How industry associations are supporting the ad industry and people of Ukraine

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the advertising industry has been finding ways to provide support and show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine, aside from stopping or suspending operations in Russia and cutting ties with Russian organisations. WFA highlights several initiatives by WFA national association members and industry partners which people and companies can support:

Supporting Ukrainian advertising professionals and creatives

The Marketing Communication Association (SAR) in Poland, with the support of several Polish, European and international associations including the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA), Cannes Lions and Effie Worldwide, launched AdAid.eu, a platform that connects advertising professionals and creatives from Ukraine with advertising and media agencies, production companies and brand owners in other European countries that have job vacancies. Companies can post their employment opportunities or look for talent on the platform. For more information, visit AdAid.eu or email contact@adaid.eu.

SAR and the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition (VRK), with the support of industry associations such as Marketing Finland and TULI in Estonia, created a new format for this year’s Ukrainian Creative Stories, an annual creative competition that is part of the Kyiv International Advertising Festival, to help raise funds for Ukrainian agencies to continue their operations.

Member agencies of EACA have been offering relocation and funding initiatives for displaced professionals. Cannes Lions have also created a creative talent directory and resource hub to offer assistance to members of the creative community in Ukraine and provide information to companies looking to help.

Providing a platform for the private and public sector to help Ukraine

Marketing Finland created a label for companies, organisations, communities and government entities in Finland to show their support for Ukraine and encourage others to help. The label is accompanied by a website which features relevant updates, resources and tips on how people and companies can help. For more information, contact Marketing Finland.

The Estonian Marketing Association (TULI) created a design toolkit to help companies and grocers in Estonia that sell Ukrainian products or products with proceeds that go towards helping Ukrainians to better communicate about their support of Ukraine and encourage consumers to help. For more information, contact TULI.

Providing guidance on communicating responsibly on Russia-Ukraine war and combatting misinformation and disinformation

EACA released guidelines to help advertisers and agencies ensure brand safety in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It lays out how best to address misinformation and disinformation and includes best practices and specific actions when it comes to advertising responsibly in times of crisis.

Marketing Finland and influencer marketing agencies published guidance to help influencers and other entities in Finland and beyond communicate responsibly and avoid spreading disinformation about the Russia-Ukraine war. Industry associations in Italy, Latvia and Portugal have also adapted and shared the guidance with their members and the local industry.

Using creativity and NFTs to help raise funds for Ukrainian families

The Slovenian Advertising Chamber (SOZ) launched a creative competition and invited ad agencies and creatives in Slovenia to create positive and inspiring works that encourage solidarity with Ukraine. The winning works were converted into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the public could select and receive a copy of the works as NFTs when they donate through this website. 100% of the funds raised will be donated in the form of food packages to Ukrainian families who have taken refuge in Slovenia. For more information, contact SOZ.