Response from the OPA

The OPA responded as follows:

The aims of the Association are to position our members as credible, trustworthy marketing channels, and thereby increase the share of online spend in marketing budgets.

We believe that we are achieving this aim, as has been shown by the dramatic increase in spend in 2003.

The range of points raised in Mr Adler's letter are simply too numerous to deal with, and so we'll clarify only a few:

1. We are a member of Proudly South African, not the other way around.
2. RedSheriff were awarded the metrics tender after an exhaustive and detailed process, and the money is staying in South Africa. In fact RedSheriff are investing inwardly.
3. Our aim is single minded: increase the credibility and advertising income for our members. The wide range of aims in this letter may be admirable, but are beyond our immediate scope. We have seen too many organisations in our industry fail hopelessly for lack of focus.

   Cheaper membership:

   The OPA is a body that supplies a wide range of services to, and on behalf of our members. All these services cost money, and the only source is the subscription paid by our members.

We have decided against tiered membership for a number of reasons, but the following are pertinent:

• A "means test" by which the lower subscription would be set is impractical, and many of our smaller members would feel strongly disadvantaged by not being offered it. Many of them are operating on very restricted budgets.
• The fee is very low by international standards.

• No international association of our sort has allowed cheaper membership to publishers.

We do recognise that there will always be smaller publishers who would not like to pay a fee, however small. Tiered membership will not change this fact. We hope that they will nevertheless benefit from our initiatives.

We are convinced, however, that our fees are reasonable, and represent just a single, small advertising contract for any competent publisher. They will prove to be value for money.

Theresa Vitale
Online Publishers Association (OPA)
(tel) 27 11 713 9810
(fax) 27 11 713 9973
(web) www.opa.org.za