Our collection of best practice documents and research materials provide insights and intelligence to support your marketing decisions.


ACA Publications

2021 Diversity & Representation Guide

Diversity & Representation

Guide to potential areas for bias in the creative process (2021)

This Guide tackles diversity and representation issues through the entire creative process, from defining the business and brand challenges to evaluation and analysis.

Advertising & Marketing Law in Canada

Advertising and Marketing Law in Canada

6th edition

This edition includes important updates on social media advertising practices, including influencers, as well as changes to online behavioural advertising.

Global Media Charter: Advertisers' principles for partnership in the digital media advertising ecosystem

Global Media Charter

This Charter identifies eight areas of the media ecosystem of greatest concern to advertisers and where opportunities lie to create a safer, more transparent and more consumer-friendly environment.

The Role Of The MarCom Dashboard

The Role Of The MarCom Dashboard

An Investigation Of Current Theory And Practice For Measuring The Results Of Marketing Communications (2012)

A guide to help marketers optimize their MarCom programs.

The Client Brief

The Client Brief

A Best Practices Guide To Briefing Communications Agencies (2006)

Step-by-step advice based on research with over 100 clients and more than 100 agencies.

2021 Diversity & Representation Guide

Diversity & Representation

Guide to potential areas for bias in the creative process (2021)

This Guide tackles diversity and representation issues through the entire creative process, from defining the business and brand challenges to evaluation and analysis.

ACA Studies

2021 Brandspark / ACA Advertisers & Marketers Survey: Investing for Post-Pandemic Brand Success

Canadian Advertisers and Marketers Survey

Investing for Post-Pandemic Brand Success (2021)

This survey covers the key trends and strategies of marketers and advertisers in the second year of the pandemic, and their outlook for the future.

Sustainability & Marketing - Report Results: Canada | April 2021

Marketing and Sustainability: Closing the Gaps

(2021)

This global study, with Canada-specific results, examines the state of sustainability agendas within organizations and the role of the marketing function in relation to those agendas.

The Bottom Line On Bot Fraud

The Bottom Line On Bot Fraud

A Canadian Study Into Invalid Traffic (2017)

This report covers the breadth and depth of invalid traffic through ad fraud in Canada and provides guidance on how marketers can protect themselves against this type of fraud.

Programmatic: Seeing Through The Financial Fog

Programmatic: Seeing Through The Financial Fog

An In-Market Analysis Of Programmatic Media At The Transaction Level (2017)

This study presents a data-drive fact base around the economics of programmatic media trading and suggest steps to help all marketers take greater control of their programmatic investments.

The Canadian Leading Marketers Survey

The Canadian Leading Marketers Survey

Report (2016)

In an effort to better understand how marketers are focusing their budgets amid an evolving media landscape, the ACA and Nielsen conducted the Canadian Leading Marketer’s survey between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.

March 2012, Volume 1, No. 1 cover

Marketer’s Pulse

(2012 – 2015)

These reports contains results of what Canadian marketers are thinking, planning and experiencing at their workplaces, and with their suppliers and consumers. Thank you to the panelists who agreed to provide their perspectives and insights.

National Salary Survey Report cover

National Salary Survey Report

Report (2013)

A national level report on salary band and company-wide benefits of marketing services related job positions across six main sectors: Traditional Advertising Agencies; Digital and Online Agencies; Media Companies: Publishers & Broadcasters; Client Advertisers and Marketers; Market Research; and Public Relations and Public Affairs.

Marketing Communications Expenditure Survey cover

Marketing Communications Expenditure Survey

Summary report (2012)

This study’s purposes are to provide insight into the current use of media and other MarCom channels, and to identify areas where media and other MarCom channels are changing within budgets and will continue to change in the near future.

2021 Brandspark / ACA Advertisers & Marketers Survey: Investing for Post-Pandemic Brand Success

Canadian Advertisers and Marketers Survey

Investing for Post-Pandemic Brand Success (2021)

This survey covers the key trends and strategies of marketers and advertisers in the second year of the pandemic, and their outlook for the future.

Contracts

ACTRA Agreement cover

ACTRA Agreement

(2017-2021)

The current three-year contract covers such areas as Compensation for Use and Reuse, Talent Cycles, Work Permits, Casting and Auditions, Definitions, Rates and Working Conditions.

Industry Studies

Power of TV report Think TV feature image

Power of TV report

The latest edition of the ThinkTV’s Power of TV report provides an in-depth analysis of TV usage and its unmatched effectiveness. Discover why consumers find TV ads to be the most memorable, trustworthy, and influential, and how TV boosts digital sales ROI by 19%.

ad nation 2023 research Think TV

Ad Nation 2023 research

ThinkTV's latest Ad Nation research reveals a fascinating insight: Marketers are anything but normal. Their media consumption patterns diverge significantly from those of the average Canadian, shaping widespread misconceptions about media habits.

The Seven Challenges for Retail Media in 2024

This document, written by Colin Lewis, outlines seven challenges for retail media in 2024. It presents ideas with nuance to help shed some light on Retail Media that are meant to be both thought provoking and help the reader stay ahead of the curve.

