Major Australian pitch consultancy TrinityP3 will from today require agencies wanting to be considered for a pitch to declare their processes on workplace bullying, harassment and assault.
Industry players have been asked for comment. However, some question a pitch consultancy setting up as some form of authority to sign off on policy.
Darren Woolley, TrintyP3 CEO, had been talking to industry bodies without going public since March but told AdNews they "dismissed our suggestions and concerns".
TrinityP3 argues the industry is trapped in collective inertia and by a culture of silence and that the consultancy "chooses no longer to be complicit".
In a LinkedIn post, TrinityP3 says: "Issues of harassment, bullying and even assault are sadly nothing new for the advertising industry. From today marketing management consultancy TrinityP3 will be asking all agencies who join one of their pitches to sign a statutory declaration.
"In the past year, we have become increasingly aware that issues related to workplace bullying, harassment and assault were still occurring in the advertising industry. Too often these issues are framed as historical, and that the industry was 'not as bad as it was'.
"But you only have to look at the stories and concerns that emerged at recent International Women’s Day events to realise the issues are still very apparent and directly affect this generation of adland employees.
"These issues that we whisper about are an endemic and ongoing problem. We discuss it over drinks, we console friends, colleagues, even family, who might have been impacted, but no one takes a stand.
"No one in power moves to force change.
"Our fear is that it might impact business. It gets rolled into the too-hard basket. But the reality is marketers and brands are left exposed by ignoring these issues. Afterall, who wants to deal with the backlash of choosing to work with an agency that allowed issues of bullying, harassment or worse to go on?
"Instead, we are weighed down by a collective inertia to an industry-wide culture of silence. And we are all made complicit.
"Well, TrinityP3 on behalf of its clients is taking a stand. From July 4, 2022, our consultancy will be requesting that any agency wanting to be considered for a pitch we are managing on behalf of our clients will need to complete a statutory declaration of their status and processes regarding workplace bullying, harassment and assault."
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