4A’s and the ANA Create Cross-Industry Task Force to Establish Best Practices in Transparency

Task Force Comprised of Agency Heads and Senior Marketers

NEW YORK (April 24, 2015) – The 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) and the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) are taking decisive action to address concerns about media transparency. Bringing together industry leaders from the marketer and agency communities, the task force’s goals are to identify material issues and to address them with constructive dialogue and pragmatic courses of action.

The Task Force will be co-chaired by the Chief Executive Officers’ from the 4A’s, Nancy Hill and from the ANA, Bob Liodice. They will be joined on the task force by a distinguished group of industry executives:

Agency

Bill Koenigsberg, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder at Horizon Media and 4A’s board Chairman
Laura Desmond, Global Chief Executive Officer at Starcom MediaVest Group
Irwin Gotlieb, Chairman at GroupM Worldwide
Daryl Simm, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Omnicom Media Group

Marketer

Tony Pace, Chief Marketing Officer at Subway‎ and ANA board Chairman
Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer at The Procter & Gamble Company and ANA board Vice Chair
Luis Di-Como, Senior Vice President, Global Media at Unilever
Nadine Karp McHugh, SVP, Omnimedia, Strategic Investments and Creative Solutions at L'Oreal USA

Commenting on the formation of the Task Force, 4A’s CEO, Nancy Hill said ““The Task Force has a very important focus – to ensure that the long standing partnership between clients and agencies is grounded in trust and understanding. The issues that we face can be solved and together we are committed to establishing a framework that will ensure that trusted partnership continues”.

The ANA’s CEO Bob Liodice added; “We are genuinely pleased that the leaders of our industry recognize that transparency concerns – real and perceived -- need to be addressed and mitigated. Media transactions have become increasingly complex and our priorities must include recommended practices that enhance the understanding of the transaction processes.”

This esteemed group will begin its important work in early May and will report back to the industry later this year.

About the ANA

The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) accelerates growth for marketing professionals, brands, and the entire industry. With a mission to shape the future of marketing, the ANA sets the agenda for the industry, connecting its members to unparalleled expertise, industry-leading resources, and an influential global network. Representing over 1,600 companies — including 1,000+ client-side marketers, 600 marketing solutions providers, and 20,000 brands — ANA members collectively influence $400 billion in annual marketing spending. By championing the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda and the CMO Growth Council, the ANA drives actionable change, empowers marketers, shapes the marketing ecosystem, and delivers exceptional experiences at every touchpoint. Since 1910, the ANA has been setting the agenda for industry transformation. It enables marketers to advance their ambitions, make better decisions, and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.

About the 4A’s

The 4A’s is the catalyst for bringing together the right people in the right place at the right time to address the advertising industry’s most critical business issues. We provide leadership, advocacy, guidance and community to our members and the industry at large, with proprietary access to the people, information and tools needed to make smarter management decisions. Its mission is the help agencies become more successful.