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Industry360: Are there too many industry bodies?

Industry360 gives Mumbrella readers a top-line view on what’s really going on in the media, marketing and advertising industries. This week we pose some tough questions to AANA's John Broome, ThinkTV's Kim Portrate, MFA's Sophie Madden, and IAB's Gai Le Roy, including: are there too many industry bodies?

Kim Portrate, CEO, ThinkTV

What do you think of the accusation that Australia has too many industry bodies?

I think its probably the wrong question. I’d be more inclined to examine the contribution that each body makes to benefit their shareholders or members and then make a call on too many or even too few. The size and complexity of industry means there are lots of very different groups with very distinct desires and wishes. Perhaps the question of “too many” comes from folk who don’t really understand the rate of change that many of the associations work with members to navigate? If an industry association helps one of these distinct communities accomplish its goals, then who am I to pontificate on the correct number.

That said, ThinkTV is definitely the newest kid on the association block so we’re still working out how to best deliver this value to our shareholders – and the stakeholders – we serve. The current pace of change in the TV industry is rapid. When this happens there is a real need to gather all industry members and give them a chance to get them behind mission-critical issues like transparency, measurement, privacy and effectiveness in a way that transcends day-to-day commercial realities.

We’ve also found other industry bodies very collegiate. They’ve all, at one time or another, helped us find common ground and progress areas of mutual interest. Development of training and education programmes, new product development and even establishment of common standards for video measurement and segmentation have all enjoyed an accelerated rate of delivery because of these informal discussions so I would say we have just the right amount of players in this space.

With so many moving parts and vested interests, what does it take for an industry body to actually achieve things in the interests of their members?

This one is easier than the first question! An industry body will achieve things if it:

  • Represents the interests if all shareholders or members, calmly and equally, with a considered voice when talking on their behalf.
  • Listen to what all shareholders (and stakeholders) need from the association to improve their work and then get on and do it. No dilly dallying or reasons why you can’t just get on with the job because in the end you exist to improve their business outcomes.
  • And if you need to, take the time needed to nut out the big, complex questions.

That’s not to say that it’s all smooth sailing. After all an industry association, by definition, represent competitors, so the secret to success is to find areas of common interest – the ones that will move an entire industry forward – an work hard to deliver them to the benefit of all shareholders. ThinkTV has a pretty small group of shareholders. We’re lucky because the directors are a motivated, engaged group who spend tonnes of time with agencies and advertisers. They share their day-to-day experiences with us so we can stay focused on what agencies and advertisers need from us. It means we know what we’re for, and what we’re not, and it helps us to prioritise effort and attention. It also helps that we all have a bit of a love affair with telly as well!

Tell us about one day at work in the industry which completely challenged your world view and your thinking.

It wasn’t a day – it was a week back in September 2015.

I was working as a CMO at a travel business and we’d just run an amazing, world first Instagram campaign. It involved influencers in 60 countries, taking pictures and posting them live to encourage Australian’s to explore amazing, exiting places they could visit on their next holiday. These images were gorgeous and from really influential people so I was convinced that they would drive people to explore, and then hopefully book a holiday to one of the locations we featured. The event went off without a hitch – all content moderated and images posted in real time – with social media views, likes, loves and shares all through the roof. But no sales.

The carefully curated event was a total success from every KPI except the one that mattered the most – tangible business outcomes. It made me totally rethink the way we were investing in digital, traditional and everything in between because at the end of the day the team had done everything right and growth didn’t come. This was the first time I questioned the conventional wisdom of the time around the 100% infallibility of social channels, which led me to the role I have today – and the opportunity it gives me to make sure others don’t make the same mistake I did.

Gai Le Roy, CEO, IAB Australia

What do you think of the accusation that Australia has too many industry bodies?

Historically I believe that the variety and number of industry bodies was a reflection of the market as there was a clear differentiation between different media channels, agencies and marketers. As the lines have blurred between the activities undertaken by media owners, data providers, ad tech companies, media agencies and marketers, there is less differentiation and an increase in common needs across these stakeholders which can mean industry bodies that don’t meet a specific need fall by the wayside. Where organisations, agencies, publishers and marketers are willing to financially support specific industry bodies, then those bodies obviously meet a need.

In the case of the IAB, I’d posit that as the industry body setting the standards, measurement and highlighting best practice for more than 50% of the total ad spend, we are an essential part of our market.

With so many moving parts and vested interests, what does it take for an industry body to actually achieve things in the interests of their members?

The key to success for IAB Australia is having a broad range of members which allows us to act on the best interests of the whole industry. Our remit is to support a diverse and sustainable digital advertising ecosystem and advertisers, agencies, publishers and tech vendors continue to join and support the IAB due to the credibility of the initiatives that we drive.

Tell us about one day at work in the industry which completely challenged your world view and your thinking.

