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An industry trade group, also known as a trade association, is generally a public relations organization founded and funded by corporations that operate in a specific industry. Its purpose is generally to promote the industry through PR activities such as advertising, education, political donations, lobbying and publishing.
Sometimes an industry association participates in public relations activities, but its main focus is in non-PR work such as collaboration between companies, or standardization. Associations may offer other services, such as producing conferences, networking or charitable events or offering classes or educational materials. Many associations are non-profit organizations governed by bylaws and directed by officers who are also members.
In countries with a social market economy the role of industry trade groups is often taken by employers\' organizations which also have a role in the social dialogue.
One of the primary purposes of trade groups, particularly in the United States and to a similar but lesser extent elsewhere, is to attempt to influence public policy in a direction favorable to the group\'s members. This can take the form of contributions to the campaigns of political candidates and parties through Political Action Committees (PACs); contributions to "issue" campaigns not tied to a candidate or party; and lobbying legislators to support or oppose particular legislation. In addition, trade groups attempt to influence the activities of regulatory bodies.
While direct contributions by PACs to candidates are required to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission (or state and local election overseers) and are public information, and there are registration requirements for lobbyists, it can sometimes be difficult to trace the funding for issue and non-electoral campaigns.
Industry trade groups sometimes produce advertisements, just as normal corporations do. However, whereas typical advertisements are for a specific corporate product, such as a specific brand of cheese or toilet paper, Industry trade groups advertisements generally are targeted to promote the views of an entire industry.
Below are two different general types of advertising used by these groups.
These ads mention only the industries products as a whole, painting them in a positive light in order to have the public form positive associations with that industry and its products. For example, in the USA the advertising campaign "Beef, it\'s what\'s for dinner" is used by the National Cattlemen\'s Beef Association to promote a positive image of beef in the public consciousness.
These are adverts targeted at specific issues. For example, in the USA in the early 2000s the MPAA began running advertisements before films that advocate against movie piracy over the Internet.
Note: the term "industry trade group" is very little used in British English. Alternative terms used in the UK include trade association and employer association.
Sometimes the shorthand **AA is used to refer to both the RIAA and the MPAA. On April 1, 2006, John T. Haller parodied the two organizations on a joke website announcing their fictional merger, introducing another abbreviation for the fictional combined entity: "MAFIAA" (Music And Film Industry Association of America, a satirical reference to The Mafia).MAFIAA™ - Music And Film Industry Association of America™
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