The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) has introduced a new interactive committee, a group chaired by John St. president Arthur Fleischmann that will examine digital trends and practices on behalf of ICA members.
Fleischmann takes over from Garry Lee, president of Cundari, who served as chair of the ICA’s interactive group from 2009-2011. According to Fleischmann, Lee had begun to assemble the members of the interactive committee when health issues forced him to step away.
Fleischmann’s team includes John St. colleague Mavis Huntley, who is director of digital innovation at the Toronto agency, as well as Jason Chaney, vice-president, strategy at Tribal DDB, Jim Letwin, president and CEO of JAN Kelley Advertising and several other industry veterans. More members are expected to join the committee in the coming weeks and months.
“When I became chair of the committee, I said, ‘let’s bring together the five or 10 folks I would want to hire.’ That was my criteria,” said Fleischmann. “I want us to be able to provide to the members of the ICA that which they can’t easily provide to themselves in the way of digital thought leadership.”
The first initiative announced by the ICA’s interactive committee is a three-day master class conducted by Swedish interactive experts Hyper Island. The event will be held in Toronto Oct. 26-28.
Fleischmann said the $130,000 class exemplifies the type of collective learning opportunity the interactive committee can arrange ICA members, whose agencies would most likely not be able to afford it on their own.
“The product that we deliver as agencies, the digital and integrated product, is so different than the old world of delivering a TV spot, and most agencies don’t have the thought and execution process to do that properly and to lead clients,” said Fleischmann. “Master Class is a three-day immersion in how to think digitally from a strategic and process and management perspective.”
Fleischmann said a second initiative, most likely involving a speaker with expertise in social media, would likely be announced later this year.
