Advertising and marketing executives in dark over ACCC report

Hundreds of advertising execs have claimed they weren’t aware of the ACCC’s tech giant probe.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims in his Sydney office. John Feder/The Australian

Hundreds of advertising and marketing executives have said they were “unaware” of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s digital platforms inquiry, despite a specific request by chair Rod Sims for feedback from the advertising industry.

According to new research from the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA), almost half of the 498 industry executives surveyed said they had not heard of the inquiry, which looked at the market power of Google and Facebook and the impact they had on Australian businesses and society.

The research was conducted between May and June as part of the 2019 AMAA Media Trust report, which be released in full in the next few weeks.

Josanne Ryan, chief executive of AMAA, said that while most respondents said government regulation of platforms like Google and Facebook was inevitable, 43 per cent of executives had a complete lack of awareness of the inquiry and the preliminary report, which was released in December last year.

After the ACCC’s preliminary report was published in December, Mr Sims called for more feedback from the advertising industry specifically. Ms Ryan said she was concerned with the industry’s response to the report, given the ACCC’s concern with the lack of transparency around trading in digital advertising.

When the final report was released last Friday, a number of recommendations involving the advertising and marketing industry were put forward, including inquiries into ad technology services and an inquiry into how media and advertising agencies buy and sell advertising space.

“The industry has now had a wake-up call and no doubt the final report will be compulsory reading given there is to be a twelve-week consultation period as the government steps in to weigh up no less than 23 recommendations from the ACCC,” Ms Ryan said.

Of those surveyed, 49 per cent of those who said they had “never heard” of the ACCC Preliminary report were advertising executives, and 46 per cent of them were senior executives and middle management.

The Australian has approached the ACCC for comment.