The International Advertising Association - Jordan Chapter (IAA Jordan) held on Thursday, October 30, its General Assembly meeting to discuss issues related to the Association.

The meeting, which was held at the Bristol Hotel, was attended by the board of directors and the Association's members.

In the meeting, IAA Jordan Chapter President Mr. Mustapha Tabba highlighted in a presentation major achievements accomplished by the Association during this year such as hosting direct marketing guru Mr. Andy Owen to give a one day Masterclass on secrets of direct marketing, and the effective participation of the Jordanian delegation in the 41st IAA World Congress held in Washington.

Furthermore, Tabba outlined the future plans for the IAA which include carry on organizing specialized training courses in advertising and marketing communications, organizing beneficial events that bring together the Association's members and practitioners of this industry.

The meeting also formed a vital platform for attendance to discuss the budget and approve the audit report for the fiscal year 2007-2008.

The IAA Kuwait chapter members elected a new board of directors; the announced names were as follows:

1.    Dr. Danial Younes Bolous – President
2.    Mr. Osama Abdullah – Vice President
3.    Mr. Louai Alasfahani – General Secretary
4.    Mr. Michel Barakat – Treasurer
5.    Mr. Bassam Ghorayeb – Member
6.    Mr. Saeed Zain-El-Din – Member
7.    Mr. Farid Saloom – Member

More than 90% of the current members of the IAA Kuwait Chapter attended the elections process which was conducted in a highly professional manner fuelled with the spirit of mutual cooperation and understanding as the previous board congratulated the new board, wished them success at their mission and agreed to work with them hand in hand to achieve the objectives of the Kuwait IAA Chapter which is operating under the umbrella of Kuwait Journalist Society

The IAA - International Advertising Association was first established in New York back in 1938; today has more than 76 active chapters worldwide comprising of professionals from the agency, media and client sides of the industry.

Even as global families today seem addicted to technology and new media to help them make the right shopping decisions, the use of a variety of traditional media, like television and magazines, is now potentially stronger than ever in influencing the 40 per cent of shoppers who remain, up to the last minute, in a state of indecision, revealed Mike Hess, well-known author on media behavior and the director of Global Research and Community Insights at OMD Worldwide.

Addressing a seminar on the impact of the internet on families, held at the Dusit Hotel hosted and organized by the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), Hess argued that marketers had an opportunity to affect purchasing decisions with brand messaging even after consumers made up their mind about where to buy. Hess used excerpts from his study titled "It's a Family Affair: the Media Evolution of Global Families in a Digital Age," to illustrate the influence of technology and media on the purchasing habits of families as a unit.

'Technology and media are essential to planning, researching and acting on many of family life's important priorities, and that multi-tasking significantly extends the average day's activities beyond 24 hours,' stated Hess.

'Sixty-three percent of consumers gather information when they first begin researching a purchase, 57% when they are narrowing down their options, 42% when they are deciding where to buy, and 51% when making their final decisions. At each stage, it is the internet that they turn to for gathering information and it is used more than any other resource,' he added.

The internet also serves as a site for communal shopping, in the sense that it offers consumers access to a vast community of shoppers, who share knowledge, shopping tools, product reviews and even coupons to help others make purchase decisions, Hess pointed out.

Elaborating further on the changed shopping habits, Hess disclosed that 25% of people have posted reviews of products or services on-line, providing a reliable source of information to other shoppers. 'Mobile and camera phones, email, text messaging and other digital tools have contributed to the emergence of a shopping community whose members influence each other in their purchasing decisions,' he added.

Although consumers still prefer to go and shop in the physical market place, Hess said, in many markets in the west the rising cost of gas and related products may encourage more on-line buying and subsequently more on-line information sharing. 'The conclusion that we could draw from these pointers is that the profusion of information will broaden, rather than narrow, consumers' choices by the time they get to a store to make a purchase. And this makes the role of advertising - 'just in time advertising' - and the buying cues in the in-store environment all the more important,' he concluded.

The International Advertising Association (IAA) is pleased to announce the release of its new corporate identity.

The release of the new corporate identity coincided with the IAA's Executive Committee and Board of Directors meeting in Cannes at the end of June. The IAA re-branding project includes all communications platforms including the re-launch of its website.

According to IAA Chairman and World President Joseph Ghossoub, the new corporate identity is both refreshing and contemporary.

'Our new tagline - 'Inspiring Excellence in Communications Worldwide' - is certainly fitting of our desire to move in tandem with the industry. It is an integral part of the overall appearance of the new IAA - the one that lives and breathes in the 21st century,' said Ghossoub.

The new corporate identity project was led by Sharif Abukhadra, IAA Vice President of Communications. It came as a result of many months of work and was created by volunteers from Team Y&R in Jordan under the direction of Abukhadra. Commenting on the new corporate identity, Abukhadra said, 'In extensive research involving marketing communication professionals across the World, from the USA to Australia, Hongkong to Saudi Arabia, we found that the Association corporate identity needed to represent a more modern and vibrant attitude reflective of today's marcomms industry'.

'Based on this input, we created an inspirational emblem and slogan that we believed would inspire the industry professionals to exceed their own standards and excel beyond their potential. To finalize the process, the new corporate identity was shared with and approved by the IAA executive committee and World Board representing 56 chapters in 76 countries. This was a mammoth task for the team and I thank them for their support throughout the process.'

The new corporate identity is firmly rooted in the IAA's heritage and essentially defines the thoughts the Association wishes to place and maintain with stakeholders worldwide.

'As a global association network, and increasingly a platform for industry issues, education and professional development, the IAA needs to be a catalyst of the latest, most engaging and most inspiring trends in marketing communications,' said IAA Executive Director Michael Lee. 'The new IAA identity aims to inspire industry professionals to exceed their own standards and excel beyond their potential', said Lee.

The IAA has provided all of its chapters with the resources needed to ensure the transition runs smoothly, according to Lee. The IAA toolkit, which was produced by Team Y&R in Jordan, will enable its 56 chapters to start using the new corporate identity immediately.