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ADVERTISING AGENCIES (Conclusion of the investigation)


PRESS RELEASE



At the conclusion of the investigation, the Italian Competition Authority found that the principal advertising and communication agency associations violated Section 2 of Law no. 287/90.

The associations concerned with the decisions are the following:

Italian Association of Full Service Advertising Agencies (ASSAP);

Italian Association of Communication Agencies (AIPAS);

Association of Italian Advertising and Communication Agencies (OTEP);

Italian Association of Sales Promotion Agencies (ASP);

Association of Italian Direct Marketing Agencies (ASSODIRECT);

Association of Full Service Public Relation Agencies (ASSOREL);

Italian Communication Federation (which joins the afore mentioned associations).

The parties cover altogether approximately 90 per cent of the communication market. The Authority ascertained that they undersigned anticompetitive agreements relating to the coordination of member agencies' prices and the actions to be taken by the same firms in the tenders organized by advertising clients.

In particular, with regard to the first aspect, the Authority ruled that the tariff lists, the clauses contained in the typical contract schemes or the provisions set forth by ASSAP, AIPAS, OTEP, ASP, ASSODIRECT and ASSOREL, concerning the agency's fee, the "agency's discount", the prices to be charged to clients for the payment of services, and the interassociation tariff list (adopted by ASSAP, AIPAS, OTEP) constitute restrictive agreements aimed at coordinating members' behaviours in order to fix prices.

In relation to the second aspect, the Authority ascertained that ASSAP, AIPAS and ASP published codes of practice imposing on their members not to participate in tenders in cases where more than four agencies were invited and when a lump sum for the mere participation was not paid.

ASSODIRECT also arranged similar provisions within its tariff list. Such provisions were considered anticompetitive, since they can limit rivalry among operators and the possibility to fix independently a contractual condition.

OTEP and ASSOREL did not provide any guideline advising their members how to behave if and when they were invited to tenders organized by clients.

All the afore mentioned parties were required to submit to the Authority a report on the measures adopted to remove the infringements and restore effective conditions for competition, within 60 days of the commencing of the decision.