The meeting followed the state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, during which Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and its Russian counterpart signed a business co-operation agreement between Russian Federation and South African business communities. The agreement is to facilitate and promote business prospects between the two countries.
The relatively young Russian advertising industry is government-controlled, "whereas ours is a self-regulated industry and so we believe that our learnings would be invaluable to them hopefully. We will be able to assist with the growth of their sector and subsequently that would benefit our economy also," says Nzalo. The week-long visit is designed to provide the Academy with insights on the SA advertising landscape, the role of media and the sector's contribution towards the economy.
"We are very supportive of our Russian counterparts and believe that the advertising industry is an intergral part of the economy. The industry contributes over R22 billion towards South Africa's GDP, which makes us a significant player within the economy," adds Nzalo.
She says the ACA has many lessons to share, learnt over the 35 years the association had been in existence. From just 36 advertising agency members when launched, the association now represents more than 100 agencies active in advertising and its related businesses. These companies employ over 3000 professionals.
The Russian team will also visit Brazil and India in order to understand how their industries are modelled.
