For responsible media practices

We are proudly joining the mouvement média d’ici.

For more information, we invite you to explore the manifesto below.

The issue.

Local media outlets are suffering. For the last few years, advertising investment has been redirected to global digital platforms, which deprives them of the revenue they need to continue to imagine, produce and distribute local content.

This then impacts the distribution of quality content that accurately reflects our culture, and hinders the transmission of essential content that informs and fuels our democratic society.

Several movements have been launched to promote buying local, which is critical to maintain jobs and stimulate the economy, and this manifesto is part of that. Let’s reaffirm the importance of investing in local media. Let’s rally as many players in our industry as we can behind this issue. Let’s work together to find practical solutions. Let’s prioritize local media—we’re in crisis mode. Let’s work together to make all media plans more responsible.

The goal.

Given the scale of this challenge, different solutions must be considered. Although government assistance (grants, tax credits, tax deductions, etc.) provides essential support in the short term, other long-term initiatives must quickly be introduced. We believe that one of the most promising solutions is for the Quebec communications industry to adopt local media plans that leverage the full spectrum of Quebec’s media ecosystem (television, radio, out-of-home, print, and digital media). Moving media budgets from traditional media to digital is not new. With an average of more than 50% of advertisers’ media budgets now devoted to digital, it’s striking to see that, according to the most recent data from IAB Canada, 86% of these digital placements are not made domestically. This migration to global platforms leaves only 14% within our local ecosystem. We must do everything in our power to change this by making better use of local media. The Quebec advertising industry aims to double the share of budgets attributed to local media in the next three years. That would mean more than $200 million per year injected into the Quebec ecosystem, a boost to the continued health of local media and content creation. This change is not only achievable, but would be beneficial due to the many unique advantages that come with keeping advertising dollars local. These outlets are rooted in the daily lives of our citizens—they are a source of culture, entertainment and quality information. They have a proven track record of achieving advertisers’ business objectives while remaining flexible. This shift would be a safe choice for brands and would create more jobs in the province.

The actions.

1. Join the movement. It all starts with this manifesto, a rallying cry and a clear position. Add it to your agenda for discussion with your agency, your clients and your media partners.

2. The agencies that are members of the A2C and the CDMQ have agreed to adapt their media planning and purchasing protocols to allocate a larger share of investments in local media. Their proposals will obviously take into account the realities of each advertiser and the distinctive parameters of each campaign, while continuing to prioritize business objectives.

3. A practical guide to responsible media is being developed to help media professionals promote this practice.

4. A Quebec Laboratory for Responsible Media will be created in order to discuss the challenges, learnings, tests and best practices in this area. This will take the form of a permanent panel of experts who will monitor the initiative’s progress and work towards a better measurement of responsible media.

5. The agencies will actively collaborate with Quebec media owners to support them in the evolution of their marketing practices to increase their competitiveness. They will also work with other ecosystem players to adapt and improve the technological infrastructure.

6. An educational component for advertisers and their marketing teams, including advice from senior managers and directors of various companies as well as key industry players, including producers and content marketers, will be developed to inform best practices for responsible media buying.

7. The A2C and CDMQ believe that the Quebec government has a leadership role to play in terms of supporting the local media ecosystem and encourage the government to maintain its current responsible media strategies by making “buy local (media)” an official policy.