ANNUAL
REPORT
2015

The only organisation representing and connecting global marketers.
London • Brussels • Singapore

PRESIDENT’S VISION
2
MESSAGE FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
3
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
4
MARKETING GROUPS
6 CMOFORUM
IMCFORUM
MEDIAFORUM
7 DIGITALFORUM
SOURCINGFORUM
INSIGHTFORUM
8 WORLDWIDE MEETINGS
10 MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS
WFA STAFF
12
PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUPS
14 RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING AND CHILDREN PROGRAMME
POLICY ACTION GROUP
15 DIGITAL GOVERNANCE EXCHANGE
ALCOHOL MARKETING
16 PUBLIC AFFAIRS HIGHLIGHTS
WFA EVENTS
18 GLOBAL MARKETER WEEK, MARRAKECH
20 PROJECT RECONNECT, MARRAKECH, SINGAPORE
21 LATIN AMERICAN REGIONAL MEETING, MEXICO CITY
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
22
AUDITOR’S REPORT
23
2015 IN NUMBERS
24

President’s Vision
One thing I’ve learned over 30 years in the
ad industry is that brand is everything. It’s
the product, the people, the promise, the
purpose and the point of view of an organ-
isation.
WFA is a fantastic brand. It has a first class
team doing outstanding work. It brings to-
gether a uniquely diverse and truly global
network of professionals who are passion-
ate about the advancement of marketing as
an activity. It is a great champion of good
marketing and a firm believer that brands
can be a force for good.
That is why I was honoured to accept the
role of WFA President. I was also attracted
to and reassured by the fact that, like all
good brands, it is an organisation that lis-
tens to the people it serves, tries to under-
stand how it can best fit into its members’
lives and continuously re-evaluates its role
in society at large.
It is not an organisation that defends adver-
tising for advertising’s sake. It acknowledges
that ads can be annoying, even intrusive. It
recognises that some people blame market-
ing for some of society’s most intractable
problems. The marketing industry faces
some tough challenges.
Through continuous dialogue with policy-
makers, civil society and people, WFA makes
the case for how brands can benefit con-
sumers, society and the economy but, more
importantly, it provides marketers with a
much-needed reality check by acting as a
barometer of societal opinion.
All brands face similar challenges. How do
we keep pace with new technologies? How
do we break through the noise? How do we
meaningfully fit into people’s busy lives and
deliver real value?
WFA helps marketers navigate this new real-
ity. Yes, it helps with the nuts and bolts of
better organising your media spend, build-
ing marketing capabilities and designing in-
dustry responses to policy challenges.
But it goes further. It lights a path for mar-
keters towards a new business reality, one
that is predicated on speed and agility but
also, critically, on transparency, openness,
empathy and trust.
I, like you no doubt, am naturally drawn to
the very human yet professional brand that
WFA stands for. I am equally drawn to its
progressive approach; the recognition that
time stands still for no man and that all of
us must adapt in order to continue to build
brands that are as relevant and meaningful
tomorrow as they are today.
David Wheldon,
WFA President
CMO RBS
“WFA lights a path
for marketers
towards a new
business reality.”
2

Message from the CEO
“WFA is committed
to helping companies
make quicker,
smarter decisions.”
Your continued support in 2015 has enabled
us to grow the team, become more global
and deliver more added value to our mem-
bers.
We have recruited two senior members to
our team. Our first Head of Membership is
based out of London while our Marketing
Director for Asia is based in Singapore.
These new recruits will enable us to take a
more strategic and systematic approach to
delivering membership value on your prior-
ity issues while significantly reinforcing our
ability to help Asia-based marketers achieve
their objectives.
We are also investing a great deal in our
global presence. In 2015, WFA hosted nearly
80 meetings in over 20 countries and ser-
viced members in almost 50.
Singapore is now the city that hosts the
most WFA marketing meetings, including
our first Asian CMOFORUM. The MEDIA-
FORUM is now meeting regularly in Mum-
bai and Shanghai. Miami hosted the
IMCFORUM for the first time. Most sym-
bolically, we held our first Global Marketer
Week in Africa.
A hugely successful week of events in Mar-
rakech attended by over 500 delegates from
over 30 countries was a highlight of the year.
Another was endorsement by APEC Heads
of State for our vision for effective advertis-
ing self-regulation. This was a direct result
of our APEC engagement. APEC countries
together represent over 60% of global ad
spend and this figure is growing fast.
WFA is committed to helping companies
make quicker, smarter decisions. In 2015
alone, we ran over 100 benchmarks while
73% of members accessed our Global
Knowledge Base.
We will continue to invest in greater remote
knowledge exchange, such as webinars and
remote forums, so members can access our
services faster and in a more cost-effective
manner.
Corporate membership grew by over 15%
net in 2015 as we have welcomed the likes
of Sony, Nike and AirAsia into membership.
We’re determined to build on this momen-
tum and look forward with confidence to
2016.
With my best wishes,
Stephan Loerke,
CEO WFA
3

