IAA World Congress to be held in Beijing in 2014

The 43rd International Advertising Association World Congress will be held in Beijing from May 9 to 11 next year.

It will be the second time for the Chinese capital to host the event. Beijing held the 39th congress in 2004.

IAA, the biggest international organization in the advertising industry, granted the hosting right of its 2014 world congress to China Advertising Association in February.

The 2014 congress is expected to see the participation of around 1,600 global professionals from advertising companies, media, advertisers, academic institutions and representatives of IAA’s worldwide branches, Yan Jun, vice-president of China Advertising Association, said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday.

During the congress, forums and exhibitions will be held.

China's advertising industry has been developing fast, and it has become the world's second-largest ad market, Yan said.

In 2012, there were 378,000 advertising companies in China, with turnover of nearly 470 billion yuan ($76 billion).

"We hope to attract more foreign investment to the Chinese advertising industry and at the same time we encourage Chinese ad firms to keep an eye on the global market," Yan said.

Meanwhile, the 2014 congress is soliciting ideas from the public about the theme of the event.

Held every two years, the IAA World Congress is a gathering for global advertising professionals to discuss industry development, creative strategy, branding and media trends.