Report of the Portfolio Committee on Communications on

Hearings on the Advertising and Marketing Industry, dated

5 November 2004:

The Committee regards the advertising and marketing value chain of

critical importance in contributing to, or detracting from

• citizens access to opportunities

• the realisation of human rights and nation-building and the shaping of

international perceptions of our country

The Committee is pleased to report that the process towards transformation

of the Advertising and Marketing Industry has drawn impetus from the

interest that it has taken in the matter, in particular through its initial

hearings on racism in the advertising industry on 6 and 7 November 2001.

These hearings were conducted in response to complaints about patterns in

advertising spending, and subsequent hearings on the transformation of the

Advertising and Marketing Industry were held on 12 and 13 November

2002, and again on 22 October 2004.

The Committee reports further that progress had been made in the

following areas:

• A Monitoring and Steering Committee, representative of the industry

bodies across the advertising and marketing value chain in both the

private and public sectors, was established to lead the process within

the framework that emerged from the Committee hearings in 2002,

which is based on a Values Statement for the Advertising, Marketing

and Communications industry, embodying the values and goals of

transformation.

• In order to promote transformation, a process had been initiated

towards the establishment of an industry-wide BBBEE Scorecard

within the framework of the BBBEE strategy and legislation that

would provide a common basis for the whole value chain.

• There had been some movement in relation to patterns of advertising

expenditure and in the composition of media audiences, in particular

in the case of government spending.

• There is movement in some sectors in regard to representivity,

procurement, training and education, and steps are being taken to deal

with blockages.

The Committee reports further that it had been nearly two years since

Parliament had asked the Advertising and Marketing Industry to address

transformation in the industry, but progress that had been reported thus far,

was not satisfactory. Progress also had been uneven with more movement

in the Advertising sector and in Government than in the marketing sector.

The Committee has therefore had some successes and will continue to

engage with the process of transforming the industry.

The Committee therefore recommends that:

• The House appeals to the industry, particularly the marketing sector,

to commit itself to the Values Statement and take practical steps to

implement it;

• The House encourages the Monitoring and Steering Committee to

persist in its efforts to speed up transformation of the value chain that

cuts across the whole economy, in particular by establishing a

scorecard within the framework of the BBBEEAct and Strategy to set

norms across the whole value-chain, which will define a common

approach to transformation, and that it urges all segments of the

diverse value chain to assist in the process;

• The House urges the Department of Communications and the

Government Communications Information System to report annually

to Parliament on Government’s own transformation efforts;

• The House encourages the Monitoring and Steering Committee to

continue with its work and that it engages with the Committee in that

regard.

Report to be considered.