Executive Committee
DAVID WHELDON
CMO
RBS
WFA President
(AS ELECTED AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ON MARCH 17, 2015)
1 MATTHIAS BERNINGER
VP Public Affairs
MARS
WFA Deputy President
2 MIKE HUGHES
Director General
ISBA, UK
WFA Treasurer
3 STEPHAN LOERKE
WFA CEO
4
JEAN-JACQUES
VELKENIERS
VP Marketing, Europe
Anheuser-Busch InBev
11 ALESSANDRO
CAGLI
EU Affairs Director
Ferrero
12 PALOMA
CASTRO MARTINEZ
Director of Global
Corporate Affairs
LVMH
13 PACO
CASA DE FALGUERA
CMO
Grupo Bimbo
15 SARAH
DELEA
Director External Affairs
Health & Wellness
Mondelez International
16DAMIEN
CUMMINGS
CMO, ASEAN & Pacific
Philips
14
WFA Corporate Member Representatives
wfa
officers 2 3 41
11 12 13 14 15 16
5 6 7 8 9 10
WFA Regional Vice-Presidents
SERGEY GLUSHKOV
President
RAA, Russia
Regional VP C&E Europe
5 LOÏC ARMAND
Senior VP External Affairs
L’Oréal
Regional VP Western Europe
6 BOB LIODICE
President & CEO
ANA, USA
Regional VP North America
7 JAVIER MEDRANO
Senior VP Marketing
Grupo Bimbo
Regional VP Latin America
8 RAHUL WELDE
VP Media, Asia, Africa,
Middle East & Turkey
Unilever
Regional VP Asia-Pacific
9 IDORENYEN ENANG
Managing Director,
Central West Africa
L’Oréal
Regional VP Africa
10
4

JORIS POLLET
Director Government
Relations & Public Policy,
EMEA & Asia
Procter & Gamble
21
MARY CATHERINE TOKER
VP Government Relations
General Mills
22
AMERICO CAMPOS SILVA
Global Media Manager
Shell
23
WOUTER VERMEULEN
Public Affairs & Communications
Director, Health & Wellbeing
Coca-Cola Europe
24
SAMEER DESAI
Head of Consumer Healthcare,
Asia, Latin America,
Middle East and Africa
Mundipharma
17
THOMAS HOLZAPFEL
Global Category Leader
Marketing
Deutsche Telekom
18
MARC MATHIEU
Senior VP
Marketing
Unilever
19
ELEONORE OGRINZ
Head of International
Advertising
Red Bull
20
PIERRE-JEAN BOZO
Director General
UDA, France
25
ROGER HARLACHER
President
ASA, Switzerland
26
MOUNIR JAZOULI
President
GAM, Morocco
27
RON LUND
President & CEO
ACA, Canada
29
BARBARA KRAJNC
Director General
SOZ, Slovenia
28
JAN MORTEN DRANGE
CEO
ANFO, Norway
30
BHARAT PATEL
Executive Committee member
ISA, India
31
AHMET PURA
Chairman
RVD, Turkey
32
SANDRA MARTINELLI
Executive VP
ABA, Brazil
33
CHRIS VAN ROEY
CEO
UBA, Belgium
35
JOACHIM SCHÜTZ
Managing Director
OWM, Germany
34
HOU YUNCHUN
President
CANA, China
36
WFA Corporate Member Representatives
WFA National Association Representatives
17
21
18
22
19
23
20
24
25
29
33
26
30
34
27
31
35
28
32
36
5

CMOFORUM is an invitation-only network
bringing together some of the most visionary
global marketers. In 2015 the CMOFORUM met
in Cannes and at the Spikes Festival in Singa-
pore. The Cannes Lions organisers described
the network as an “amazingly high calibre
group to have together in one room”.
Discussions covered the evolution of the mar-
keting organisation, capabilities and, last but
not least, people: existing and potential cus-
tomers.
All the talk is of digital transformation and
CMOs very often find themselves at the van-
guard of this process.
Transformation is also underway amongst agen-
cy partners. Welcomed by many, it has also led
to issues of transparency and trust. CMOFO-
RUM members recognise that integration and
effective agency management come from client
leadership and this is only possible when clients
have the knowledge they need to stay close to
and oversee all areas of investment.
Developing in-house marketing capabilities is
nothing new but increasing focus on content
marketing, programmatic and data-driven mar-
keting means this remains a priority. A chang-
ing landscape requires new approaches, skills
and often looking beyond the industry for the
required talent.
For all the talk of consumer-centric transforma-
tion, most members admit that they have some
way to go to realise this vision. That is why so
many CMOFORUM members are involved in
WFA’s Project Reconnect (see page 20).
In 2016, the CMOFORUM will return to Cannes,
Singapore and will also meet in Hong Kong.
Six years since the launch of the WFA IMC-
FORUM in 2009, the network has grown sig-
nificantly in size and geographical footprint.
It now connects close to 500 senior market-
ers with global and regional responsibilities
and meets on three continents.
In 2015, Diageo, Unilever, SAP, McDonald’s,
Grupo Bimbo and VISA opened their doors to
WFA members in London, Singapore, Mexico
City and Miami.
The group’s agenda is based on its members’
priority issues and turns to the network’s col-
lective experience and wisdom for solutions,
whether through physical forums, virtual
meetings, benchmarks or one-to-one con-
nections.
Challenges tackled by the group in 2015 in-
cluded how to optimise content generation,
dissemination and ownership, how to better
understand and map the customer journey,
what kind of connections planning frame-
work might work for your company and how
to effectively evolve agency collaboration
models to reflect the changing media and
consumer landscape.
2015 saw global ad markets rise by 4%, to
over $540 billion. Digital was the biggest
benefactor, particularly mobile. In the next
three years mobile is expected to contribute
87% of all new ad dollars to the market and
become the second biggest medium after
TV.
2015 marked the year that ad fraud stole the
headlines. WFA conducted a detailed study
on the challenges and held a bespoke session
in London. Latest reports suggest $1 in every
$3 spent on digital media is fraudulent. Many
suggest the figures are higher still.
78% of MEDIAFORUM members agree that
the structures and systems in place in the
digital ecosystem help perpetuate fraud.
Programmatic buying must be singled out:
greater automation amounts to more fraud.
Media agency models came under greater
scrutiny than ever: sessions held in India,
China and the UK closely considered which
agency model provides maximum integra-
tion, transparency and control.
Finally, 2015 will be remembered for when
transparency concerns reached tipping point
in the US. Our own Future of Media Agen-
cies panel in London, involving three agency
heads, looked to resolve some of the inher-
ent tensions between agencies and clients
and will be repeated in 2016.
CMOFORUM IMCFORUM MEDIAFORUM
MARKETING GROUPS
6

