Ad agencies aim for best practice accreditation
The global head of marketing at Proctor & Gamble, Jim Stengal, has regularly hit the media headlines by suggesting that the “old marketing model” is dead. He believes the marketing services industry, including advertising agencies, has done little to help marketers with this change.
In one speech, Stengal gave the industry a C– and said: “If this was one of my teenagers’ report cards, we would be having a heart-to-heart talk – more homework, less socialising, more tutoring, more commitment to improve.”
In Australia, the Advertising Federation of Australia (AFA) has introduced a best practice accreditation program for advertising agencies. It is designed to give agencies here an A+ by Stengal’s reckoning.
We believe that AFA accreditation is an important development that will raise professional standards for the advertising industry. Over time, we believe it will be an important benefit to both marketers and advertising agencies.
The accreditation program centres on two areas: compliance with advertising laws and codes, the Trade Practices Act and best practice HR; and continuing professional development (CPD) for staff.
It has had an immediate impact on the industry, as more than 115 agencies have enrolled in the program in the first four months. Based on the experience of a similar program in the United Kingdom, we had anticipated a maximum of 45 agencies by this time.
Benefits for marketing professionals
Accreditation will help promote higher professional standards in advertising. For marketers, this should help in two key areas.
1. Higher standards of training and staff development will deliver better results and quality assurance to companies using advertising agencies. The introduction of standards for CPD will help to further professionalise the advertising business.
It will enable agencies to attract good-quality staff who will be better equipped to add value to clients’ businesses. It will allow the advertising industry to offer more formalised career paths, which will help attract and keep the best and brightest.
2. It aims to help preserve and enhance the advertising self-regulation system. Marketing activities are increasingly under scrutiny and it is vital that the industry maintains and exercises control over its own destiny. It only takes one or two examples of questionable marketing practices to place all ethical and responsible marketing programs in jeopardy.
AFA plays an important role in promoting understanding of the codes and laws. AFA accreditation will require agencies to understand and abide by the:
- Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Advertiser Code of Ethics.
- AANA Code of Advertising to Children.
- Media codes (including television, outdoor, e-marketing).
- Product codes (motor vehicle, alcohol, therapeutic).
Equally, agencies are expected to understand their obligations under the Trade Practices Act, because they share such responsibilities with their clients. AFA has, for the past four years, offered trade practices workshops and compliance programs to member agencies.
Positive signal to potential recruits
The accreditation program is a big step for an industry that has traditionally had no rules, no boundaries and no barriers to entry.
A recent survey by the global recruitment company Aquent asked staff to identify their preferred incentives. Equal second on the list, above mobile phones, travel and even relaxation facilities, was training and education.
We realise that a large amount of training is already occurring. However, the beauty of this program is that it allows agencies to benchmark what they are already doing against an agreed industry training standard.
Accreditation and CPD will send a positive signal to students and graduates considering a career in advertising. It will help put the industry on an equal footing with other professions where certain standards need to be maintained.
Marketers who choose to work with an accredited agency can have confidence in standards of quality and know that their agency understands laws and codes affecting the advertising business.
The AFA has also appointed an independent Advisory Board, chaired by Wendy McCarthy AO, who completed her tenure as chancellor of the University of Canberra last year, to review and monitor the program independently. The Board will appoint an independent consultant to audit each agency on a three-yearly basis and to oversee an annual report to stakeholders.
Widespread acceptance of AFA Best Practice Accreditation will take time, but it is a big step in the direction of a more professional industry. It is our aim to make sure that industry participants are well trained, more accountable, and more committed to providing marketers with outstanding service, leading to an industry that is respected for its values – and the value it brings – to clients, the community and to business in general.
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