It aims to provide a fast, affordable and flexible solution to disputes between advertisers and marketers. Parties who agree to its resolution will agree to a process that suits their dispute.
It offers three core services:
"Our current focus is on between company advertising disputes, where companies want a fast decision on a dispute about advertising content," says Schimmel.
Decision makers in this area are all well respected experts in this field, and the process can take the form of an arbitration (based on written submissions or with a hearing), mediation or conciliation. Parties can also choose to keep the outcome confidential, avoiding the media hype that sometimes accompanies these disputes.
"It's important to be clear that this is not an attempt to replace the ASA. The service is only going to work for matters involving two respectable companies who are prepared to respect an arbitration or mediation agreement."
Schimmel also points out that it will have a wider jurisdiction than the ASA. "Parties can agree to have multiple aspects of a dispute decided by the process and we will source an appropriate arbitrator. For example, if there is an overlap between a trademark and advertising issue, both disputes can now be resolved in one forum.
"Initial feedback to the idea has been extremely positive and we look forward to servicing this industry," she concludes.