Working at ninemsn in the early ’00s I remember being given access to search query data from MSN Search (Bing before it was Bing). Having direct access to the way people were not only trying to navigate the web but the sorts of things they were searching for absolutely thrilled me. Today that’s something we take for granted, but then, understanding the way consumers sought out information was usually only accessible through slow and expensive market research. That day made me realise a few things that would shape the industry right through to today:

  • Consumers would increasingly be in the driving seat
  • A new range of data points would start informing the industry
  • The market research industry was about to change, and
  • Make sure you are not informing strategy with your own knowledge or bias (for example at the time one of the top search terms from the ninemsn homepage was www.ninemsn.com.au when they were already on that page)

Sophie Madden, CEO, Media Federation of Australia

What do you think of the accusation that Australia has too many industry bodies?

I’ve heard this accusation from time to time, but never from our members. The MFA exists to champion a dynamic and thriving media industry. Our vision is to be a force than makes the media industry better at what we do for clients, and we achieve that through the delivery of education and development programs for our people, the continued improvement of the tools media agencies use, determining more effective and efficient ways of working, and showcasing the impact of our work and the value we create, among other initiatives. Our focus is on delivering outcomes and results, and creating value for our members.

In the past, we have had conversations with The Communications Council, but the view from the MFA board and our members was that we have something that really works for us, so why break it? At 21 years old, the MFA continues to grow in its membership, health and engagement with members. We work closely with The Communications Council and other industry bodies on shared interests and when our goals align, and will continue to do so. Of course, our industry is constantly evolving so I wouldn’t rule out anything in the future.

With so many moving parts and vested interests, what does it take for an industry body to actually achieve things in the interests of their members?

It takes committed and involved members, clear goals and an obsession to deliver outcomes. In turn, that requires clarity on what the industry body’s role is and what is expected of its members. In the case of the MFA, we are clear on where the MFA’s remit starts and where it stops. We focus on areas of common interest across media agencies, but do not extend our remit across member agencies’ commercial operations.

It’s also important to have the key decision makers in the room, with our members represented on the board and the various MFA committees – they are actively involved and help shape everything we do an a truly representative industry body. At the end of the day, we must remain focused on what matters most and be realistic about what we can do – one of our greatest challenges is accepting that we can’t do or get involved in everything, as much as we may want to.

Tell us about one day at work in the industry which completely challenged your world view and your thinking.

The day I moved from a media agency to client side had a huge impact on my view of our industry. As a media buyer, I was accustomed to viewing my role and that of my agency as a trusted partner for our clients. The client organisation I moved to was one I had worked with for many years in my capacity as a media agency executive. And yet the view from the other side of the fence greatly shocked me – I realised that despite talk of being trusted partners, the reality was that clients saw their agencies as a service and often procurement was just used as an excuse to avoid difficult conversations. I experienced for myself the many forces and elements that unite to form a marketer’s overall mix, and this newfound perspective was instrumental in changing my focus to one of how clients, agencies, specialists, media owners and tech partners can work together effectively to break down those walls, to deliver solutions that drive results.

John Broome, CEO, AANA

What do you think of the accusation that Australia has too many industry bodies?

At the AANA our purpose is clear. We are focused on protecting the interests of advertisers – be that safeguarding the right of advertisers to commercial free speech (via administering and evolving the self-regulatory system), advocating for accurate measurement of the effectiveness of our advertising, or any other matter that leads to better accountability for how our money is invested. To achieve these outcomes, we collaborate closely with associations that represent other key stakeholders in the marketing eco-system, particularly media owners, digital platforms and media buyers.

Whether there are too many industry bodies out there is a moot point, but we regularly ask ourselves whether there are smarter ways for us to engage with other bodies. This is particularly true today, given the increasing complexity we face and the pressure that brings to truly prioritise how and where we spend our time.

John-Broome_Mumbrella360-2018_Close-up

With so many moving parts and vested interests, what does it take for an industry body to actually achieve things in the interests of their members?

Listening, understanding and leadership are all critical and go hand in hand. They can combine to deliver great outcomes, not only for advertisers but also the broader industry and hence create sustainable value which is ultimately the outcome we are all looking for.

Tell us about one day at work in the industry which completely challenged your world view and your thinking.

I can’t recall being subject to a seismic event or revelation. Seismic events make great case studies but most successful marketing isn’t like this. But you always have to be open to new ideas, insights, and ways of approaching problems, if you’re to deliver better solutions. This happened last year when the AANA, MFA and IAB came together to instil more trust and confidence in the digital supply chain resulting the publication of the ADAPs- the Australian Digital Advertising Practises. Our collective insight was that sharing our knowledge, and then developing best practice examples and educating practitioners was going to deliver faster, more productive change.

The important discussions continue in June as Mumbrella360 returns for 2019 with exclusive research on the world’s most successful campaigns, best practice on measuring and managing KPIs, optimising campaigns in the real world and a host of essential marketing tips from leading industry experts.

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