The digital economy has given rise to
Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Also
a growing number of companies riding on
the wings of the ‘sharing economy’ zeitgeist
like Airbnb and Uber. These companies’ life-
blood is digital. They are agile, innovative
and, by design, in tune with a connected
consumer.
Catering for the connected consumer is es-
sential for companies born before the digital
age. The DIGITALFORUM focuses heavily on
digital transformation; delivering a clearly
cascaded digital strategy and rallying dispa-
rate individuals and departments around the
world.
For many Chief Digital Officers, the starting
point is developing the digital capabilities of
local brand marketers. This has been a focus
of various sessions.
The meteoric growth of smartphone requires
the mastery of old channels such as search,
social and email and new ones, including
push and in-app.
Underpinning everything are the key en-
ablers, data and content: providing the right
message to the right person at the right time
– so-called ‘personalisation at scale’.
In 2015, we produced reports on Data-Driv-
en, Social Media and Search Marketing, of-
fering members opportunities to benchmark
and cut through some of the complexities.
To reflect the growing seniority and geo-
graphical reach of the community, it has
been rebranded the CDOFORUM and has
started to meet in Hong Kong.
In recent years much of the industry trade
press has lamented the encroachment of
procurement on marketing spend. Col-
umnists quote pained agency executives
burdened with yet another spreadsheet or
e-auction. Yet the function has risen inexo-
rably against the backdrop of a challenging
global financial landscape and pressurised
marketing budgets.
Much of the work of this 600-strong network
of sourcing professionals is focused on how
best to deliver value to marketing stakehold-
ers and the business as a whole.
How can sourcing best address an evolving
digital marketing supply base? How are re-
muneration models shifting towards perfor-
mance? How to calibrate the right soft versus
hard metrics in terms of procurement perfor-
mance?
In parallel, members have come to WFA for
help in understanding how best to deploy
and increase resources against the different
areas of marketing spend. The trend is in-
dicative of a maturing function looking to get
ever closer to owning all aspects of the finan-
cial relationship between client and agency.
In 2015 sessions have gone into detail on
mapping category strategies, focusing on ad
production, sponsorship and events.
Sessions in Shanghai and Singapore wit-
nessed record attendances, proof of the ap-
petite amongst the Asian sourcing commu-
nity to learn from their peers.
The INSIGHTFORUM was launched in 2014
and reflects a growing demand from WFA
members to optimise market research and
consumer intelligence capabilities.
In 2015, meetings and benchmarks focused
on how to effectively disseminate insights
internally, get senior marketing support and
deal with an ever-increasing and sometimes
overwhelming amount of consumer data.
The group met twice in 2015 and now counts
over 130 members as part of its network.
Hosted by Barclays and Brown-Forman, the
INSIGHTFORUM covered behavioural eco-
nomics, brand tracking and managing online
communities, as well as less commonly-used
research techniques, such as Implicit Asso-
ciation Tests (IAT) and eye-tracking.
Celebrating a century of market research
(the industry traces its roots back to 1916
when the Literary Digest ran the first na-
tional opinion poll among its readers), WFA
launched its own Future of Insights research
in partnership with BrainJuicer, a global mar-
ket research agency.
The research explores marketers’ perception
of the role of insights, common challenges in
working with practitioners and offers practi-
cal advice in terms of how marketers and in-
sights specialists might work together more
strategically for the benefit of their brands.
DIGITALFORUM SOURCINGFORUM INSIGHTFORUM
More at wfanet.org/AR2015
7

4
6
13
MARKETING GROUPS
WORLDWIDE MEETINGS
CMOFORUM
Cannes, 24 June
Singapore, 10 September
IMCFORUM
London, 23 April
Singapore, 6 May
Miami, 22 September
London, 7 October
Singapore, 21 October
MEDIAFORUM
London, 26 February
Mumbai, 30 April
Rome, 13 May
Shanghai, 10 June
New York, 22 October
London, 3 December
Amsterdam
Cannes
London
Miami
Mumbai
New York
Paris
Rome
Shanghai
Singapore
Zug
Marrakech
Mexico City
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
8

