About

The Faculty

With a provisional name of Front Foot, the faculty will work across the hierarchy of data, information, knowledge and intelligence. It will collect and disseminate understanding, and it will generate and interpret information and insight. Scanning horizons and pre-empting rather than merely reacting, it will reach out to an increasingly diversified multi-platform advertising business. Focusing on the overall impact of marketing communications as well as sector specific issues, it will provide a plethora of commercially applicable economic, social and communications insight, intelligence and wisdom. Its output will range from econometric analysis to the very broadest of questions about the relationship between advertising and consumption, the effect of advertising on society, and the contribution of advertising and promotion to the economy. Critically, it will work closely with the industry’s decision-makers, utilizing the insight and expertise of the business as a whole. Led by a senior industry planner or communications’ academic, the faculty will enjoy a significant budget for original research. Overall, it will work for the betterment of advertising, specifically for the restoration of public trust - and hence advertising value - to advertisers and consumers alike. All in all, quite a lot.


The Founding Constellation

To fund the faculty, we are aiming to raise an initial £2 million from a ‘Founding Constellation’ of organisations. Specifically, we are asking for £50k each from leading advertisers, agency groups and media companies. To put this in context, for the top twenty UK advertisers this represents 0.03% of their marcomms spend; or just 0.015% of such spend over the initial two year life of the faculty. As with most extraordinary funding/rights issues, we will be making a cash call only when a threshold has been reached, in this case a critical mass of ten to fifteen companies. We will then go on to complete the group, and in so doing will ensure a due balance between the major advertiser sectors.
Response to the appeal has been more than encouraging, and we are now fast closing on our first milestone.


Governance

Subscription monies received will be dedicated solely to the work of the faculty. The monies will be administered and faculty activities overseen by a Trust Board and a Faculty board respectively. The Trust Board will be chaired by a nominee CEO from among the ‘Founding Constellation’. The Faculty Board, chaired by a senior industry figure, will oversee Faculty team appointments and the quality standards of the research programme. An annual summary report will be provided by both Boards to subscribers and to the Council of the Advertising Association.