Lack of diversity in advertising continues to loom large.

being the first and only “black” driver to break into racing’s elite, the situation would be all too familiar.

The case is simple. A more diverse workforce brings wider experiences and skillsets. For an industry built on understanding and connecting with audiences, the more it can relate to society the better.

Elsewhere, the census highlights that media agencies have never been so popular. Staff levels have risen 17.2 per cent year on year to 8,346, up nearly 50 per cent since 2010.

In many respects, media agencies are in a strong position heading into 2015. The undisputed experts in navigating today’s complex, fragmented media landscape, they are data-savvy and insight-heavy, making them, on many fronts, the agencies of the future. So why, then, a continual crisis in confidence?

That the IPA felt the need to host its first Know the Value of Media event is telling in itself. There is still plenty of work to be done by many advertisers to shift the perception of media as buying shops, first and foremost.

Of course, buying is essential, but, when a client such as Sainsbury’s decides that its award-winning media “supplier” should be reviewed as part of an efficiency drive, yet baulks at the idea of doing similar with its ad account, you know that procurement has taken over.