Fleishman Hillard joined the Ethical Agency Charter as a founding member

After the events of the past few weeks and years, it seemed self-evident to us that as a founding member we would be involved in bringing the Charter of Ethical Agency to life. The initiative aims to support the renewal of the communication profession, to stand up for transparent operations and fair competition.

The Charter sets out common professional foundations and clear ethical commitments for the Hungarian communications market after a period that distorted market competition to the extreme and significantly damaged the credibility and social perception of the profession. The document places particular emphasis on the responsible use of public funds, transparency, equal opportunities and strengthening professional and social responsibility.

We believe that communication is not just a business service, but also a confidence-building and society-shaping activity. We believe that the long-term future of the profession can only be ensured in a market environment where ethical operation, transparency and professional performance are the basis of competition and where there is no place for companies that do not operate in accordance with these principles.

As signatories to the Ethical Agency Charter, we commit ourselves, among other things, to the transparent publication of publicly funded assignments (not only for the future, but also as a first step for ten years), to stand up for fair employment practices, and not to engage in demonstrably harmful, deceptive or manipulative communication campaigns.

We believe that the communications profession can renew itself and rebuild public trust. However, professional excellence is not enough: first facing up, then clear ethical standards, transparent operation and shared responsibility are also needed.

We remain committed to providing strategic, responsible and value-based communications advice to our clients while taking an active role in strengthening the credibility and future of the communications profession.

In accordance with the Charter, we disclose our public works and their value and commission fees for the last ten years.

The balance sheet in brief: between 2016 and 2025, 1.8 percent of our revenues of more than HUF 5 billion came from publicly funded commissions — we have had two such projects since 2016.

We believe it is important to emphasize that the problem is not the fact that a contract was awarded by the government, but rather that someone was awarded a contract without competition, or that they charged excessive prices or provided services of a professionally unacceptable standard.