AAAI will guide the industry, not police it, says President Srinivasan K Swamy

New Delhi: For years, agencies have complained about the same three problems that refuse to go away: Pitches that lack transparency and fairness, ideas being lifted without credit, and client payments that take forever to arrive. 

These are not new issues, but they continue to hurt the way the industry works. 

With Srinivasan K Swamy now leading the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), the obvious question is whether the body can step in to make things better. According to Swamy, while the association is all in to guide, it will not police. 

When asked about pitches, he made it clear that the council will not step in to regulate. According to him, AAAI “will not get involved with any competitive activity of its members” and that “it is for them to decide what works for them best.” 

In his view, the body’s role is limited to issuing guidance and sharing best practices, not dictating how agencies compete or what they charge.

“AAAI will not intervene in the competitive activities of its members, leaving agencies to decide for themselves what works best for their business. Its mandate, as clarified, does not extend to regulating pricing or competition. The role of the body is more advisory in nature, particularly when it comes to protecting intellectual property,” Swamy said. 

That naturally led to intellectual property, an issue tied closely to pitches. Agencies often complain that their ideas end up being used without acknowledgement. 

Swamy pointed out that AAAI has already circulated guidelines, including stamping work and adding protective lines in presentations. However, Swamy conveyed his reservation about whether these guidelines are being abided by or not. 

“I do not know whether anybody is using it. These are old guidelines that were issued. I think we need to check with the AAAI secretary to see whether what was said earlier has actually been practised or not,” he told BestMediaInfo.com.  

Delayed payments, meanwhile, remain another sore spot. Smaller agencies in particular say stretched cash flows affect their sustainability. 

Here too, Swamy signalled that AAAI cannot go beyond advisories. He said every business has its own issues around payments and that agencies are “smart enough to deal with it on their own.” 

While AAAI does share alerts if an advertiser defaults, he added that it is ultimately up to agencies to decide whether to continue working with such clients. Any attempt to enforce timelines, he warned, could be seen as anti-competitive.

In the end, Swamy drew the boundaries clearly. AAAI will not regulate pitches; it has already issued safeguards for IPR, though their use remains uncertain, and it will not enforce payments beyond issuing alerts. 

For agencies, the takeaway is straightforward. The association can advise, but the responsibility to protect business interests rests firmly with them.