AANA to review US report + ensure members are supplied with correct tools to obtain transparency

The report out of the US highlights again a challenge the Australian advertising and media buying industries have been tackling for some time, namely getting greater transparency in relation to practices around value-extraction.

The AANA, which consists primarily of Australia’s leading advertisers, is committed to helping its members address any transparency issues they may be facing with their media advisers. The AANA has made available to its members the World Federation of Advertisers’ best practice guidelines, such as the guide to ‘Obtaining Transparency and Return of Media Income’ and ‘The Guide to Programmatic Media’. Further to that, in November last year, the AANA endorsed the MFA’s ‘Transparency Framework for Agencies and Advertisers’ which was developed in consultation with AANA Members.

Matt Tapper (above, right), chair of the AANA said that the framework provided a good guide to help ensure that contract discussions cover the key areas of concern.

Says Tapper: “Advertisers are ultimately responsible for ensuring they are appropriately equipped to put in place agreements and processes that deliver fair value to all parties involved. The need for transparency in media buying is not a new issue. It is a perennial challenge, one that will only get more complex. New media platforms and technology developments mean new trading arrangements are springing up all the time. This US report is a timely reminder that advertisers cannot be complacent about these conversations.”

The AANA will review the findings of this report and the forthcoming ANA recommendations and monitor how the US and other key markets respond.

Says Sunita Gloster (above, left), CEO, AANA: “Any best practice guidelines or initiatives that emerge are likely to have universal application, so we will aim to share them with our members here. Every advertiser’s contractual relationship with its media partner is unique and commercially and competitively sensitive. Individual advertisers therefore have the primary responsibility to ask the right questions of their agency partners so that they can be reassured that there is transparency.

“The role the AANA can play is to help equip members with the basic framework that is a prerequisite to obtaining transparency.

“Whilst the US report reminds advertisers to remain vigilant, it is important that we remember these principles of transparency, disclosure and fairness are central to the reputations of all parties involved. Equally importantly, adherence to these principles is crucial to achieving our common goal which is to show the link between advertising and business growth. Businesses need to have confidence in the integrity of their media spend allocations.”