The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has recognised the the Association of New Zealand Advertisers (ANZA) for its work combatting online harm following the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attacks.
The awards were held online this year due to Covid-19, yet President and Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar gave the special award to the ANZA for its quick work following the live stream that was uplaoded to Facebook during the shootings.
On behalf of its member advertisers, ANZA, in conjunction with the Communications Council called on online platforms to reform their policies to ensure
“New Zealand advertisers began a call for change, that was immediately picked up globally, attracting massive international support”, said ANZA chief executive Lindsay Mouat.
“Our call was backed immediately by the WFA Executive and taken globally”. This has subsequently led to the establishment of the WFA-led Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)1, as well as the G20 summit in France. An industry-wide initiative launching solutions to improve digital harm was unveiled by GARM at Davos2
“This award is recognition of the moral response of the wider advertising industry in New Zealand”, said Mouat. “ANZA and the Comms Council took a strong leadership position, held the line, and kept pushing for the major social media channels to take action”
“It was a great example of the member organisations of both industry groups using their collective strength, to make this a global issue, and one that our government also took on. Recognition that despite the tragic circumstances, the human side of business does the right thing”.