1
2 8
9
10
11
7
5
3
12
DIGITALFORUM
Paris, 19 February
Paris, 18 June
Singapore, 9 July
Amsterdam, 29 October
SOURCINGFORUM
Paris, 5 February
London, 20 May
Shanghai, 11 June
Zug, 24 September
Singapore, 22 October
New York, 9 December
INSIGHTFORUM
London, 7 May
London, 30 November
9

2015HIGHLIGHTS
MARKETINGGROUPS
CMOFORUM in Singapore.
1st Singapore now the city that
hosts the most meetings.
1stIMCFORUM in Miami
FUTUREOFMEDIAAGENCIESPANELINLONDON
First “Future of Media Agencies” panel discussion took place in London, involving WPP’s
Sir Martin Sorrel and Havas’ Yannick Bolloré, members of WFA’s Executive Committee,
the CMOFORUM and the chairmen of WFA’s marketing working groups.
NEW
RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES AND
CHALLENGES FOR
BRANDS IN AFRICA
In collaboration with Millward Brown and
national advertiser associations across
Africa, the research results highlighted
the key opportunities and challenges that
brands face in the region.
Facts&
figures
member-led meetings on
40+ four continents, including
5 remote forums
member representatives
700+attended meetings
100+global benchmarks
NEW
RESEARCH
“Future of Insights” research offers help
to research specialists who want to act
less like librarians and more like strategic
consultants.
10

CLOSE-UP Record attendances were registered for the SOURCINGFORUM sessions
in Shanghai and Singapore, proof of the appetite amongst the Asian
sourcing community to learn from their peers.
NEWREPORTS
Key reports on Data-Driven Marketing,
Social Media Marketing and Search
Marketing were produced.
72% of marketers see data-driven
marketing as very or critically important
for their organisations and 90% plan
to increase spend on analytics in the
next 12 months.
NEW
MARKETING
CHAIRMEN
MEDIAFORUM (China):
DAVID PORTER
North Asia Media Director
Unilever
DIGITALFORUM (APAC):
JAMSHED WADIA
Head of Digital Marketing & Media,
Asia Pacific and Japan
Intel Corporation
6peer-to-peer networks connecting
almost
3,000marketers:
• CMOFORUM
• IMCFORUM
• MEDIAFORUM
• DIGITALFORUM
• SOURCINGFORUM
• INSIGHTFORUM
11

STAFF STEPHAN LOERKE
Chief Executive Officer
Stephan manages the WFA secretariat, oversees all work carried out on behalf
of its members and is the WFA’s main spokesperson. He sits on all WFA public
affairs and marketing committees, as well as on the WFA Executive Committee.
Prior to joining WFA, Stephan worked at the United Nations in New York and
later in both marketing and management roles at L’Oréal. Combining French
and German nationalities, Stephan speaks French, German, English, Dutch and
Spanish.
CHRIS PAYNE
Public Affairs Manager
Chris leads WFA’s advocacy work
on digital advertising, managing the
Policy Action Group and the Digital
Governance Exchange. Previously,
he worked in public affairs roles at
CEMEX and General Electric and as
an adviser in the UK and European
Parliaments.
ADAM GAGEN
Director of
Legal & Public Affairs
Adam oversees WFA’s public affairs
and regulatory work. He previously
worked for Pernod Ricard in
Hong Kong and at the European
Commission. Educated in the UK
and US, he has lived in Brussels,
Shanghai, Taipei and Beijing.
ROBERT DREBLOW
Head of Marketing Capabilities
Robert leads the marketing commu-
nications team. His focus includes
championing member priorities,
keeping members updated on key
trends and overseeing WFA’s mar-
keting groups. He was previously an
Associate Director at MediaCom in
London and Toronto for eight years.
WILL GILROY
Director of Communications
Based in Singapore, Will oversees
all WFA communications, includ-
ing Project Reconnect, and public
affairs work relating to food mar-
keting. A graduate of Modern Lan-
guages from Oxford University, he
worked previously as a journalist in
UK, France and Spain.
MATT GREEN
Senior Manager, Global Media
& Global Digital Marketing
Matt delivers research, benchmark-
ing and consultancy services to
the WFA MEDIAFORUM and DIGI-
TALFORUM. A British national, he
previously worked as media agent
with MediaCom and as client lead
with various media management
consultancies.
STEVE LIGHTFOOT
Senior Manager, Global
Marketing Procurement
Steve leads the WFA’s SOURCING-
FORUM and INSIGHTFORUM. Prior
to joining WFA, Steve completed a
Master of Research in marketing at
the University of Leeds. Originally
from the UK, he speaks French and
English.
CLAIRE FRANCIS
Head of Membership
The WFA’s first-ever Head of
Membership, Claire is focused on
delivering greater added value
to WFA member organisations. A
British national, she has a decade of
membership services and industry
body experience. Claire is working
from both London and Brussels.
RANJI DAVID
Marketing Director - Asia
Based in Singapore, Ranji supports
WFA corporate members in Asia
by helping to build on the existing
working groups and nurture fully-
fledged regional CDO and CMO
groups. A Singaporean national,
Ranji previously worked in various
digital marketing roles at Samsung.
12

