List of Publications
Advertising to Children in Canada: A Reference Guide
Advertising Week 2010 Speaker Presentations
Agency Remuneration and Terms - Best Practices
Agency Transition Best Practices/Checklist
The Client Brief: A Best Practice Guide to Briefing Communications Agencies
Client/Agency Evaluation: A Guide to Best Practice, with Evaluation Formats
Code of Ethics, Practices and Obligations of ICA Members
Excellence in Brand Communication: The ICA Guide to Best Practice
Getting a TV Commercial to Air (The Traffic Brochure)
Human Resources Manual Best Practices
ICA Agency Search Service Manual
ICA's Guide to Canadian Codes, Guidelines, Laws and Practice
ICA Glossary of Media Terminology: Broadcast and Internet
Magic and Logic: Redefining Sustainable Business Practices for Agencies, Marketing and Procurement
Measuring and Valuing Brand Equity
Media Auditing: A Guidebook on Best Practices for the Canadian Market
Payment By Results 2: Advertising Agency Remuneration Best Practices
So... You Want to be in an Advertising Agency?
Advertising to Children in Canada: A Reference Guide
This Guide is designed to serve as a reference to clearly identify what industry is continuing to do to ensure responsible advertising to children in Canada. Through self-regulated and government-mandated codes of conduct, advertisers comply with stringent regulations and also provide media literacy and other educational programs to teach children about healthy life choices.
More specifically, this Guide is designed:
- To increase awareness and understanding of the role of regulation of advertising to children in Canada, including food advertising, through examination of the Codes in place, including the required preclearance process of all television advertising prior to going on air (except in Quebec).
- To build more public confidence about the advertising regulations in place, the process for complaint and review, and how this system protects children.
- To examine the role of the CCA as the credible, caring and authoritative voice of responsible children's advertising and communications, with a strategy of creating and implementing initiatives that will educate, empower and benefit the children of Canada.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS:Free
Available in English and French
Advertising Tax Manual: Application of Federal and Provincial Taxes to Advertising Production and Media Costs 2008 Edition
Prepared by Deloitte & Touche, this valuable resource is the definitive reference tool for assisting you in the appropriate application of PST (by province), GST, HST and QST.
MEMBERS: $400.00 + 5% GST (Discount available for multiple copies) Order Form
NON-MEMBERS: $500.00 + 5% GST and Shipping - Order Form
For further details, please contact Paulina Bogusz at 416-482-1396 Ext. 221
Advertising Week 2010 Speaker Presentations
A sample of the Speaker Presentations that occurred during Advertising Week 2010.
The Bensimon Byrne Consumerology Report - January 2010
Clicking with the Human Mind, Sponsored by Yahoo!
Connected Experiences/The Digital Canvas, by Jason R. Dailey (Microsoft Advertising Canada)
Creative Transferability, by Jacquie Matthews (IPSOS ASI)
Agency Remuneration and Terms - Best Practices 
This valuable resource provides learning and exhibits to assist agencies in the ongoing planning process. Key segments of this process are detailed, including language to avoid and to use, preparation for negotiation, negotiation procedures and terms, agreement preparation/inclusions, agreement implementation and follow-up.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not available
Print version - contact Jenni Dunne at 416-482-1396 Ext. 229
Agency Transition Best Practices/Checklist
ICA has recently created a checklist for agencies that are either on the receiving or giving end of an account hand-over. The topics cover contracts, creative, media, research, hand-over meeting, accounting/finance and other disciplines.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not available
Annual Report
ICA has published an Annual Report summarizing our initiatives from the past year. Importantly, it also provides an outlook for the coming year.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not available
Best Practice in Agency Search & Selection: The Guide for Choosing the Right Marketing Communications Partner
Hot off the presses, this comprehensive and expanded report reviews best practices in Canada (including ICA's own Agency Search service), the U.S. and the UK, focusing on both the needs of Advertisers and Agencies.
