In the media specialist business, there is a need to build relationships with media owners and suppliers. Efforts would be made to get to know them better, understand their media better, their capability, their needs, and the way they work. It is also a way to try and get them to enjoy working with media agencies and to give their best service and fullest cooperation.

Likewise, media owners and suppliers want to build a relationship with media specialists so that they can grow their business.

It is important to define the kind of incentive given by media owners/ suppliers to the employees (including management and staffs) and the need of prior approval from the management. Management, including MD/ CEO/ Chairman, Business unit CFO/ CEO, Brand CFO and CFO, has an obligation to advise management on the inducements.

  1. Receipts of incentives from media owners and suppliers as well as the perception of improper relations between employees and media owners/ suppliers are strongly discouraged, thus employees are discouraged from accepting gifts and inducements other than those:

    • that are of nominal intrinsic value, or
    • that are standard advertising and promotional material clearly marked with the company or brand name

  2. Media owners/suppliers want to buy us lunch. This is acceptable provided it is not too frequent (e.g. 3 times in the same week) and that the lunch is not too extravagant.  Use common sense to define “extravagant”. Lunches and dinners during CNY and other festive season are acceptable. Time for lunch should not exceed time allocated for lunch unless with management approval.

  3. Media owner/supplier provides:-

    • Hampers: During the Malaysian festivals, hamper is acceptable because it is a gesture of goodwill. However, if an individual receives more than 5 hampers for the season, he/ she is expected to share the hampers with the rest of the staff.
    • Gifts:  Acceptable – T shirts, pens, notepads, and diaries are acceptable.  If the value of the gift exceeds RM100 (e.g. an iPhone or iPad), this has to be disclosed to management where the management will have the discretion to decide whether the gift should be returned.
    • Trips & holidays:  All offers for trips have to be disclosed and approved by management.
    • Golf sessions:  This has to be approved by management.
    • Vouchers:  Depending on the value, this has to be disclosed to management.
    • Food/ drinks such as doughnuts, curry puffs, cakes, tarts, fruits brought to share with staffs in the office by media owners are acceptable. Where placed in the pantry for sharing, please be considerate and do not take more than 1 share per person.
    • Tickets: All cinema, shows, and musicals tickets are acceptable.
    • Cash: Strictly not acceptable.
    • Special promotions from media owners directed to client teams in the office should be made known prior to the heads of the agencies and clients.
    • Lastly, when someone was in doubt if the gift was in breach of the guidelines, they could direct their query to MSA.

Interested in becoming a member?

Find out more about the types of memberships available, rules and regulations, as well as membership fees.

READ MORE