Interview with Ecaterina Sfaraica (RAC President & External Relations Director for Procter&Gamble)
    
On 17th of December, The Romanian Advertising Council (RAC) designated the persons who, for the next 4 years, will hold the mandates as President, Vicepresident and Treasurer. But the new RAC Board of Directors is not a revoluion as declared by Ecaterina Sfaraica (External Relations Director for Procter&Gamble), the news RAC President. On the contrary, RAC will mentain its approach about regulating the advertising market. I took the oppurtunity and asked her about the intimations received in 2008, about the colaboration protocole with NAC, about the low mediatizations if RAC's activity and about how this gap can be replaced in the future.
   
IQads: RAC's activity is less visible. How do you intent to improve the audience's awarness on RAC's actions?
Ecaterina Safarica: As a tailor is without clothes, RAC, the important structure of the advertising industry, has not done enough publicity. Obviously this was not a coincidence, we preferred, at first, to use all the resources, limited otherwise, to establish a solid base of opreation: formulating and revising of the Code of Advertising Practice, analizing the advertising reported as having potential problems, recruitment of members so that RAC can really be representative to the Romanian advertising industry. On the following period the communication of our activity to an more and more broad the audience and increasing visibility is one of the priorities.
 
IQads: RAC has a protocole with NAC since 2003, but in 2006 there have been a few changes, materialized in expediting the procedure (providing RAC's response to NAC's consultation requests on a shorter term) and at the same time establishing compulsory consulation of NAC wirh RAC. The reciprocal is valid? Does RAC have to consult with NAC for taking a position towards certain advertising irregularities? What is the extent of RAC's independence towards NAC?
Ecaterina Safarica: RAC's dialogue with NAC is necessary and dinamic. Audiovisual reglementation and selfregulating commercial communication are co-depending. The Code of Advertising Practice is based on ethical principles and communication standards within a certain local and international legislative framework, and applying consistently and rigorously the law is easier done when the industry is involved actively in selfregulation. In this context. the NAC-RAC protocole of colaboration has only formalized this open and both-sides encouraged dialogue. The rest are procedure details. For example, the response time for RAC to the intimations sent by NAC was set so that taking a decision in tha case of an advertising not complying with the principles and rules of advertising is not protracted.
Is not about obligativity, it's about colaborating on the bases of admiting the fact that toghether we can be more efficient in insuring a loyal competitive climate and consumer protection against eventual negative consequences of advertising. Obviously, the relation is mutual.
   
IQads: What other provisions are there written in the NAC-RAC protocole of colaboration?
Ecaterina Safarica:The protocole defines especially the intimations evaluation procedure by the RAC Ethic Committee.
   
IQads: Taking into consideration the fact that in the protocole signed in 2008 between NAC and the National Authority for Consumers Protection (NACP) there is a clause about fighting untrue advertising, are you keeping in mind establishing a partnership with NACP?
Ecaterina Safarica: If we consider the fact that the audiovisual covers a great deal of the commercial communication, but not al the channels, and that NAC is the institution most obviously involved in regulating advertising, but not the only one, to it being added NACP and the Ministry of Finances, we propose ourselfs to initiate dialogue with these institutions alsoand search forms of colaboration that would contribute to an upright advertising in Romania.
    
IQads: RAC intervenes only when it is being referret from the outside?
Ecaterina Safarica: RAC answers al intimations regardind advertising , from outside or from it's members.
    
IQads: Do you have a statistics on the number of complaints registered by RAC in 2008? Where did the most of them come, natural persons or public institutions?
Ecaterina Safarica: In the year 2008 there were over 30 intimations of wich almost half had been sent by NAC, about 25% came form RAC members and the rest, aproximately 25% from other sources. Be said that this number is smaller than the previous years as an response to raised responsability of the actors from the advertising industry.
   
IQads: What is RAC's opinion on phrases like "detergen X is 3 times better than e regular detergent". Could we consider these phrases a jugglery for the advertisers to dodge from obeing legal clauses regardind comparative advertising?
Ecaterina Safarica: No "jugglery" gives us the right to dodge the law. Comparative advertising is rigorously regulated with an accent on the fact that it cand not be depreciating and the parametres must compaired must be extremely relevant to the product or service regarded.  If and afirmation referes to "the regular product" there are referals to what regular means (for TV ads, this is mostly written on the screen) and in case of an intimation teh anouncer must prove the performances claimed.
   
IQads: What are the measures taken against misleading by omission advertising?
Ecaterina Safarica: Omission, as you said yourself, is a form of misleading advertising and if it is spoted and proven we record a failure to comply with the Code of Advertising Practice, leading to suspension of the regarded message and recasting it so that it is correct.
   
IQads: RAC's mission is limited to sanctioning mistakes or are you also planning to educate the industry to comply with rules in force?
Ecaterina Safarica: RAC's mission is to promote an ethical commercial communication. This can be achieved by correlating reactive activities - sanctioning communications not meeting the ethic principles and normes of advertising, with proactive activities, respectively educating the industry. In that direction we propose to start an education programe, in collaboration with EASA, the European association for self regulating advertising, and with Romanian educational structures that would contribute to forming those interested to play a role or already playing one.
   
IQads: Did RAC had any legislative initiatives or is RAC intenting to propose any for supporting a better functioning advertising market in Romania? If yes, which would be those?
Ecaterina Safarica: Until now we had no legislative initiatives but we have been active in debates concerning this field proposed by the Parliament and the Government. We tried every time to bring a realist and objective opinion by appealing to the experience of our members from other European states. Our  affiliation to EASA to be joined with similar self regulatory organism form other EU states contributes to joint points of view and to efficient communiaction both localy and at the European Commissions level.
   
IQads: What are RAC's plans for 2009? How will the new board influence RAC's strategy?
Ecaterina Safarica: We hope to have a very active 2009 with results as visible as possible. I have already mentioned the priorities - raise vigilence in code compliance and sanctioning its violations, initiating courses of Advertising Ethics and Standards for students and practitioners of the advertising industry, expand partnerships and make more people aware of RAC's existence and its services. Above al these there is the growth of the association with new members. This is a priority for RAC.  
Having new Board members, obviously, we hope will bring a new breeze to the association and will help RAC evolve. It is not expected to be a revolution. If the 2009 programe is different than before it is mainly because RAC has reached a maturity that asks for a new form of expression. If you are interested to watch our evolution over this year, we will try to keep you up to date with al the news on our soon to be ready website.
   
Interview by Alina Galeriu for IQads.