Commissioned by the ICA, this report was conducted by Sark & Reynolds Management Consultants with the objective "to give advertisers a best-practice guide for finding a new Agency (if a new Agency is indeed what they need.)"
The report was built on three core determinants to making the right choice in a communications partner:
- Can they do the job well?
- Do we have the right fit?
- Do we work well together?
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Available in English and French
CASSIES Case Library
Since its inception in 1993, the CASSIES Awards have recognized the business successes of over 100 campaigns from Canada's top advertisers and their agencies. The celebration of these successes, and the learning we get from them makes the business stronger and helps define the Canadian advertising industry within the global marketplace.
All CASSIES winning case studies are available online in the Case Library of the CASSIES website. Please note that cases from 2001 onward include commercial spots, viewable from your computer.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
ONLINE ACCESS visit www.cassies.ca
The Client, The Agency, The Contract: Terms and Provisions Recommended By ICA for Use in Client/Agency Agreements in Canada
A contemporary model contract for agencies to consider when developing and negotiating their own client-agency agreements. Presents optional approaches in handling such thorny issues as copyright and ownership of creative materials; termination and rights on termination; agency liability; client's obligation to pay; and for what. It is based, with permission, on a document originating from the U.K. under the tripartite auspices of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply plus the U.K. equivalents of ICA and ACA.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not Available
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
The Client Brief: A Best Practice Guide to Briefing Communications Agencies
The purpose of this document is to create a reference/education piece for Clients who are responsible for briefing agencies. The better the brief, the better and more accurate the results! This document takes the reader through the briefing process step by step. Highly recommended reading for both Clients and Agencies.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Available in English and French
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
Client/Agency Evaluation: A Guide to Best Practice, with Evaluation Formats
The Institute of Communication Agencies, formerly the Institute of Communications and Advertising (ICA) has been inundated with questions about the client/agency relationship and how to improve it. The evaluation process plays a huge role in the relationship, yet it can often be left to a last-minute rush to fill out forms, a vague chat over lunch, or perhaps worst of all, tight-lipped silence.
The ICA's Best Practices Guide provides a simple yet effective process, giving an overall philosophy for evaluation along with sample forms that can be easily customized by clients or agencies. The philosophy is much more important than the forms, but both are needed.
"It is a completely new, zero-based look at the issues," said Rupert Brendon, President & CEO of the ICA. He says the central idea is that the relationship between client and agency is key, and that it is worth investing the time and effort to get it right. Ultimately, a strong client/agency relationship can attract the best talent and get the best results.
"This document outlines an evaluation system, in fact an attitude, that will help build the strongest possible client-agency relationship. This takes effort from both sides, and candor," said Mr. Brendon. Using a suggested five-point scale, there are specific agency department evaluation forms for clients, including: Account Management, Creative, Consumer Planning/Research, Production, Media Planning, Media Buying and more, with a summary rating form for overall agency performance. 'The Agency Feedback to the Client' form gives agencies a chance to open up communication on over two dozen points concerning the relationship with their client.
"ICA's Guide to Client/Agency Evaluation provides a comprehensive and authoritative roadmap for designing and implementing an effective evaluation system. Marketers and agencies would do well in embracing the best practices detailed in this publication," said Bill Nicholson, Executive Vice President, Management Services of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) in the U.S.
Client/Agency Evaluation, A Guide to Best Practice draws on extensive ICA experience, with input from many agencies and advertisers, including the Association of Canadian Advertisers. Copies of the Guide in English and French can be accessed free of charge - see details below.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Available in English and French
For your convenience, the following evaluation tables are available in WORD format:
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
Code of Ethics, Practices and Obligations of ICA Members
One of the marks of a mature industry surely must be the extent to which its members feel the need to not only declare a belief in a code of ethical practices, but also to provide that some governing body be delegated the responsibility to both judge the extent that the code is followed, and that it apply sanctions against those who are found to be guilty of code infractions.
