The Association of National Advertisers’ mission statement is
nothing if not ambitious. The US advertisers’ body boldly states it
wants to ’lead, not follow, the industry in meeting the needs of
advertisers, agencies and the media’, and ’to be broadly recognised as a
highly innovative and aggressive organisation representing the leaders
in American industry’.
It is this kind of ambition that led to the ANA’s shock announcement at
its annual conference last week that it will now accept advertising
agencies as members.
The organisation concedes that there will be clashes, particularly on
issues such as copyright and agency remuneration, on which advertisers
and agencies are unlikely to present a united front. But it has decided
the advantages of increased clout, not to mention income, outweigh the
drawbacks.
The ANA stresses it does not want to replicate the work of the American
Advertising Federation - the US trade body that incorporates advertisers
and agencies - or of the American Association of Advertising Agencies,
the US version of Britain’s Institute of Practitioners in
Advertising.
’In the last few years we have moved away from public affairs to become
more of a brand-building organisation,’ Andrew Cooper, the senior
communications director at the ANA, says. ’The aim now is to address the
brand-building challenges of tomorrow including the internet and the
increasingly global marketplace.’
Trade bodies in the UK agree that such a move would be inconceivable
here. John Hooper, the director-general of the Incorporated Society of
British Advertisers, says: ’In the UK, I would argue why do we need to
accept agencies when we already have a forum for advertisers, agencies
and the media to work together in the Advertising Association?’
But the ANA’s decision will have to be considered carefully by trade
bodies worldwide. Many of the ’leaders of US industry’ who make up the
ANA are also heads of multinational companies who will want to see the
move replicated elsewhere if successful.