KARINE LESUISSE
Office Manager
A Belgian national, Karine has
been the first point of contact for
WFA members for many years.
She oversees the back office, the
everyday running of the secretariat,
personnel and finances and
works in tandem with Theresa on
administrative issues.
THERESA RUESS
Member Relations &
Event Coordinator
Theresa supports Karine in running
the office and is in charge of the
logistics for all WFA meetings and
events, including the WFA Global
Marketer Week. A German national,
Theresa speaks German, Dutch,
English and French.
LAURA BAEYENS
Communications Intern
Laura supports the team in
implementing WFA’s internal and
external communications plan. Born
in Belgium, she holds a Master’s
Degree in New Media and lived in
the Philippines for two decades. She
speaks English, Filipino and Dutch.
MARTIN MYCIELSKI
Database Manager
Martin started his career in Poland
in politics and then managed his
own company, before moving to
Brussels to work at the European
Parliament. He holds a joint
Master’s Degree in Diplomatic and
Business Protocol, Foreign Relations
and Event Organisation.
PAOLA DE LA BAUME
Public Affairs Manager
Paola works on WFA’s advocacy
work on alcohol-related issues.
Prior to joining WFA, she was
a parliamentary assistant and
campaign chief for a member of the
French National Assembly. A French
national, Paola graduated from
Science Po in Paris.
CAMELIA CRISTACHE
Communications Manager
A Romanian national, Camelia
works on WFA’s communications
and manages the WFA network of
national advertiser associations.
She has previously worked on the
consultancy side in Bucharest and
Brussels and as Communications
Adviser in the European Parliament.
NATALIA ECHEVERRI
Knowledge Manager
Natalia is focused on delivering
remote knowledge exchange to
WFA members. Before joining WFA,
she worked at MillwardBrown in
Colombia and at Henkel in Germany.
A Colombian national, she initially
moved to Europe for a Master’s
Degree in International Marketing.
ANY UNG
Marketing
Communications Manager
Any leads the IMCFORUM and
helps manage the CMOFORUM and
events, including Global Marketer
Week. A French national of Chinese
origin, she worked on the agency
side in Paris for five years before
joining WFA.
13

2015 continued to see marketing to children grab the headlines.
Particular focus has been on food marketing where restrictions
have been tabled from Brazil and Russia to UK and Taiwan.
With the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA), WFA has
designed and implemented self-regulatory alternatives to dispropor-
tionate statutory controls. Work is under way in Brazil, India, Colom-
bia, Brazil, South Africa and many other countries; but much remains
to be done to demonstrate the credibility of our efforts.
Children’s fast-changing media consumption habits have played
backdrop to a host of regulatory discussions, including the EU Data
Protection Regulation and the beginning of the revision of the EU
Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS), which will be a focus
for NGOs looking to promote EU-wide restrictions on marketing to
children in 2016.
The ongoing food marketing debate combined with a rapid shift in
children’s media habits has led to increased scrutiny from a growing
number of important stakeholders. Engagement with WHO remains
as strong as ever, OECD continues to look for cost-effective measures
to tackle childhood obesity while UNICEF has entered the fray with
the intention of developing a framework for children’s rights for mar-
keting in 2016.
Industry will need robust global policies that are effectively imple-
mented locally. Answers will be needed to some of the tough ques-
tions around digital. Education will remain key; both internally and
externally. The WFA Marketing to Children Road Test aims to help
marketers be better aware of their responsibilities while Media
Smart continues to play an invaluable role in improving young peo-
ple’s media literacy skills.
2015 was punctuated by the rise in an existential threat to the
advertising ecosystem, global policy challenges and a landmark
acknowledgment from APEC leaders about the role and value of
advertising and industry self-regulation.
The rise in ad blocking continues at double digit growth globally. The
Policy Action Group has embraced this challenge as an opportunity
to revisit how marketers communicate with partners in the ecosys-
tem and ultimately with consumers.
A Digital Single Market Strategy was launched to maximise the po-
tential of the European digital economy. The Commission’s Better
Regulation Agenda seeks to optimise European regulation and holds
the keys to a potentially enhanced recognition for the role for self-
and co-regulation in the digital environment.
Broad agreement was reached on the General Data Protection Regu-
lation, which will have a substantial impact on how marketers can
collect and use EU citizen’s data. Strong engagement has borne fruit
but two more years of interpretation and implementation will deter-
mine how the new rules work in practice.
The revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the EU-wide
law governing TV and online TV advertising will prove a battleground
in 2016. Industry will need to make a robust case against efforts to
introduce regulation on food and alcohol marketing and marketing
to children.
WFA continues to promote the role of responsible advertising stan-
dards through the Commission’s Community of Practice and the Eu-
ropean Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA), the self-regulatory pro-
gramme for online behavioural advertising.
Notably, working with APEC has helped result in its 21 Heads of State
adopting an Action Agenda to promote the alignment of advertising
standards and reduce the cost of doing business across APEC, a re-
gion representing 54% of the world’s GDP and 44% of its trade.
RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING AND
CHILDREN PROGRAMME
POLICY ACTION GROUP
public affairs GROUPS
14