When an advertising agency joins the Institute of Communication Agencies, formerly the Institute of Communications and Advertising (ICA), it agrees to abide by this Code, which forms a part of the official By-Laws of the Institute.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Available in English and French
Come Together: A Guidebook for Enhancing the Value of the Client-Agency Relationship in the Marketing Communications Industry
Come Together explores how businesses can significantly improve the return on their marketing communications investments by enhancing their client agency relationships.
The guidebook, written by Dr. Alan Middleton, Executive Director of York University’s Schulich Executive Education Centre, was jointly commissioned by the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) and Association of Quebec Advertising Agencies (AAPQ).
"This topic has surfaced on the radar screen coincident with the renewed realization that an optimal client agency relationship can enhance the value that the agency provides for the client, positively effecting business results,” says Dr. Middleton.
The guidebook recommends a 20-point Code of Client-Agency Conduct, which should be followed to operate at the level of industry best practices. Come Together also provides:
- A summary of changes in the business environment.
- A study of the various types of client-supplier relationships and how each differs in terms of style, culture and needs.
- Recommendations on “what to do and how to do it.”
- A guide on how to implement the Code for optimizing the value created within the client-agency relationship.
The ACA, ICA and AAPQ, while agreeing Come Together is a milestone for the MarCom industry, believe the guidebook is just the beginning of a longer-term process to foster ever more successful client-agency relationships.
Also available in French – click here for more information
MEMBERS: $50.00 + GST & S/H
NON-MEMBERS: $250.00 + GST & S/H
Excellence in Brand Communication: The ICA Guide to Best Practice
Find out how eleven top Canadian marketing communications practitioners make brands flourish. Excellence in Brand Communication was compiled and edited by David Rutherford and the chapters are by top Canadian practitioners. "The experience they pass on," says Rutherford, "is virtually impossible to accumulate these days. This book will fast-track anyone, and be a valuable addition to Brand Communication courses at universities."
They tackle topics ranging from being an inspirational client, to strategy development, to the art of briefing, to creative responsibility, to working with creative people, to proper use of research, to integrated marketing communication, to media convergence.
MEMBERS & NON-MEMBERS: $59.00 + GST & S/H
For more information, contact Jo-Ann McQuillan at Ext. 224.
FridayFlash
FridayFlash is an electronic newsletter designed to aggregate news that is relevant to senior agency leaders. Created by ICA’s Information Services, FridayFlash helps you cope with information overload by bringing timely, relevant and noteworthy information to your inbox.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not Available
For more information, contact Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
Getting a TV Commercial to Air (The Traffic Brochure)
Just what is involved in getting TV ads to air? And in these days of electronic speed, doesn't it just take seconds to move things around? Well, not quite. It's not that simple.
This popular pamphlet is prepared and endorsed by the ICA Traffic Committee, ICA member agencies and Canadian industry representatives. It outlines what's involved in the traffic process, how to handle changes requested by agencies/advertisers, how much time various steps can take, and how to ensure that clients' commercials get on air.
The pamphlet will be helpful for anyone involved and responsible for TV commercials. This could include account services, creative, media and traffic. Not to mention, this brochure can also help a client understand why it is not possible to change the spot for tonight. This has been developed to help educate, understand and most of all, explain what goes on when material is late.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Print copies - contact Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
Human Resources Manual Best Practices
The Human Resources Best Practices Manual has been produced with the guidance of the ICA Human Resources Best Practices Committee, to give members best practice guidelines in human resources.
The key objective of the manual is to aid employers with such issues as
- HIRING PRACTICES - understanding the hiring process will lead to good hiring that can help reduce turnover and termination problems; what should be in an employee/freelance contract
- EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION AND HANDBOOK - what should be done in orientation and how to develop an employee handbook and company policies
- EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT - the types of performance systems, how to develop a performance appraisal program , appraisal tips and setting goals
- TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT - the importance of training, how to do a needs assessment, types of training and how to evaluate the program, post course assessment form and training resources
- DISCIPLINE AND TERMINATION - what to do
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not Available
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
ICA Agency Search Service Manual
The publication outlines ICA's Agency Search Service, the first service set up and administered by advertising people for advertising people. The confidential service is without bias or self-interest to advertisers seeking an agency. ICA's best practices save both advertiser and agencies time and money by ensuring a greater discipline and a proven methodology is applied, which is the foundation for a successful search.
