Advertising Guidelines

COR677 V4

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM; the College) includes advertising in publications acknowledging that College publications provide an avenue to connect its members and trainees with businesses and organisations offering products and services that may be of value and provide benefits.

The purpose of these Guidelines is to outline the protocol, conditions and exclusions applicable to advertising and promotion in College publications. It also refers to the use of the College’s name in advertising or marketing by external entities. These Guidelines apply to all ACEM members, trainees, employees, external entities and suppliers, consultants and agencies (for example Advertising Sales Consultants) contracted by the College. They should be read in conjunction with other related ACEM guidelines and policies, particularly those that relate to sponsorship, branding and financial obligation or mitigation of risk when ACEM affiliates with other parties.

A copy of these Guidelines must be provided to any supplier or contractor working on behalf of ACEM in engaging advertisers.

College Publications

includes ACEM’s Your ED digital platform – and any associated printed versions, the EMA journal, regular email bulletins to members and trainees, online discussion forums and other publications the College may develop.

Employee

means any employee, or contractor engaged by the College.

Exclusions

means the College will not permit advertising from businesses or organisations or categories of advertising identified as being excluded from College advertising in these Guidelines, or any other applicable policies or guidelines.

Member

means a person admitted as a member of the College pursuant to the provisions of the ACEM Constitution and associated regulations., and, for the purposes of these Guidelines, also includes trainees as well as any other person serving on any College entity or as a College representative.

Trainee

means a person enrolled in and undertaking an ACEM training program and, for the purposes of these Guidelines, Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) undertaking College requirements for the purpose of attaining eligibility for election to Fellowship of the College.

Any advertising agreement must enable ACEM to retain control over its activities, communications, positions and/or policies. ACEM will not and must not be permitted to enter into advertising or partnership arrangements that compromise its independence.

Members, trainees and employees of ACEM must not benefit personally from advertising arrangements. Relationships with parties whose goals or activities directly conflict with ACEM’s objectives, vision or mission must be avoided. Advertising must not attract adverse publicity to ACEM or be likely to be perceived by a significant proportion of members and/or trainees as anti-social, anti-environmental, divisive or controversial. Advertising should align with health messages or position statements issued or endorsed by ACEM.

The decision of whether to accept advertising is at the discretion of the College, particularly where advertising may compete, overlap or conflict with College initiatives, policies, activities or events. Advertising requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the General Manager, Communications and Media, against the requirements and conditions of these Guidelines. Where uncertainty in relation to the suitability or appropriateness of requested advertising is identified, a final decision will be sought from the College Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or ACEM President.

Accepted advertising, which is not for formal ACEM or ACEM-partnered events or initiatives, will be subject to the fees and charges as stipulated by the College.

ACEM approved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities or events do not automatically constitute formal ACEM or ACEM-partnered events or initiatives, and advertising of these, where accepted by the College, will be subject to ACEM stipulated fees and charges.

Any use of the ACEM name, including all versions of said name, in advertising, marketing or promotional material by external entities must be approved by the College CEO or President prior to use. Should this not occur, ACEM will reserve the right to request immediate removal of the College name.

Other in-kind arrangements (such as reciprocal promotion of events) can from time to time be entered in to, as agreed by the College CEO or President and advertiser, and at the ultimate discretion of the College.

Members and trainees with access to various online discussion forums must seek endorsement from the College, prior to posting any promotional or marketing materials on such forums. Advertising, promotional or marketing materials posted to these forums without prior permission from the College, or which are deemed to contravene these Guidelines, can be removed by the College at its discretion.

The College has taken the decision that it will not knowingly invest in an organisation that operates at the expense of the environment, human rights, and public safety. Reference should be made to the College’s Investment Policy (COR194) for a list of industries from which the College will not accept advertising.

Additionally, the College will not include job advertising that constitutes non-Emergency Department employment vacancies.

Marketing and Communications employees and contractors will have operational responsibility for engaging with advertisers and ensuring adherence to these Guidelines.

The Executive Director, Membership and Engagement has responsibility for ensuring ongoing adherence by employees, contractors and suppliers to the Guidelines.

Any variation from these Guidelines requires approval from the CEO and ACEM Board.

This guideline should be read alongside the following documents:

• ACEM Investment Policy (COR194)
• ACEM Policy on Sponsorship (COR643)
• ACEM Scientific Meeting Guidelines (G115)