Good digital governance is increasingly being recognised as a key
enabler of progress, allowing companies to embrace technologies
more rapidly and innovate with greater confidence.
This is particularly true in light of rapid digital innovation and the in-
ability of traditional legislation to keep apace. In such uncharted envi-
ronments, brands derive great value from being able to exchange risk
mitigation practices with peers on issues such as data management
and IP challenges in relation to crowdsourcing content.
Three trends in particular have emerged from the DGX in 2015.
Consumer vs compliance: the inability of legislation to keep up with
technology can result in situations where brands are legally compli-
ant but misaligned with consumer expectations. Discussions around
how brands can effectively secure sustainable data flows have re-
peatedly highlighted the need to look beyond compliance in order to
strengthen relationships with consumers.
Control vs creativity: the number of risks presented by the online
ecosystem has led many brands to implement consistent and robust
governance standards across their operations. However, these stand-
ards must have sufficient flexibility to allow marketers the freedom
to remain creative and dynamic. Strategies relating to digital security
and copy approval processes have demonstrated the need to balance
risk with commercial considerations.
Commands vs compromises: it is increasingly important for differ-
ent functions, such as legal, marketing, consumer relations, IT and
procurement, to work collaboratively in the area of governance. Not
only does it ensure that governance solutions take into account the
priorities of each function, but it also ensures that each are account-
able and that solutions are implemented consistently across the
board. Commands are often received reluctantly while compromises
are more readily embraced.
In June, the Responsible Marketing Pact, WFA’s flagship programme
on responsible alcohol marketing, officially came into effect. The
eight global leaders in the beer, wine and spirits sectors were given
a one year transition period to meet the new standards. Members’
compliance will be monitored for the first time and published on a
dedicated platform in 2016.
As part of WFA’s collaboration with the International Alliance for
Responsible Drinking (IARD), the very first monitoring of the alcohol
producers’ commitments to reduce harmful drinking was launched
in Africa.
The so-called 70/30 rule, whereby alcohol beverage marketing com-
munications may only be placed in media where the audience is ex-
pected to be composed of at least 70% of people above the legal
purchase age, was assessed in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
WFA has also started working with IARD and media partners on the
development of new methodologies to assess the implementation of
the 70/30 rule online, as well as on the forthcoming monitoring of
the Digital Guiding Principles, a global set of guidelines for respon-
sible alcohol marketing in digital media, launched by IARD and WFA
in 2014.
The revision in 2016 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive
(AVMS), the EU-wide regulation governing TV and online TV broad-
casting, promises renewed efforts by activists to restrict alcohol mar-
keting in Europe. The success of the Responsible Marketing Pact will
be critical to making the case for effective industry standards.
Finally, the WFA represents producers’ interests in the European
Alcohol and Health Forum, the EU’s platform for alcohol policy, which
brings together a variety of stakeholders to develop an EU-wide
strategy to fight alcohol-related harm.
DIGITAL GOVERNANCE EXCHANGE ALCOHOL MARKETING
More at wfanet.org/AR2015
15

RESPONSIBLE
MARKETINGPACT
Responsible Marketing Pact launched
in June. The eight global leaders in the
beer, wine and spirits sectors were given
a one year transition period to meet the
new standards.
MEDIASMARTWORLD
WFA helps champion media literacy
through the set-up of Media Smart
World. Over 5 million children have now
been taught using world class materials
in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Sweden and the UK
ALCOHOLCOMPLIANCE
MONITORING
Industry commitments monitored
in Africa in collaboration with the
International Alliance for Responsible
Drinking (IARD).
2015HIGHLIGHTS
PUBLICAFFAIRS
GROUPS
ADSTANDARDS
INAPEC
21 APEC Heads of State endorse WFA’s
vision for ad self-regulation. Countries of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
represent 60% global ad spend.
ADBLOCKING
WFA takes lead in cross-industry
response to ad blocking.
30+member-led
meetings
Engagement with WHO, OECD,
UNICEF, European Institutions4WFA working groups
connecting 1,000+ legal,
public affairs and privacy professionals
Local engagement in more than 30 markets to develop industry programmes faced with potential statutory controls.
16

ENHANCED
TRANSPARENCYAND
CHOICEFORCONSUMERS
Increased pick-up of OBA icon across
Europe offering transparency and choice
for online consumers.
INTERNATIONAL
FOODANDBEVERAGE
ALLIANCE
WFA draws up new IFBA global policy on
marketing to children; engages WHO,
UNICEF, OECD in making the case for
effective food marketing self-regulation,
launches local IFBA coalitions in Brazil,
Colombia, GCC, India and South Africa.
EUPLEDGE
EU Pledge implements common
nutrition criteria, announces coverage of
more media and marketing techniques.
DATA
PROTECTION
The EU Data Protection Regulation
was adopted. Much to do to see
how it affects brands in practice.
MARKETINGTOCHILDRENROADTEST
Helping marketers get it right on the sensitive issues around marketing to children: an
e-learning tool with modules on marketing to children, food marketing, toy marketing
and digital marketing to children.
17

