START A CHAPTER


The IAA encourages the establishing of new Chapters, because they strengthen the position of the marketing communications business in the market place and increase the momentum to carry out the mission of the Association. Every situation is different, but most often the push to form a new Chapter comes from one or two people in a city or country, who see a need (the IAA refers to such individuals as ‘Champions’). That need could be a number of things, including a requirement to resolve professional and regulatory issues or networking with other professionals in the industry to share best practice. The first advantage of forming an IAA Chapter is the fact that the IAA is a partnership, supported by the broad membership of advertisers, advertising agencies, the media and related services and educators and students. It is broad-based and can therefore speak for the marketing communications industry as a whole. The second advantage is that the IAA is a global partnership enabling the Chapter to instantly become a part of the IAA's international network. This means that within its own country, the Chapter is not only a national institution, but also represents a global perspective and a global resource. This lends added weight and effectiveness to advocacy with government and authorities.


The Basics

The first requirement is 15 IAA members in good standing who agree to the desirability of forming a Chapter. If the membership in your area is less than 15 you should first recruit additional members with a legitimate interest in the communications field related to advertising and marketing. Prospects should be committed to brand building, and value commercial communications as vital to the success of their business and can be recruited from all sectors of the communications field including advertisers, advertising agencies, media companies, corporate communications, marketing research companies, package/label design studios, sales promotion, public relations, interactive marketers and agencies or direct marketers. There should be balanced representation. Once a Chapter is well established and active, some additional members may be added from educational institutions or service companies associated with advertising, but it is recommended that this “other” member category be kept to a minimum and no more than 10% of members. The IAA Global Office will supply you with literature including the Chapter President Toolbox, application forms and Chapter Trademark Agreement. Names of IAA members in your area are shown in your Membership Directory and included on the IAA website. The Global Office can supply names of any additional members newly admitted.

Petition

Obtain the long hand signatures of 15 members on the petition form (request one from the Global Office. Your petition should be sent to the Global Office to be submitted to the IAA Board of Directors for approval at its next meeting. Your petition should be accompanied by a letter delineating the territory to be served by proposed Chapter, if it is not implicit in the name. The Chapter name may take the adjective form (e.g. Swiss, Japanese) or the noun form (New York, United Kingdom).

Organizational Meeting of Chapter

After notification of approval, you should hold an organization meeting, adopt By-Laws, elect officers, establish committees, establish a mission statement and set up a schedule of meeting and events. Some of these steps may be taken in anticipation of approval, if you wish to save time. The Global Office will furnish specimen By-Laws on request. These may be adapted to your needs and local legal requirements. Local laws, for example, may determine whether or not your Chapter can or should be locally incorporated. A draft of your proposed By-Laws must be sent to the Global Office for review, to ensure that they are in harmony with IAA By-Laws. They will then be submitted to the Board of Directors for final approval. Your By-Laws, of course, need not be in English, but a translation of the draft will be needed for review purposes.

Finances

The Chapter decides what funds are necessary for local operations. Local dues, in addition to each member’s international dues, may be levied in any amount agreed upon without consulting the Global Office. Further information on financing will be available to officers and directors after the Chapter is formed.

IAA Official Logo and Design System

To inquire/ to use the IAA logo, typeface and design system, please contact the IAA Global Office