The publication describes the search service, ICA's agency database including member profiles as well as Industry Best Practices when conducting a search. ICA's role is to provide counsel and best practices but is not involved in the actual agency selection.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
ICA's Guide to Canadian Codes, Guidelines, Laws and Practice
Spanning the alphabet from "a" to "u," this is a user-friendly guide to advertising laws, rules, codes, guidelines and policies that confront advertising agencies and their advertising clients when conducting their business of advertising and marketing communications in Canada and elsewhere.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not available
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
ICA Glossary of Media Terminology: Broadcast and Internet
The ICA Traffic Committee has developed this glossary of media terms to ensure a common understanding between agency, station and production companies.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Magic and Logic: Redefining Sustainable Business Practices for Agencies, Marketing and Procurement
Magic and Logic is a UK report that contains principles which are world class and should be made available to Canadian practitioners. The originators (and copyright holders) want the widest possible distribution of the text, and have kindly agreed to publication in Canada. The Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), Institute of Communication Agencies, formerly the Institute of Communications and Advertising (ICA), Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) and Association of Quebec Advertising Agencies (AAPQ) have added explanatory footnotes for Canadian practitioners.
This UK report was commissioned by a tripartite group representing Agencies (IPA), Marketing Clients (ISBA) and Procurement (CIPS) to extensively review issues, challenges and current relationships between the three groups with a focus on creating better results in future: producing ‘profitable ideas that make profit’ for all. The document takes steps to unify these three key groups of practitioners around a common understanding and mutual respect, and to find shared objectives, shared beliefs and shared methods.
This 51-page report examines what differentiates profitable and successful agencies from the rest, how these agencies are then rewarded, how the best marketing and procurement people contribute to their agencies’ producing profitable ideas, and what is required for the future to ensure success. There is an accompanying document about specific challenges facing Agencies, Marketers and Procurement staff that asks a series of questions to stimulate an examination of current ways of working by each of the parties, and hopefully will serve as a base for the three parties to discuss and agree together how to take this thinking forward for their mutual benefit.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Available in English and French
Measuring and Valuing Brand Equity
Brand Finance, in collaboration with the Institute of Communication Agencies, formerly the Institute of Communications and Advertising, created the 28-page report, authored by Jonathan Knowles, Managing Director of Brand Finance Canada and David Haigh, founder and chief executive of Brand Finance plc. The report was sponsored by Canadian Business and is the subject of a feature article in the November 22, 2004 issue of Canadian Business.
The report looks at:
- the growing importance of intangible assets over the past twenty years and their relative importance across industry categories
- the recent changes in the rules concerning the accounting for brands and other forms of intangible asset
- the circumstances in which it is necessary or desirable to conduct a brand valuation, and how brand valuation can contribute to marketing effectiveness
- the different methodologies used in brand valuation
- three different methodologies for measuring brand equity from a customer perspective
- important developments in brand management - including marketing dashboards, measurement of marketing ROI, and the centralized ownership of intellectual property assets
The report includes data on the 25 most valuable brands in Canada, the 20 largest retail networks in Canada, and the top 25 advertisers in Canada over the past three years.
Brand Finance and the ICA have published this report in the belief that it will help to raise the profile and quality of the debate concerning the contribution of brands to business success. The methodologies outlined in the report provide a useful start to a process for companies and their marketers to better understand brand value and use it as a business tool and asset.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Media Auditing: A Guidebook on Best Practices for the Canadian Market
Media Auditing: A Guidebook on Best Practices for the Canadian Market assists advertisers, agencies and auditors to better understand and take into account key media auditing issues and considerations, and to provide guidelines and best practices that will result in continuous improvement in media processes and products.
Media Auditing was written by media management consultant David Chung in consultation with four industry groups: the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), Canadian Media Directors’ Council (CMDC), Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) and Association of Quebec Advertising Agencies (AAPQ).