Global Marketer Week 2015
Marrakech
The showpiece event, the Global Marketer
Conference, featured a stellar line up of
speakers. Connie Kalcher, VP Marketing &
Consumer Experiences at LEGO shared her
company’s fascinating 8-step turnaround
plan from near-bankruptcy, David Wheldon,
CMO Barclays, shared his learnings from
rebuilding trust in the brand post the Libor
scandal while Achieng Butler, SVP for Mobile
Commerce at Airtel, explained how mobile
money was completely reshaping Africa’s
consumer marketplace.
Mofilms’ David Alberts talked about how
current agency models no longer meet
clients’ creative needs, AKQA CEO, Ajaz
Ahmed offered a five point plan for brand
success focusing on how the difficult is
always displaced by the simple when it
comes to digital platforms and CEO of iconic
local brand, Aïcha, Martochee Devico, told
the emotive story of how the brand was
built on strong local values, “a Moroccan
brand with Moroccan values, that stood for
quality.”
WFA also held an African Accelerator
session to offer marketers insights into
how to succeed in such a large and diverse
number of markets. Camile Said-Eddine,
founder of MOOR”S Surfboards, David
Somers, CEO Pan-Africa IPSOS and Kachi
Onubogu Executive Director at Promasidor
offered their perspectives while WFA
released ground-breaking research based on
responses from senior African marketers on
why some global brands are falling short on
insights, knowledge and aspiration.
While Aïcha, Promasidor and MOOR”S
represented Moroccan branding’s past
and present, a joint presentation from four
of the nation’s top marketing students
– Madih Mounia, Debbar Houda, Chafai
Abderrahmane and Binebine Mohammed
Reda, who study at the Institut des Hautes
Etudes de Management (HEM) offered some
clues to the future of the nation’s ad industry
with their own views in terms of what makes
successful brand marketing in Morocco (see
overleaf).
The Global Marketer Week also played
host to internal meetings including the
Executive Committee meeting, the Annual
General Meeting at which David Wheldon,
then CMO at Barclays and now CMO at
RBS, was appointed WFA President and the
National Associations Council (NAC), which
focused on membership growth strategies
with insight-driven sessions led by heads of
the Australian, Belgian, British and Swedish
associations.
The gala dinner gave outgoing President, for-
mer CMO Pernod Ricard, Martin Riley, the
opportunity to congratulate those national
associations which had shown outstanding
leadership in advancing the cause of market-
ing in their respective countries. The Presi-
dents Awards 2015 winners were from Aus-
tralia, China, Finland, Pakistan and Sweden.
Marrakech was the venue for Global
Marketer Week 2015. Co-hosted with
the Moroccan Association of Advertisers
(GAM) from the 16th
to 20th
of March,
GMW2015 brought together global
marketing leaders from over 30 countries,
including many of the world’s biggest
brands. Significantly, it was the first time
the WFA Global Marketer Week was held
in Africa.
Achieng Butler
Ajaz Ahmed
18

Conny Kalcher David WheldonDavid Alberts
Mardochee Devico African AcceleratorToby Shapshak
19

PROJECT RECONNECT
MARRAKECH, SINGAPORE
Project Reconnect is WFA’s effort to develop
a better understanding of what people
want and expect from brands. This requires
listening, dialogue and change.
Building on research already conducted with
We Are Social on what makes for great brand
marketing in the digital age which identified
the New 4Ps of Marketing (People, purpose,
principles and participation), WFA looked at
the flip side of the coin: what turns people
off ads.
The 7 Deadly Sins of Marketing were
presented in Marrakech as part of the Global
Marketer Week by Jon Wilkins, Executive
Chairman of Karmarama, with a panel of
industry experts and Moroccan students
offering their views on where marketers get
it right and wrong.
In June in Singapore, a session was led
by Marc Mathieu, now CMO Samsung
Electronics North America, and David
Wheldon, CMO RBS, alongside our partners
at Contagious.
They and the audience asked themselves:
what are the core components of great
brand marketing in the digital age? How
do you make the business case for change
and sell new ideas internally? How do you
demonstrate the ROI on ‘purpose’ and
delivering meaningful and valued brand
experiences?
In an age defined by ultra-connectivity,
transparency, and where standing out
from the crowd is harder than ever, brands
need to adapt. Increasingly aspirational
and demanding consumers expect brands
to stand for something more, provide
experiences and address the world’s
problems.
Project Reconnect seeks to inspire marketers
with great brand stories, strategies and
executions, identify why they succeed and
deliver actionable insight that marketers can
transfer into their day jobs and skillsets.
More at www.project-reconnect.com
WFA will never defend advertising for
the sake of it. Sometimes marketers can
get it wrong. Ads can be annoying, even
intrusive. Whether we like it or not,
advertising is blamed by some for many
of society’s most intractable problems,
be they privacy issues online, childhood
obesity, alcohol misuse or financial debt.
Jon Wilkins
20

latin american regionAl meeting 2015
mexico city
Mexico City played host to WFA’s 13th
Annual
Latin American Regional Meeting on June
16-17. Representatives from WFA’s national
advertiser associations from Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay,
Peru and Uruguay sat together with senior
corporate members from companies with
activities in the region to address brand
owners’ priority issues in relation to
marketing.
The public affairs presentations and
discussions at the forum focused on issues
relating to responsible food marketing,
marketing to children, alcohol marketing
and digital governance, while the
marketing sessions centred around digital
transformation globally and in the region,
integration and agency collaboration, as
well as maximising the impact of digital
content, with case studies from corporate
members, as well as specialised agencies
such as Unruly. A focus was also given over
to marketing in the connected age and the
latest trends in digital.
The two-day event was chaired by the WFA
Vice-President for Latin America and Grupo
Bimbo’s Senior Vice-President of Marketing,
Javier Medrano. The 2016 meetings will be
co-hosted together with the Colombian
Advertiser Association (ANDA Colombia) in
Cartagena in September.
21

