How are national associations empowering advertisers through AI?

Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved into a cornerstone of innovation in advertising. Many national advertiser associations have taken a proactive role in shaping its adoption by brands.

By offering guidance, training, and ethical frameworks, they are ensuring that the opportunities offered by AI are harnessed responsibly and effectively. However, with 55% of marketers admitting to a lack of capabilities in AI and 49% acknowledging a general lack of maturity in this area, the need for leadership and structured support has never been clearer.

In recent WFA research, 55% of marketers admitted to a lack of capabilities in AI. Source: WFA

Beyond empowering their members, many associations are also adopting AI to enhance their own efficiency and effectiveness in day-to-day operations. By integrating advanced tools into their workflows, they are improving the value and services delivered to their members.

From enriched training programmes to the creation of ethical standards and collaborative frameworks, the following are some examples of how advertiser associations are helping members navigate this topic and, in doing so, setting a benchmark for innovation and responsibility.

UBA (Belgium)

UBA is empowering advertisers through an enriched AI training programme. Beyond key documents developed with local partners, such as the Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence & Communication and a new client-agency contract that incorporates AI usage, UBA is running regular trainings for advertisers.

The UBA AI Master Class programme will be extended this year, with more than 10 masterclasses scheduled for the first half of 2025, which will address essential topics across three key pillars: 1) Governance, regulation and ethics; 2) Productivity, efficiency and effectiveness; 3) Implementation, adoption and futureproofing.

UBA also applies these principles to internal operations, by identifying opportunities, training AI champions and ensuring the sustainable use of AI.

ADVAN (Nigeria)

Building on the belief that AI is a powerful tool, not a replacement for great marketing excellence, ADVAN has been creating awareness and sharing knowledge to guide marketers on their AI journey through training programmes. Looking ahead to 2025, the goal is to continue expanding these training initiatives and develop a set of responsible AI principles, tailored for Nigeria, and which align with the Nigerian government's National AI Strategy. The goal is that these will gain broad acceptance across the marketing and communications industry in the country.

ABA (Brazil)

In 2022, ABA established an Artificial Intelligence Working Group to foster good AI practices. Since then, it has launched a series of initiatives, including the 2023 ABA Guide to the Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Advertising, updated in 2024.

Besides hosting a vast series of events, ranging from webinars to lectures and working group meetings, all focused on AI, in 2024 ABA also published a book, AI in MKT: Law, Innovation and Technology of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing, and socialised a set of 10 key principles for the use of AI in marketing.

ANDA (Colombia)

ANDA’s Good Practices Guide for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Commercial Communication, developed with the support of brands and ad standards body, Autocontrol Colombia, is one of the first initiatives in Latin America to adopt a proactive approach to responsible AI in communication. The guide highlights the importance of human oversight in the creative process and ensures inclusion and diversity in AI-generated content.

These self-regulation guidelines contribute to ethical standards within the industry in the absence of a formal regulatory framework. The guide outlines six principles: human oversight, privacy, security, transparency, inclusion and responsibility, ensuring that AI use does not compromise consumer rights or the integrity of brands.

Union des Marques (France)

Union des Marques has been at the forefront of the AI transformation in France, focusing in 2024 on integrating AI to enhance both internal and external operations.

Externally, Union des Marques launched an initiative through which members share business cases in marketing, governance, regulatory insights and performance metrics.

Internally, Union des Marques deployed an advanced AI assistant, trained all staff and gathered feedback to assess its impact. This initiative delivered impressive results, with more than 50% of the team using AI daily and reporting improvements in efficiency.

In 2025, the association plans to link its CRM with an AI assistant to enable natural language responses and further customise its services for members.