Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Internet Local Advertising & Commerce Association (ILAC) Combine to Accelerate Overall Growth of Online Advertising
SAN FRANCISCO – June 17, 1998 – The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Internet Local Advertising & Commerce Association (ILAC) today announced at IAB’s annual meeting that effective July 1 the two associations will combine to better advance their common mission of maximizing the use and effectiveness of advertising on the Internet.
“The interests of the industry are best served with one organization working to drive online marketing effectiveness on a national, international and local scale,” said Rich LeFurgy, IAB Chairman and Senior Vice President Advertising, Buena Vista Internet Group.
Under the agreement, ILAC’s more than 50 members – representing broadcasters, newspapers, Yellow Pages publishers, independent local sites and other companies involved in local Internet services – will become full-standing IAB members. This will boost IAB active membership to more than 300 companies when the combination is completed.
In addition, a new IAB Local Advertising Committee will be formed for ILAC members to continue their work in promoting and facilitating advertising and commerce on local Web sites. The new committee will be chaired by Jim D’Arcangelo, an ILAC founder and Board member and the President of NFO AD:IMPACT.
“The ILAC Board is enthusiastic about combining with the ILAC into the IAB,” said D’Arcangelo. “The interests of local advertising on the Internet will be served more aggressively and effectively in working through IAB’s strong infrastructure of resources, industry leadership and international reach.”
“The IAB is already making significant progress in establishing industry standards and practices and measurement guidelines, and in market education and professional development,” he added. “Today’s ILAC members will contribute to these efforts, while continuing through our own committee to focus on our specific issues, such as enabling multiple-site advertising, and promoting the benefits of advertising on local services.”
“This is truly a win-win move for both organizations,” Lefurgy added. “It strengthens and adds vitality to the IAB and its efforts. And we will now be fully committed and have the expertise and resources to extend our programs to benefit local-service sites and their advertisers. Together, we will be able to leverage IAB’s leadership on the national and international levels, and ILAC’s leadership in local advertising, to accelerate the overall growth and evolution of Internet advertising,” he said.
About Internet Advertising Bureau
Founded in 1996, the IAB is the leading online advertising association with over 250 active members. Its activities include evaluating and recommending standards and practices, fielding research to document the effectiveness of the online medium and educating the advertising industry about the use of online advertising. Current membership includes companies that are actively engaged in the sales of Internet advertising, with associate membership including companies that support advertising, — interactive advertising agencies, measurement companies, research suppliers, technology suppliers, traffic companies and other organizations from related industries. A global organization, the IAB has member countries including Canada, France and Germany, and is currently developing membership countries in Asia and Latin America, as well as other countries in Europe.
About Internet Local Advertising & Commerce Association
Founded in 1997, the Internet Local Advertising & Commerce Association (ILAC) is a not-for-profit organization designed to promote and facilitate local advertising and commerce between buyers and sellers on the Internet. The goal of ILAC is to help accelerate the development of the technology, the standards and the practices that will make the Internet local advertising medium more valuable to advertisers and consumers. ILAC serves all companies developing local Internet services, including broadcasters, community services, newspaper publishers, Yellow Pages publishers, independent local sites, search engines, ad agenciesand suppliers.
Contact:
Marla Nitke IAB