The newly-installed chief of the Interactive Advertising Bureau has laid down his plans for taking the peak body forward over the coming 12 months, with audience measurement, research and education the key areas for development.
Paul Fisher, who joined the IAB as CEO from News Limited on July 1, said the quarterly IAB Online Advertising report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers would now be expanded to include advertising spending across a total of 41 categories, up from the existing 18 currently monitored by PWC.
“This report provides a definitive guide to online advertising in Australia and the addition of the new categories, in response to feedback from media agencies and the MFA, will enable marketers and advertisers to obtain more granular and useful information to help shape their marketing decisions,” Fisher said.
The IAB, which has proposed a hybrid system of measurement including both panel and tagging-based data, has completed an initial audit on audience measurement supplier Nielsen Online which had thrown up 16 areas to be addressed including panel establishment, management composition, addressing the so-called ‘long tail’ site measurement and the ‘at work, at home’ duplication panel representation.
Nielsen is currently reviewing the areas to be addressed and will present its solutions at a meeting of the IAB’s working group on September 16.
“To reach our goal, the underlying components need to be as accurate as we can get them and that begins with the panel,” Fisher said. “When the panel recommendations have been addressed we can then work on the tagging data methodology. Once both pieces are in place, we will have the world’s leading hybrid measurement system. I believe this is achievable within the next two years.”
While Nielsen is the only company to have completed the submission for the audit, Fisher said they would be contacting the other providers, including ComScore and Roy Morgan about submitting a proposal.
“We were delighted that Nielsen was the first company to agree to the audit process and the door is open to other suppliers to also complete an audit,” he said.
The IAB also plans to ramp up its education programs by working with the marketing community, building close relationship with other industry bodies, blogging and advocacy. Fisher also intends to relaunch the IAB website by the end of the year and plans to move offices in early 2009.
