By: Mr Groovin Nchabeleng.
In March 2022, the Minister in the Presidency appointed the executive committee of the Marketing, Advertising and Communication (MAC) Charter Sector Council to accelerate the transformation of the Marketing, Advertising and Communication SA (MAC SA) sector. The Council is also tasked with overseeing the implementation and monitoring compliance with the MAC Charter Sector Code and provide guidance on matters relating to BEE in the MAC sector as well as advise government and other relevant regulatory entities regarding the MAC Sector Code.
During its inauguration, the Council was also tasked with aligning the 2016 Sector Code with the changes made in the Codes of Good Practice (COGP) in 2019 and ensure that they are in line with priorities of government.
While the MAC sector industry has since 1994 recorded some progress in transformation, at an ownership and management level this change has been limited. Sadly, the meaningful participation of black people in the industry is still very low and those who had opportunities before still typically occupy the industry’s top creative and management positions.
This state of affairs is concerning and it goes against our founding values and principles of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous country. Transforming the country is the product of a negotiated compromise and a fundamental pillar of the new society we are building. The 1994 transition brought all South Africans together to work towards broadening the meaningful participation of black people, women, youth and people with disabilities in various sectors.
We believe that it is only through advancing transformation that we can be able to reconstruct the fabric of our society as well as narrow social and economic divisions in our society. We have sought to drive transformation through affirmative action and broad-based black economic empowerment policies, through preferential procurement and initiatives like the Black Industrialists Programme.
Transformation is more than about changing the structure of the economy. It involves creating opportunities and training people who previously did not have access to opportunities. It is also aimed at promoting growth and creating jobs. These transformation policies are being applied in land reform, employment equity or in economic activities including the advertising industry which recently launched the Revised Marketing, Advertising and Communication (MAC) Charter Sector Codes.
The proposed changes in the MAC sector follows extensive public consultation and now align to the changes made in the Codes of Good Practice in 2019 and priorities of government. The code applies to organisations that derive more than 50 percent of their profit from the sector. The revised Code now introduces the requirement for all Measured Entities (ME) to appoint an Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD).
They also place greater weighting on Ownership; Management and Control; Skills Development; Enterprise Development as well as the reworked Responsible Marketing which makes provision for campaign interventions related to Anti-Corruption; intervention on the Energy Crisis; GBVF and support to community media.
As government we are pleased that these proposed changes have been completed almost two years since the appointment of the Council. Failure to align these codes would have led to the MAC Sector reverting to the Generic Code of Good Practice which sets targets not specific to the MAC Sector.
The changes are a collective effort that has the support of industry organisations and professionals. Through the implementation of these changes we will grow the industry’s local talent base. It will boost the sector’s offerings and make the sector more in tune to the South African perspective in its work.
The reality is that transformation cannot take place without committed leadership from both the public and private sector, as well as sustained engagement between the two. Our transformative agenda cannot succeed unless we work together to broaden the participation of all South Africans in this industry. The Marketing, Advertising and Media sector should play their part in speeding up their transformation agenda so that they can be more reflective of our country’s diversity.
A transformed sector holds enormous benefits for our society and will assist us in creating the South Africa we want as envisioned by our founding fathers. Transforming the sector begins with inculcating the founding values of the Charter which comprises inclusivity and diversity, the soul of the nation, respect and human dignity, sensitivity to people’s needs and responsible creativity into all aspects of work.
