Representatives from the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the Mobile Marketing Association of South Africa (MMA) and some pitch consultants came together at an event last week to discuss closer collaborations and key issues in the South African advertising industry.
The event was planned by the ACA. “The aim is to get associations within the advertising industry closer together and to introduce myself to all the other associations as I am a new kid on the block,” said the industry body’s CEO, Mathe Okaba. “We as the ACA want to work better with other industry associations in order to build the industry and not operate in silos, as that mentality doesn’t get us there quicker, faster.”
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Finding common purposes and a singular voice on key issues was heavily stressed during the gathering. Topics discussed included the required next actions with the MAC Charter, training and education, transformation, and the ACA’s interactions with communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. Representatives from the department of communications (DoC) were also invited, but did not attend. Okaba said she believed a closer working relationship with the DoC was vital for the industry’s continued growth and future success.
The event was hosted by Ebony+Ivory at its premises in Parktown North. The agency’s managing director, Paul Middleton, commented that for the first time, there were new people at the IAB, ACA and MMA with no legacy. “The timing is right for partnerships and collaborations. We are all investing lots of time and wasting money duplicating things and we need to stop duplicating, and start moving and doing something that galvanises our industry to put it back around the boardroom table, because it’s not there. If we speak with one voice and start working together that will help,” he said.
The aim was to have an industry body meeting four times a year, with the next one tentatively scheduled for after July, which will be more formal where plans would be discussed. “The more we work together, the more we will win,” Okaba concluded.
Here are some pictures from the event:
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