Interview
Promoting The Power Of Self-Regulation Climate change is the most pressing issue of our times and the advertising sector has an important role to play when it comes to reducing carbon emissions through the impact of its activities on consumers, the market and, ultimately, the environment
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he advertising industry is aware of its capacity to reach consumers and thus its ability to influence perceptions and practices. With this important ability comes also the responsibility to be part of the solution and to thrive for more sustainable market practices. This is exactly the case with the Ad Net Zero programme, which was launched in the UK in November 2020 by the Advertising Association, ISBA and the IPA, and which includes in its membership over 100 advertisers, agencies, commercial media owners and production companies. The year 2022 will be remembered as the year in which the Ad Net Zero programme’s target to reduce the emissions of advertising operations to net zero by 2030 was rolled out globally. “The objective is to have a global ambition regarding the programme and to implement the Ad Net Zero Action plan as broadly as possible, and this is where we are currently working to develop the programme with local chapters within EU Member States and beyond,” explains EACA CEO Tamara Daltroff. The Ad Net Zero 5-point Action Plan pledges to reduce carbon emissions from advertising operations to net zero by 2030, with businesses committing to robust, verified plans to reduce their emissions. The action plan thus lays out solutions to reduce advertising businesses’ own operations, production, media choice and
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Communications 2023
INFLUENCE
DISINFORMATION
TURNAROUND
The advertising industry can be a driver of the major societal changes that are taking place within society and has a role to play in contributing to the progression to a more sustainable economy
To help agencies navigate Brand Safety issues in times of crisis, EACA has issued specific industry guidelines with best practices to adopt that ensure the demonetisation of disinformation content
We are currently facing a recession-like period. However, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, with economic activity predicted to slowly pick up again during this year
awards, as well as leveraging the positive influence advertising can have on changing consumer habits. In this context, the Ad Net Zero programme also pledges to use the power of advertising to accelerate the transition to more sustainable products and services for consumers. “The programme provides a roadmap for development in other markets, with the flexibility to adapt and develop market specific solutions. It offers tools that are readily available internationally, like the AdGreen carbon calculator to help to measure and reduce emissions from advertising production,” explains our interlocutor. And yet, at the same time, the marketing industry has often been seen as creating media strategies in defence of the largest polluters and promoters of overconsumption. Under such circumstances, how can advertising drive an unambiguous positive social impact? Advertising is to a large extent a reflection of economic activity taking place within a market and is designed to appeal to consumer expectations. When the expectations of consumers change, advertising will ultimately need to change too. However, as an industry, and more specifically talking on behalf of the EACA, we do not see ourselves as passively contemplating the change, but rather we want to be leaders of this change, as we are convinced that the advertising industry has a vital role to play in shifting market practices to align with consumer expectations. We aspire to be part of the solution, not the problem. And those actors that have been identified as being part of the problem today will possibly (and hopefully) be part of the solution tomorrow too. Take for instance the energy sector, which, while being a major polluter, is highly likely part of the solution to producing more sustainable energy tomorrow.
Communications 2023
From an advertising point of view, we are fully supportive of the objectives of the Green Deal of the European Commission, which are directly of concern to us. For instance, there is currently a proposal on the table on the substantiation of Green Claims to avoid Greenwashing. We had very productive exchanges with the European Commission over the course of 2022 and are fully committed to contributing to setting high standards in terms of Green Claims that advertisers and agencies can comply with, since we believe that this is an issue
We want to persuade the entire advertising ecosystem, and not only the major players, to adopt high sustainability standards and thus shift practices before that is embraced from a regulatory perspective of major societal importance to which we want to contribute positively. However, it is true that the advertising sector is often perceived by the public as promoting interests that have negative impacts on the environment. It is definitely an important factor in reducing the attractiveness of the communications sector when it comes recruiting talent. Many agencies struggle to attract young communications professionals and this trend has been increasing over the past several years. To address the talent crisis in the industry, EACA recently launched - in collaboration with the European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) – two surveys in Europe aimed at final-year advertising students and agency recruiters in our sector. The main objective was to identify the mismatch between the talent and the industry. The results show that, even
Interview
Tamara Daltroff, CEO of the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA)
though 40% of students have completed an internship at creative, media or digital agencies, there are almost 70% that have considered alternative career paths. These students often consider that the advertising industry will not allow them to be an actor of positive change, which they nonetheless aspire to be. One of the major challenges we are thus facing is to promote jobs in the advertising industry by demonstrating the undeniable societal impact that advertising has, as well as the ability to be an actor of positive change within our sector. That is something that we can, want and will improve in the years to come. The 30th Anniversary Declaration of the EASA promotes strong self-regulation, which ensures a high-level of consumer protection and justifies trust in advertising. How truly committed is industry to adhering to this document? EACA is a founding member of EASA and we truly believe in the power of self-regulation, which serves two main purposes.The first one is that self-regulation allows the advertising industry to apply responsible advertising standards before the legislator can do so. As an industry, we know the market practices and tendencies in advertising and can adapt to them swiftly. Since regulation is a complex process in which many different stakeholders intervene, it often lags behind ever-changing market practices. This is where self-regulation is so powerful, as it allows the industry to act quickly and efficiently to promote responsible advertising practices. This is not a perfect system, but the achievements of self-regulatory bodies across Europe show that it is an important system, both for the industry and for society. Take for instance topics like influencer marketing; self-regulatory bodies have the possibility to quickly set specific standards that they require influencers to comply with if they
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