The Association of Communication Companies-La Fede has created Fair Competitions, an open platform whose objective is to improve the relationship of trust and respect between agencies and advertisers and to value advertising work. The intention is to promote processes of fairer and more transparent competitions, driven by ethics, professionalism and fair compensation.
“There is a collective awareness about the importance of appreciating the sector”
The ultimate ambition of Concursos Justos is create change in the industry and also accompany a new mentality that has emerged. “The sector right now does not have the same glamor as it did a few decades ago and it is necessary to value the profession“, comments Elia Méndez, General Director of La Fede, in statements to reason.Why. “There is a collective awareness about the importance of appreciating the sector and an important part of this is improving the way competitions are approached”.
At a time when advertising contests are increasingly complex and atomized, Concursos Justos seeks to shed light on the processes and help industry agents. The platform will focus on four key areas:
- Achieve ethical practices in calls, how to promote fair competition and value the talent and effort of each agency
- Strengthen the client-agency relationship, seeking the establishment of a professional relationship based on respect and protection of intellectual property rights
- Establish standards of professionalism, trying to raise ethics and mutual commitment to improve the sector
- Promote transparency and equity in the selection of partnersthrough processes that respect agency resources and facilitate fair and informed decisions
To achieve all this, the platform will be a space for knowledge, awareness and dissemination which will offer tools, guides, activities, research, training meetings and exchange of experiences between agencies and advertisers. It is an open platform, not a club with a fee, so everyone can participate.
Ultimately, Concursos Públicos wants to serve as support and consultative partner for both advertisers and agencies in their contests, help resolve doubts and assist in the process. However, from La Fede they are aware that equity, transparency and ethics are traditional challenges in calling for competitions.
“We know that this is not a new issue and that there is no short-term solution“, Elia Méndez explains to us. “It requires awareness, co-responsibility and understanding between each other, but we will have achieved something if we manage to move the needle a little towards better practices. We must break with inherited practices and promote a new ethic among new talent“.
Asked about the challenges of achieving better practices in the industry, Méndez points out that she wants to believe that it is not about bad faith, but about lack of knowledge. “Agencies have to know better the internal dynamics of advertisers, and advertisers have to know better the creative processes of agencies. We must learn from each other and respect the work”.
Guide to good practices for contests
One of the first manifestations of the platform has been the publication of a good practice guide for the call and selection of agencies in creativity and media contests. The document includes procedures and recommendations to call for tenders in a fair and professional manner, from the call stage to the final selection of the agency.
So, the document provides keys such as limiting the number of agencies for a thorough evaluation, preparing a good briefing or establishing a clear and final budget. It also advises previously defining the evaluation criteria based on objectives, as well as respecting confidentiality and intellectual property, or offering feedback at the end of the process.
From La Fede they explain that the guide supposes a collaborative effort, since it has been prepared following both its own recommendations and the agreements reached in the past by other organizations or associations. “I would like to highlight the importance of union, contribution and synergy with the different associations. The guide is the compendium of more than fifteen guides in the sector”, commented Maite Rodríguez, President of La Fede. “It is therefore a living platform, open to work on constructive actions and with a positive spirit. Everyone’s contribution is what will make consistent change possible over time.”.
The platform’s website also reminds industry agents of the procedure they can follow to report bad practices that they observe in advertising contests, whether public or private. In the case of the former, La Fede periodically evaluates tenders with a budget of more than 100,000 euros and contacts the bidding entity to inform it of its bad practices. In the case of the latter, the association ensures that it can evaluate the situation and see possibilities for action.
More info.: Fair Competitions