Ethics

One
honest
intention
to
work
right
is
what
lasts

We believe both sides of an advertising engagement should be able to judge by the same standard.

So we write down the situations where judgement can differ, and set out what comes first in five principles.

Employees confirm these principles every year and the revision history is published internally.

Client first

We think and act from the client’s position first.

1-1.We pass on the information a client needs to decide, accurately.

Figures in proposals and reports carry their source and basis, and estimates are marked out clearly as estimates inside the document.
Unfavourable results are shared as quickly as good ones, with when we learned of them and why.
Material received from a client is not used beyond the agreed purpose and goes back when the term ends.

1-2.We find what the client will need ahead of time and propose it before we act.

Changes in the market and media are summarised regularly so every team involved works from the same picture.
We do not stop at the requested scope; a better fit is offered as an alternative.
Where an approach is not working we propose stopping or switching first, even with contract time left, and set out why.

Compliance

Law and internal rules are the floor for every judgement.

2-1.We check the rules that apply to the work first, then put it into action.

Advertising, privacy, subcontracting and fair-trade rules are built into the workflow itself.
When unsure we ask the responsible team before acting, and keep a record of the question and the answer so it can be checked later.

2-2.We neither give nor take improper benefit in any form.

No money, entertainment or favour passes either way to win or keep business, whatever the amount.
The same standard always applies to public officials and equivalents, directly or through third parties.
Customary gifts around holidays and family events are checked against internal limits in advance and recorded.

2-3.Accounting and disclosure record what actually happened, and confidences that must hold are held.

Transactions are booked in the period and the amount in which they occurred.
Timing is not moved and line items are not swapped to make the result look different.
Disclosure carries settled facts only, through the set procedure.
Information learned at work is not passed outside, during employment or after.
What is said in a meeting is not shared outside it without approval.

By the book

We judge by the process and the standard.

3-1.We decide from the whole company’s view rather than one part’s gain, and leave the reasoning behind.

Where a team goal conflicts with the company goal, the goal is what changes first.
Judgements rest on material anyone can re-check rather than instinct or habit, and that material is kept with them.
Where personal and company interests collide, the company’s interest comes first.
Risks are raised before they grow, and no penalty of any kind falls on whoever raised them.

3-2.We separate work from private interest and keep a respectful workplace between us.

Company assets and budget are used only for work, with a record of spend that can be checked.
Position, and relationships that arise from work, are not turned to personal or family advantage.
Harassment, discrimination and private lending break trust between colleagues and are never acceptable, whatever the circumstances.
How we address one another and speak in meetings is watched so nobody is talked down to, and cases can be reported anonymously so they do not recur.

3-3.Results are built and held in a way that can carry on, not to satisfy the nearest number.

We do not edit documents or split a contract term at will to make the nearest number work.
Records and reports go out on time carrying only what is verified; what is still being checked is written as such.

Ownership

We treat the work as our own and see it through.

4-1.We do not hide failure; we use it as the basis for the next try.

A new attempt starts once its goal and its stop condition are set together and written down.
When the result differs from the expectation the cause is written up for the team so it is not repeated.
Cost and quality are read together, separating where to save from where more is needed.

4-2.Each of us keeps building, in our own seat, the skill to actually solve the client’s problem.

The company goal is broken down until each person can restate it in the language of their own work, and when it changes the reason changes with it.
What has been learned once is kept in the team so the next person need not spend the same time, and it is passed to whoever needs it.

4-3.We respect one another and gather what each of us carries into a single result.

Colleagues are treated as independent professionals; disagreement is argued on evidence.
Cross-team requests carry a due date and an owner in writing so nobody waits without reason.

Contribution

As a digital marketing company we carry our share of the social load.

5-1.We protect shareholder rights and make the working day better for the people beside us.

Steady earnings hold the balance between dividend and reinvestment, and the reasoning is explained to shareholders at the appointed place.
Hiring and evaluation use one standard that does not bend by person, and the basis of each outcome is explained to the person concerned.
The range in which people can decide and act for themselves widens year by year.
Growth paths are designed with the person so the work leaves something behind.

5-2.Environment, safety and human rights go into business judgement from the start, and the outcome is reviewed each year.

Resources and travel that digital tools can remove go first, and the amount saved is counted the same way each year and published.
Safety rules are followed and the state of the workplace is checked on a fixed cycle.
Dignity and diversity are respected, and one standard applies to every stakeholder — partners and media included — whatever their size.

5-3.We treat our community and our partners as long-standing neighbours and grow alongside them.

We respect the culture of the places we work in and finish the necessary consultation with those affected before starting.
Volunteering and giving programmes run continuously for anyone who wants to join.
Partners are strategic counterparts and contract on equal terms.
Transparent dealing creates shared results, and those results are shared.