We’re pleased to bring you the January issue of the IAB Review, a monthly update of the Internet Advertising Bureau’s news and events.
This issue features:
December General Meeting Recap
IAB Expands in Europe and Canada
IAB Brings PSA’s to the Web
Working Committees Streamlined
Ad Effectiveness Study to be Presented in Silicon Valley
DECEMBER GENERAL MEETING RECAP
Our bi-annual general meetings are a focalpoint for industry growth and the latest developments. They continue to draw large crowds, as evidenced by the 500 plus turnout this past December. If you attended, you learned we have some exciting initiatives in store this year. Some of these include the IAB Road Show, which will take the case for Internet advertising directly to major advertisers and agencies; and the Winter 1998 advertorial to be published by Advertising Age, which will highlight real-world case histories of Web advertising’s best campaigns.
You elected three new member-companies to our Board of Directors: Jed Savage, CBS Sportsline; John Nardone, Modem Media and John Danner, NetGravity. We welcome these new additions and would like to recognize the contributions made by ex-officio Board members MaryAnn Packo of Media Metrix, Scott Schiller of Sony Online Ventures and Paul Lewis of Prodigy. Our 1998 Board is committed to driving the continued growth of our organization and serving the needs of members.
The day-long event featured a re-cap of other initiatives such as the formation of our European Advisory Committee and the accomplishments of the Media Measurement Task Force. Tom Hyland of Coopers & Lybrand reported that online ad revenues through third quarter 1997 totaled $571 million, a 263 percent increase over the first three quarters of 1996. In a forecast of fourth quarter performance, 70 percent of participating publishers said inventory for that period was sold out as of the mid-November survey deadline. Data for fourth quarter `97 will be released in two months.
IAB SPREADS ACROSS EUROPE AND IN CANADA
The IAB has firmly established roots in markets outside the U.S., making the association a global force. In December, industry groups in Germany and Canada formally announced their agreement to form local IAB member organizations in order to accelerate growth in their markets. Sister organizations are also forming in the UK, France, Holland and Switzerland.
Industry leaders throughout the world have approached the IAB to leverage our experience and to shorten the lag in market development separating their countries from the U.S. Support of companies in these growing markets is part of our drive to create an international network of groups dedicated to the growth of online advertising.
Requirements for groups seeking IAB affiliation and use of the IAB name include adoption of the IAB’s mission statement, close adherence to its by-laws as well as contributing to the support of IAB global research and marketing initiatives.
SUPPORT IAB/AD COUNCIL ONLINE PSA NETWORK
This past November, we partnered with the Ad Council — the organization responsible for public service ad campaigns such as Smokey Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog and Vince & Larry the crash test dummies — to give PSA’s a larger presence in Cyberspace. To make this possible, we have called upon our members to make available 5% of ad inventory on a space-available basis for public service announcements. Your participation in this program will provide an estimated one billion free ad exposures this year for campaigns designed to raise awareness for causes helping kids, families and communities.
Over seventeen ad banners have been developed for the Ad Council’s non-profit organizations such as Forest Fire Prevention, Safety Belt Education and the Coalition for America’s Children. These ads, which are spin-offs of their print and broadcast counterparts, are widely recognized by Web users and present an opportunity to provide your audience with useful information. For instance, Web sites targeting parents may choose to run the Ad Council’s banner ads for “Talking with Kids About Tough Issues” or the “Coalition for America’s Children.”
Nine IAB member companies are already running the Ad Council’s online ad campaigns. They include ABC News/ESPN Ventures, Accipiter, Adsmart, BDInter@ctive, DiveIn (US West,) DoubleClick, MapQuest, The Microsoft Network and Narrowline. As part of the program, IAB member NetGravity graciously donated an adserver to automate the process of delivering the psa’s to participating sites.
The IAB/Ad Council PSA program is yet another opportunity to demonstrate the Internet’s power of providing the right information at the right time, to the right person.
WORKING COMMITTEES STREAMLINED
In order to make our committees more manageable and productive we have consolidated four existing committees — Marketing and Conferences, Professional Development, Advertising to Children and Professional Development — into a single committee called Marketing and Member Relations. This new committee will assume the mission of marketing the association to different audiences and fostering professional networking among members. The four remaining committees — Research and Measurement, Technology, International and Industry Standards and Practices — will remain intact as each are focused on different aspects of the industry.
Each committee will have three Board members actively overseeing its initiatives. This will increase the flow of communication between the committees and the Board, resulting in faster reviews and approval of projects. We also realize that to be more effective our committees need to be focused. In the first quarter of 1998 each committee will be required to develop and present to the Board a basic business plan listing objectives for the coming year. In addition, each committee will be asked to develop and post the following information on our Web site: 1) charter, 2) mission statement, 3) recent accomplishments, 4) yearly plan of objectives, and 5) delineation of subcommittees and key contact persons.
The primary method of communication within the committees will be through Listservs on the IAB website (www.iab.net). You will be able to update your contact information as well as sign on and off committees.
These changes will ensure that our committees are operating in a highly efficient and organized manner. They will also ensure that your valuable contributions in the area of time and expertise are not for naught.
AD EFFECTIVENESS STUDY TO BE PRESENTED IN SILICON VALLEY
Save yourself an hour of reading and come hear Rex Briggs, VP, MBInteractive tell you about the latest Online Advertising Effectiveness research, funded by the Internet Advertising Bureau. Learn about the largest and most comprehensive online advertising effectiveness study, fielded across 12 leading Web sites with 16,758 respondents. Bring your clients for a first hand presentation on how to most effectively spend their advertising dollars. Copies of the IAB Online Advertising Effectiveness Study and IAB membership packs will be available to attendees. You don’t have to be an IAB member to attend.
RSVP now and write this date on your calendar: Thursday, January 22, 1998 from 4:00-5:00pm. Check-in (schmoozing) will begin at 3:30pm.
Directions to the event:
@Home Network
425 Broadway
Redwood City, CA 94063
From Highway 101:
Take the Woodside Road exit and head west on Woodside Road. Make an immediate left onto Broadway Road. @Home is on the right hand side of the road, 425 Broadway.
From Highway 280:
Take the Woodside Road exit and head east on Woodside Road. Make a right onto Broadway Road. @Home is on the right hand side of the road, 425 Broadway.
FEEDBACK
The IAB encourages the active participation of all its members. If you have any comments or suggestions about current or future IAB events and programs, we’d like to know. Please feel free to contact us.
Contact:
Marla Nitke IAB