload, he explained
“All of this is not to sell software; it’s to deliver outcomes to clients. That’s what we care about,” Vaz added.
He offered guidance for leaders navigating the AI era.
“An AI North Star is focusing on an area of the business where untapped value can be unlocked,” he said. “Focus on how that value will drive growth, reduce costs, or improve experiences for customers or employees, and use AI to achieve those outcomes, rather than experimenting in small pockets.”
For Vaz, 2026 represents a year when enterprises, particularly in forward-looking Middle Eastern economies like Saudi Arabia, are moving from theory to practice, scaling AI to deliver tangible impact and measurable outcomes for businesses, governments, and citizens alike.
