World Federation of Advertisers

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) is a global trade association for multi-national advertisers and national advertiser associations. Its membership is made up of around 85 [1] of the world's top 500 advertisers and a number of national associations in 60 markets. The WFA's aim is to champion responsible and effective marketing communications worldwide.

WFA logo as of April 2017

WFA was founded in Stresa, Italy on 14 May 1953 as the Union Internationale des Associations d'Annonceurs (UIAA) [2] at the initiative of ten existing national advertiser associations representing Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. In 1984, at the Rio de Janeiro World Congress, the UIAA changed its name to the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) [3] and opened its doors to corporate members.[4] This reflected the increasing trend towards global marketing and common challenges being faced by marketers worldwide.

Corporate members now include Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Diageo, eBay, Mars, Nike, Tata and Volkswagen.[5] Advertiser association members include the UK's Incorporated Society of British Advertisers[6] from the UK and the Association of National Advertisers [7] from the US.

Each year the WFA holds Global Marketer Week, a series of events bringing together brand marketers to learn about the latest public affairs issues and best practice in marketing. In 2013 this event was held in Brussels to celebrate the organisation's 60th anniversary [8] and in 2018 will be held in Tokyo. [9]

WFA is based in Brussels, Belgium,[10] and has offices in London and Singapore.