The International Advertising Association (IAA) is a global association that represents marketers, ad agencies and mass media that carries advertisements. With headquarters in New York, United States, it has chapters in 77 countries. It was founded with the name Export Advertising Association on April 8, 1938 by Thomas Ashwell – a publisher of "Export Trade & Shipper" magazines, along with 12 other managers from the

advertising industry The advertising industry is the global industry of public relation and marketing companies, media services and advertising agencies - largely controlled today by just a few international holding companies (WPP plc, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Interpub ...

in the

Harvard Club of New York The Harvard Club of New York City, commonly called The Harvard Club, is a private social club located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Its membership is limited to alumni, faculty, and boardmembers of Harvard University. Incorporated in 1 ...

. Their goal was to exchange information about successful practices in international

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. In 1954, it adopted its current name. IAA as an international

industry association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...

positions itself as a platform for advertising industry issues, and as an organization that protects and advances the freedom of

commercial speech In law, commercial speech is speech or writing on behalf of a business with the intent of earning revenue or a profit. It is economic in nature and usually attempts to persuade consumers to purchase the business's product or service. The Supreme ...

, responsible advertising,

consumer choice The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption as measured by their pref ...

, and the education of marketing professionals by researching and providing advertising regulation literature in many countries of the world. The International Advertising Association has conducted and summarized surveys over the years, on

culturally sensitive Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed for ...

topics such as the relative use and permissibility of "sex and decency" in advertisements.

Role and priorities

According to John Jones, the IAA is a global organization that promotes the "critical role and benefits of advertising" and its role in indirectly financing affordable free press in an open society. The association encourages self-regulation to keep advertising "legal, decent, honest and truthful", and it advocates increasing consumer choice and freedom of commercial speech. It is also a forum where advertising and marketing industry professionals discuss issues and concerns in diverse environments. The IAA supports internship programs for youth exploring job opportunities in the industry, as well as ''pro bono'' advertisement campaigns on global themes such as its "Give a Kid a Hand" campaign in 1998.

Meetings, awards and standards

The IAA organizes the biennial World Advertising Congress, a worldwide meeting of advertising professionals. The association also holds regional conferences wherein key speakers from the regional markets are invited to participate. At these events, it also honors individuals in the advertisement industry and in the mass media who have made significant positive impact on the mission and priorities of the International Advertising Association. The IAA has developed accreditation standards for advertising diploma programs in 35 countries, and these standards were the basis for 1-year courses in some 50 institutes as of 2014.

Literature

The IAA publishes an annual report, a membership directory as well as periodic literature authored by scholars in academia that is aimed at keeping its stakeholders informed about changing laws, issues and perspectives on advertisement and marketing. The IAA started publishing monographs on international advertising in the 1980s, in particular about regulations and self-regulation initiatives in each country. The association's literature on relative perception of similar advertisements in different cultures and regional regulations is one of the most comprehensive, states Gordon Miracle. For example, the Jean Boddewyn surveys and publications sponsored by the IAA on issues such as "sex and decency" in advertisements show a wide relative variation. The top regional concerns vary, according to these IAA studies, ranging from the ads being generally received as "tasteless", or "sexy", or "sexist", or "objectification of women", or "violence against women" depending on the surveyed country. The IAA monographs are in use by the advertising industry professionals and as teaching materials in the academic community.

Structure

The IAA is structured into national chapters, each of which operate with considerable autonomy. The IAA, states Jones, had over 5,300 individual members and 97 corporate members in 95 countries by 1999. A majority of its membership is from the developed economies, the second largest group of members were from Asia and Pacific region, while the Middle East, Africa and Latin America accounted for the remaining.

Campaigns and controversies

In 2009 the "

Hopenhagen The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...

"-campaign was created by the IAA in support of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15). In the interest of the entire industry it has through its chapters launched various

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

campaigns illustrating the role of marketing communications to economies. The close connections and collaboration of IAA – as well as other advertising industry organizations such as the European Association of Advertising Agencies – with the tobacco industry has been controversial.

References

Literature

* Wolfgang J. Koschnick: ''Standard Dictionary of Advertising, Mass Media and Marketing.'' de Gruyter, S. 229

External links

Official website
IAA * * {{Authority control Advertising organizations Marketing research International nongovernmental organizations Trade associations based in the United States