Critical to the operations and effectiveness of any association, particularly one such as the the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), the official representative body for the Communications and Advertising profession in South Africa, is the inclusiveness of the membership and constituency which it represents. A more inclusive and accessible membership proposition has been announced by the organisation.
Mathe Okaba, CEO of the ACA said, ‘Our profession is undergoing a transformation. The physical make-up of our members, and non-members has changed, and change as we all know is constant, defining and redefining our profession and activities. As the profession in our country changes and evolves, so have we as an organisation.’
The new membership offering has been the key focus area of the ACA’s Membership Committee in the past year, as it was tasked with relaxing the ‘barriers to entry’ to becoming an ACA member and enabling a broader constituency to benefit from the immense value on offer to agencies and the broader profession.
According to Membership Committee Chair and Group CEO of Nahana Communications, Thabang Skwambane, ‘It has become necessary to expand the member base and engage a wider and more inclusive range of agencies, individuals and corporates. It is our intention to accommodate and represent a substantially larger collective within the broader marketing and communication industry.’
Okaba added that the new tiered membership structure will provide an enhanced and more appealing offering to the broader advertising community. The previous structure excluded many smaller agencies, collectives, partnerships and individuals and students, as well as companies which failed to meet certain qualifying criteria, now all being brought into the fold.
The new structure sees the inclusion of an Individual Membership offering alongside the existing Corporate Membership, which has been overhauled. Members will enjoy a varying range of benefits aligned to their respective membership, while fees have also been recalibrated to better reflect the new offering. Details pertaining to the membership criteria and benefits are accessible via the ACA’s website, or by contacting the ACA directly.
The new membership proposition will reinforce inclusion and the access created for industry players and previously excluded professionals. While the new membership offering could be described as a radical departure from the past, it remains additive to the essence of the association.
This essence is defined by the founding principles of the ACA which include the protection and promotion of the profession, while driving policy in the sector. With a more representative and expanded constituency, the ACA will be better placed to engage industry stakeholders; further highlight and educate the profession and government with respect to the commercial importance of the industry; emphasise the value of ACA membership; reinforce the essential nature of self-regulation and be better positioned to enforce normative behaviour in the profession, amongst agencies and their clients.
ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNICATION AND ADVERTISING
http://acasa.co.za