WFA’s Creating a global culture of Marketing Effectiveness (North American Report)

WFA’s Creating a global culture of Marketing Effectiveness (North American Report) The Canada/US results of the WFA’s Creating a Global Culture of Marketing Effectiveness report are now available to you. Based on a survey of over 300 marketers (and with inputs from 21 national advertiser associations, including the ACA), the report is the best place […]

Rogers Sports & Media Full Stream Ahead Report '23

Full Stream Ahead Report ’23

Rogers Sports & Media Full Stream Ahead Report ’23 The Full Stream 2023 report dives into the latest streaming behaviours of Canadians – a truly complex audience. You can watch the stream here or download the report and read about the top trends; The state of streaming in Canada The various profiles of Canadian video […]

WFA’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 (North American Report)

WFA’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 (North American Report) The results of the WFA’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 survey are now available to you. The North American Report contains critical information on setting the sustainability context, progress on the sustainability journey, sustainability performance across marketing levers, and more.  

Leadership in a Changing World

Leadership plays a critical role in navigating the current economic landscape, which is marked by unprecedented challenges.

Sustainable Marketing 2030

Sustainable Marketing 2030: A Sustainable Growth Framework for Marketing The key to sustainable marketing lies in advocating for and adopting circular principles in every aspect of the discipline. Based on the findings of this study, the circular marketing growth framework is designed to reimagine marketing’s role within the business and in society, to help make […]

Empathy Inflation Report

Empathy Inflation Report 2023

Canadians and Inflation: The current inflation cycle will hurt the most vulnerable Canadians the most. And not just because of economic disadvantage. Psychological factors play a part as well.

Outlook 2023 web image

Outlook 2023

The WFA has just concluded data collection for media cost inflation forecasts.

These results document media cost inflation/deflation trends for 2022 (Forecasts) and 2023 (Forecasts).

MRC Outcomes & Data Quality Standards

This document represents the Media Rating Council’s (MRC’s) effort to set standards for data quality and attribution of outcomes (Outcomes referred to generally throughout this document) to ad exposure and engagement as part of its ongoing effort to develop standards for media and advertising measurement.

WFA Report | The State of Global Media Industry Talent | Image of Cover Page

WFA Report | The State of Global Media Industry Talent

This joint WFA and MediaSense study examining global media talent was launched in May 2022 on the back of the Media2025 research which revealed how 56% of brands felt that a skills shortage was holding the industry back.

Outlook 2022

Outlook 2022

We have just concluded data collection for WFA’s media cost inflation report.

These results document media cost inflation/deflation trends for 2021 (Actuals), 2022 (Forecasts) and in the case of US TV, 2023 (Forecasts).

Media Inflation 2022 Annual Forecast for Canada

For several years, Forde & Semple Mediaworks has conducted an inflation survey across the top media agencies in Canada to provide an industry forecast view of media inflation for the upcoming year. This effort, along with our industry-leading media auditing service, is geared to helping advertisers to understand how their media activity is impacted by evolving changes in the media marketplace.

WARC Marketer’s Toolkit 2022

(2021)

This toolkit is a series of 6 reports focused on specific strategy and planning components marketers can use to successfully navigate the 2022 year.

Media Rating Council Brand Safety Guidelines

MRC Brand Safety Reference Guide

Key Questions to Ask Suppliers and Vendors (2020)

This two-page reference document developed by the Media Rating Council outlines ten questions advertisers should ask their suppliers and vendors to maximize brand safety.

Ad Complaints and Disputes Report 2019 cover

Ad Complaints Report

Ad Standards (2020)

Ad Standards releases a report compiling case summaries of consumer complaints about advertising that were recently upheld by Standards Councils (Councils) in 2019.

Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study 2019

Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study

The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS) provides the most comprehensive information on the scope, scale and trends of Canada’s sponsorship industry, including industry size, spending by sector, activation trends, evaluation practices, strategic priorities and future outlook.

2018-2019 Bot Baseline Fraud in Digital Advertising by ANA and White Ops

White Ops & ANA 2018-2019 Bot Baseline Report

White Ops & ANA (2019)

White Ops and the ANA have teamed up to create the Bot Baseline Report, a study of the prevalence of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) at some of the world’s biggest brands.

WARC Brand Purpose Report 2017 cover

WARC Brand Purpose Report

(2017)

The Brand Purpose Report analyses trends in brand purpose strategy, including tips for more effective purpose and lessons from the winners of the Brand Purpose category of the 2017 WARC Awards.

The Value of Advertising cover

Value of Advertising

Report (2017)

This report by World Federation of Advertisers isolates the economic and social contribution of advertising and highlights its ability to drive economic growth.

CMDC Media Digest cover

CMDC Media Digest

A Definitive Source For The Media Marketplace (2017)

CMDC’s 2016/17 Media Digest is a one-stop shop for media information.

Power of TV report Think TV feature image

Power of TV report

The latest edition of the ThinkTV’s Power of TV report provides an in-depth analysis of TV usage and its unmatched effectiveness. Discover why consumers find TV ads to be the most memorable, trustworthy, and influential, and how TV boosts digital sales ROI by 19%.

Both your insights and the documentation the ACA provides are valuable to driving forward decisions. Your documents, books and guides are always strong resources, and we always appreciate the time you make to talk through a consideration/hurdle.

Natalie Prychitko, former Director Lottery Services – OLG