AANA Unveils Ambitious 2024 Agenda & Delivers on Key 2023 Promises

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) is proud to announce a range of exciting initiatives for 2024. Following a highly successful year in 2023, AANA’s CEO Josh Faulks shared the organisation’s achievements and unveiled its plans for the upcoming year in an address to members and media last night.

After starting 2023 reinvigorated with a new three-year strategy and a revamped purpose to work with their members to build a better industry, AANA promised they would deliver value to its members across three core areas:

AANA would be a loud and strong voice for members – advocating on their behalf on the issues that matter most to them and their business.
AANA would be the trusted custodian of the self-regulatory system, developing and updating codes to ensure they align with community standards, while administering an independent complaints handling system through Ad Standards.
AANA would help members connect and grow, with the best events in the industry where they can connect with their peers and hear the latest thinking on the big issues.

Faulks reported that AANA has successfully delivered on all three key promises in 2023, with detailed accomplishments outlined in the AANA 2023 Year in Review document that will be released next week.

AANA Chair and General Manager, Coffee and Dairy, Nestlé Oceania Martin Brown said: “In 2023, AANA has been a powerful advocate for the industry on the important issues that matter most to our members. We have continued to lift the standards in the industry through our custodianship of our world-class self-regulatory system, and we have brought the industry closer together across multiple formats to be inspired and challenged by the latest thinking.”

AANA also turned 95 in 2023 and has had one of its biggest growth spurts in its history with 13 new members joining their community. The following brands were welcomed into their family: Cashrewards, CUB, Denstu, Endeavour Group, Goodman Fielder, Ikea, Mecca, Murmur, Primo Foods, Qantas, Sanitarium, Seven Network, and Volvo.

A Strong, United Voice for 2024

In 2024, AANA plans to intensify its advocacy on behalf of its members, especially in response to growing regulatory pressures across various sectors. Key initiatives include:

Release of an Exposure Draft of the Environmental Claims Code (in December 2023), while continuing to work closely with the government and industry to ensure they can restore consumer faith in environmental claims and create clear standards, so businesses can have the confidence to talk about the good they are doing to transition to a sustainable future.
Working with the rest of the industry to engage with governments around the country on proposals to ban advertising across multiple segments.
Continuing to advocate for marketers when it comes to privacy reforms to ensure there is a balance between the right to advertise responsibly with the protection of privacy.

AANA believes in the strength of a united voice and will continue its strong collaboration with industry stakeholders to advocate on these crucial issues.

More Opportunities to Connect and Grow

AANA is enhancing opportunities for members to connect and grow in 2024 with an ambitious event calendar featuring:

RESET for Growth 2024: For its 10^th Birthday, AANA is elevating its flagship event, RESET, with a new venue at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay on May 9, 2024. The theme is RESET for Growth, and it will showcase an impressive lineup of international marketing superstars. AANA is pleased to announce that Richard Oppy, VP of Global Brands at ABInBev will be taking to the stage all the way from New York. ABInBev won the Cannes Lion for Creative Marketer of the Year in 2022 and 2023- a first in the festival’s history. Other speakers from the remarkable line-up will be announced soon.
More Marketing Masterclasses: Following the huge success of the Masterclass format in 2023, AANA is expanding the program in 2024, offering members the latest insights on key industry topics with ample opportunities to connect and network.
More CMO Dinners: AANA will continue its popular CMO Dinner series.
Industry Conferences: AANA will collaborate with Ad Week, Cannes in Cairns, and SXSW in 2024 to make sure the content is relevant and stimulating for advertisers and marketers.

AANA is also excited to announce that it will introduce new online on-demand Code Training early in 2024, available free to members. This will be essential training for all marketers in Australia and will help lift standards across the industry.

In a significant development, AANA will partner with Deakin University to offer micro-credentials for critical marketing skills in 2024. These micro-credentials can be applied as credits towards post-graduate marketing qualifications, further supporting the professional development of AANA’s members.

Faulks said, “AANA is poised for an exciting and dynamic year in 2024, focused on delivering value to members. We’ve listened to what our members need and have responded with more opportunities to connect and grow.

I am incredibly proud of the team’s achievements, our ambitious plans, and more than anything, our unwavering commitment to work with you to build a better industry.”