Plan to create ad industry super body confirmed
Following our CB Blog scoop earlier this afternoon, the Boards of Directors of the Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD), the Advertising Federation of Australia (AFA) and the Account Planning Group (APG) confirmed that they are in discussions about the possible formation of a new organisation to represent their interests.
The Boards said that they had been working together for several months and are now in the process of canvassing industry stakeholders to seek their support.
Any new organisation would be formed from the memberships of all three groups to create a body that would bring together the strengths, expertise and knowledge of the AFA, AWARD and APG. CB hears the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) has chosen not to join the organisation after a high level meeting convened on Monday.
A new organisation would require the backing of the memberships of the AFA, AWARD and the APG. The boards said that if backing from industry stakeholders was forthcoming, the proposal would be put to their members at Extraordinary General Meetings to be held sometime in the near future.
The chairman of AWARD, Richard Maddocks (pictured top left), said AWARD has been in discussions with the APG and the AFA for some time and more recently those talks have focussed on the formation of a new organisation.
“The creation of a new broad-based organisation represents real opportunities for AWARD members. However, before any decisions are made we will talk with our members about it and the final decision will rest with them,” he said.
The chairman of the AFA, Belinda Rowe (pictured centre), said: “A new organisation with the strengths of its combined memberships will offer a more influential voice on industry issues, particularly at a time when the industry is under regulatory pressure. Put simply, we can offer members stronger representation by coming together.”
APG chairman Jeremy Nicholas (pictured top right) said: “The Account Planning Group recognises that the formation of a new organisation representing the broader interests of the marketing communications industry makes a lot of sense. The synergies between creative, planning, production and agency management make the formation of a single entity a powerful idea.”
The Boards said that it was premature to go into any further detail, but that all stakeholders would be consulted and kept informed about ideas that emerge from the discussions. Ultimately, members of the three organisations would make the final decision on any changes proposed by the Boards.
6 Comments
If that’s the case let’s represent our interests not egos.
We need a body to put some worth back in that’s clearly missing from the idustry and will stand up for the true value of our creative product.
No, I’m not a creative, I’m a planner.
The Ad Industry Super Body Awards. Now there’s an idea. I can see quite a few of our local girls getting to the finals, if not bringing home metal.
About effing time. We’ve had AFA telling suits to suck clients penises, AWARD telling creatives to bash suits and APG churning out crap planners for way too long.
What part of ‘we’re all on the same team’ don’t we realise?
Well done.
7:00pm…Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Great to get those guys together but ultimately we need media for it be truly representative of the industry. I’m pretty sure most of the developed world has everyone under one roof. I guess their roof is bigger or our heads are too big.
How indicative of the industry for this huge story to attract only a handful of comments from its so-called creative heartland.