The guidebook comes at a time when heightened competition in the communications world, coupled with legal imperatives for greater accountability and transparency, have catapulted media auditing to the forefront. The four associations believe the benefits of the audit process serve to enrich media practices and product, increasing the value offering by the agency and a better ROI for marketers.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Available in English and French
News and Views
News and Views is ICA's quarterly newsletter for member agencies. It provides updates on the activities and initiatives undertaken by the ICA, as well as upcoming events, information about education offerings, awards, new publications, new members and much much more. Copies are mailed electronically to the appointed recipient in each member agency. We also archive copies in the members area of the website.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Not available
Payment By Results 2: Advertising Agency Remuneration Best Practices
Interest in Payment by Results (PBR) is increasing in Canada as a number of high profile clients have incorporated it into their agency agreements and many others, both clients and agencies, are considering adopting PBR.
"The ICA does not believe that PBR is suitable for all or even most agency-client relationships," said ICA President and CEO Rupert Brendon. "But for those who are considering incentive-based remuneration, the ICA's PBR Best Practice report is a practical guide that reflects a wealth of experience to help agencies and their clients to implement PBR effectively and efficiently."
The report, PBR2: Advertising Agency Remuneration Best Practices was prepared for the ICA by Canadian marketing communications consultants Adrian Sark and Dan Reynolds. The report, among other things, gives ad agencies and their clients insight into "practical real-world experience" with PBR, from Canada and abroad, and provides "best practices" road maps for its implementation.
Sark and Reynolds searched all published documents, they obtained practical input and guidance from a variety of international sources, including: agency managers, clients, associations, and other professional service providers, and PBR experts. The report was further reviewed, guided and endorsed by Jonathan Lace, AAAA, IPA, AMA (New York) and Nancy Salz as well as clients such as P&G (U.S.) and Labatt.
A management by objectives, pay-for-performance style of remuneration has long been standard for senior executives in industries around the world. Similarly, the ICA supports the "bonus" approach to PBR that recognizes the essential partnership between clients and the agencies and their need for goal congruence, mutual objective setting, and the "Win-Win" that is the foundation of Payment by Results.
For PBR to be successful requires open and trusting communication between client and agency. In light of this belief, the ICA is making this report available free of charge to agencies and clients through our web site.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Printed copies are available - please call Jo-Ann McQuillan at 416-482-1396 Ext. 224
So... You Want to be in an Advertising Agency?
Originally produced in 1995, this classic ICA publication is back due to popular demand. If you want to know how an advertising agency works and who does what, this publication will give an honest overview of the realities of agency life. Ideal for students considering a career in advertising. See also www.mybigfuture.ca.
MEMBERS: Free
NON-MEMBERS: Free
Vulcans, Earthlings and Marketing ROI: Getting Finance, Marketing and Advertising onto the Same Planet
Every few years, business is galvanized by a new concept. Accountability is the latest idea in the spotlight. It’s a huge topic, and in the broadest sense embraces ethics, corporate governance, and all the issues spawned by the recent spate of business scandals. Vulcans, Earthlings and Marketing ROI, co-published by the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) and Wilfrid Laurier University Press, deals with a more pragmatic aspect: the accountability behind the question “Are our investments in marketing and advertising sensible and successful, short and long term, from a business point of view?”
The authors, David Rutherford and Jonathan Knowles, first establish that finance, marketing, and advertising share common ground in the value of brands. They review the evidence for the business impact of marketing and advertising, summarizing key research and practical experience. Then they outline what it takes to build an accountability culture and profile some techniques that are useful for framing and measuring the business impact of marketing and advertising investment. The book is intended for anyone with an interest in accountability as it applies to short- and long-term marketing effort.
MEMBERS: To order 5 books or less, click here to fill out an order form or
contact Gardenia Flores 416-482-1396 Ext. 231
NON-MEMBERS: Please contact University of Toronto Press at 800-565-9523 in the U.S. or Canada, or email utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca.