Financial Statement 2015(ALL FIGURES IN EURO)
BUDGET 2015 REALISED 2015
INCOME 3,346,479.00 3,605,997.00
Revenues from associations 410,000.00 418,450.00
Revenues from corporate members 2,000,000.00 2,108,294.00
New members 75,000.00 150,034.00
Revenues from RMP 246,479.00 246,479.00
Revenues from IARD 230,000.00 230,000.00
Revenues from IFBA 275,000.00 275,000.00
Revenues from SR APEC Project 0.00 0.00
Revenues Sponsorship Conference 40,000.00 23,000.00
Strategic Partners 50,000.00 75,000.00
Revenues Marketing Road Test 0.00 41,450.00
Other revenues 5,000.00 7,700.00
Discount (early payment) -5,000.00 -1,369.00
Financial profit 20,000.00 31,959.00
EXPENSES 3,344,964.00 3,603,198.00
Personnel & consultants 2,125,000.00 2,247,029.00
Operating costs 906,000.00 929,976.00
Conference & General Assembly 115,000.00 130,388.00
RMP Costs 126,479.00 56,628.00
Provision RMP Deferred Invoices 0.00 69,852.00
Costs SR APEC Project 0.00 23,665.00
Provision for recruitment plan 75,000.00 0.00
Costs Marketing Road Test 0.00 42,056.00
Provision Costs Marketing Road Test 0.00 -606.00
Provision Strategic Projects 0.00 115,000.00
Reinstatement Provision for Rent Compensation -2,515.00 -10,790.00
TOTAL REVENUES 3,346,479.00 3,605,997.00
TOTAL EXPENSES 3,344,964.00 3,603,198.00
FINAL RESULT 1,515.00 2,799.00
22

Auditor’s Report
Registered Auditor’s Report for the year ended
December 31, 2015 to the Board of Directors
of the World Federation of Advertisers
We report to you in the context of our appointment as the association’s registered auditor. This report includes our opinion on
the financial statements, as well as the required additional statements. The financial statements include the balance sheet as at
December 31, 2015 and the income statement for the year then ended.
Report on the financial statements - Unqualified opinion
We have audited the financial statements of the World Federation of Advertisers for the year ended December 31, 2015, which show
a balance sheet total of € 4,697,564 and a profit for the year of € 2,799.
Responsibility of the Board of Directors for the preparation of the financial statements
The Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of financial statements that give a true and fair view in accordance with the
financial reporting framework applicable in Belgium, and for such internal control, as the Board of Directors determines, is necessary
to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Responsibility of the registered auditor
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance
with the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Those standards require that we comply with the ethical requirements and plan
and perform the control to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.
The procedures selected depend on the registered auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement
of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the registered auditor considers the
association’s internal control relevant to the preparation of financial statements that give a true and fair view, in order to design
control procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness
of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of valuation rules used and the reasonableness
of accounting estimates made by the Board of Directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.
We have obtained from the Board of Directors and association officials the explanations and information necessary for our audit.
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Unqualified opinion
In our opinion, the financial statements of the World Federation of Advertisers give a true and fair view of the association’s equity
and financial position as at December, 31, 2015, and of the results of its operations for the year then ended, in accordance with the
financial reporting framework applicable in Belgium.
Brussels, February 15, 2016
Michel WEBER
Réviseur d’entreprises
23

MARKETING & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
CONTACTS ENGAGED
OVER
5,500
500 MARKETERS
AT THE FIRST
MARKETER WEEK
IN AFRICA
GREATER ADDED VALUE for members
3 NEW STAFF, INCLUDING WFA’S FIRST-EVER HEAD OF MEMBERSHIP AND A MARKETING DIRECTOR FOR ASIA
9 NATIONALITIES, 12 LANGUAGES SPOKEN Soo-uh Sdaai!Hello! Hallo! Bună!¡Hola!Dag!Bonjour! Hujambo!Dzień dobry! Kamusta! Nín hǎo!Ciao!
France UK Morocco Ind
iaSingaporeItalyChinaMexicoUSASwitzerlandTheNet
herlandsIrelandRussiaSpainMalaysiaRomaniaLuxembou
rgTurkeyGermanyBrazilLatviaVietnamPhilippinesThail
and UAE South Africa
MEETINGS
IN OVER
30 COUNTRIES
80WFA MEETINGS
AVERAGE
MEETING
ATTENDANCE
IMCFORUM IN MIAMI
CMOFORUM IN ASIA
2 FIRSTS
IN CORPORATE
MEMBERSHIP TO
82 COMPANIES
15% GROWTH
USEDBY73%OFMEMBERS
BENCHMARKS
PERFORMED
OVER
100
16 INDUSTRIES
WFA WORKED WITH
2015IN NUMBERS
24

WFA - World Federation of Advertisers
London • Brussels • Singapore
wfanet.org info@wfanet.org +32 2 502 57 40
@wfamarketers youtube.com/wfamarketers linkedin.com/company/wfa