The Advertising Media Forum (AMF) has in the past been able to put a stop to certain competitions where the planner/buyer was incentivised, for example by being offered an overseas trip, in exchange for booking advertising space in a certain medium/opportunity. However, as conditional competitions are still in existence which could bring the profession into disrepute, the AMF has issued a few guidelines.
In a recent newsletter to its members the AMF emphasised that those in the industry should maintain the highest levels of professionalism and integrity - any bribery, or perceived bribery, had no role to play in this environment. It reiterated that incentivised competitions should play no part in influencing the media decision-making process and that at all times objective media recommendations should be provided. Media planners/buyers should not only be impartial, but should be seen to be impartial at all times.
In order to ensure the highest standards of integrity in the media industry, the AMF has set the following guidelines for media owners:
If any media owner is unsure about the specific workings of competitions or incentives, they are urged to contact any member of the AMF board - as per the website: www.amf.org.za.
