Given the history of apathy in the industry, right up until the event many interim board members were worried about getting enough nominations to make up the 11 mandatory directorships.
As it happened, almost five times that number of nominations came in and the result was a decision to appoint 14 members to the inaugural board to ensure that there was at least an adequate balance of gender and race and also to allow the board to adjust the numbers downward if necessary and to avoid the rigmarole of special general meetings to beef up the board should they have found that the mandatory minimum was not enough to get the job done.
Also very encouraging was the fact that all of those interim board members who agreed to stand for election were voted in. Now this is a massive vote of confidence for this small group that laboured so hard this past year to get this representative body off the ground. And very good for continuity.
It is also reassuring to see that those black men and women who are now on the board were by no means just invited there to make up the race and gender numbers but were fairly and squarely elected by democratic process, interestingly enough by a majority of white marketers present at the meeting .
From all of this and given the stature of those who are now on the board, it certainly seems as though marketers have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps out of the embarrassing mess left behind by the demise of the Marketing Federation of SA and have decided to put some serious work into revitalising the image of the industry in this country.
And it is sorely needed because the reputation of marketing as both a discipline and profession is about as low right now as reputations are possible to sink.
Hopefully, this time round, board members will take their mandates seriously.
Hopefully they will not allow themselves to lose focus like that last lot by becoming obsessed with money-grubbing awards events and just pitching up to board meetings when and if they felt like it. And, unlike most of the last bunch, they haven't just accepted their nominations because they figured it would look good on their CVs.
The interim process got a largely clean bill of health from an independent oversight committee that also made certain recommendations for the new board. Recommendations regarding staying well clear of hands on involvement in the type of awards events that crippled the MFSA. And also putting in regulations insisting on board members attending at least 70% of all board meetings or facing public dismissal.
Both of which sound harsh but both of which, had they been applied by the MFSA, would have seen that organisation still alive today.
The marketing industry now has the makings of a credible representative body and has elected some very skilled and wise people onto its board. It will be a tough job for all. Regaining credibility and restoring reputations is an almighty schlep at the best of times.
Hopefully, this new board with go about this task selflessly and with gusto. It is the last chance they will have for a long, long time.
And unlike last time, when no-one outside of the MFSA took much interest in what was going on behind those ominously closed doors, this time round a lot of people will be watching like hawks. Especially me.
Board members
