SALT LAKE CITY – mediaFORGE, a dynamic display media provider, released a white paper detailing its position on why optimizing campaigns for impressions, post-impression attribution, and click-through rate (CTR) does not give an adequate understanding of campaign performance, and how post-engagement is able to substantiate performance with much more meaningful results.

Given the influx of media coverage around online ad measurement, and the creation of the “Making Measurement Make Sense” (3MS) initiative by IAB, ANA, and 4As, it’s clear that advertisers are consensually dissatisfied with current performance metrics. What’s less clear is how to identify the best solution.

mediaFORGE’s white paper was written to empower advertisers to make the right decisions when exploring campaign metrics amidst the growing clamor of proposed solutions.

“Optimizing campaigns is about much more than identifying a metric to report against,” explains mediaFORGE CEO, Tony Zito. “It also determines the design of your campaign, including who you’re targeting and how. It’s important that advertisers understand the implications of the metrics they choose, and we hope this paper will give them a step in the right direction.”

The full whitepaper can be downloaded from the mediaFORGE website at mediaFORGE.com/resources. Some of the paper’s key conclusions include:

- Limited viewable ad inventory challenges validity of attributed view-through conversions.

- Narrowing target audience to optimize campaigns for clicks leads to substantial opportunity cost.

- Campaigns should be optimized for engagement to maximize yield.

- Tracking ad engagement validates that impressions were viewable.

- Clicks are not the exclusive indicator of purchase intent.

About mediaFORGE

mediaFORGE is a dynamic display media company that delivers a personalized and interactive ad experience designed to capture prospects and increase revenue. Its pioneering shared-revenue model charges marketers according to measured engagement that can be attributed to incremental revenue – never for impressions or view-throughs. With mediaFORGE, online marketers can employ the best aspects of display advertising with a low-risk business model, transparent data reports, and best-in-class account managers, making it the most compelling and efficient paths to optimal return on ad spend (ROAS). For more information, visit mediaFORGE.com.

Survey of Nearly 200 Advertising and Marketing Industry Thought Leaders Showcases Emerging Data Approaches & Identifies Key Challenges to Widespread Adoption

NEW YORK – Continuing to demystify the myriad of digital data now available to marketers and online publishers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) teamed with strategic consulting firm Winterberry Group to create a new study titled “From Information to Audiences: The Emerging Marketing Data Use Cases.” The white paper reveals new practices in data aggregation, management and deployment and spotlights barriers to widespread adoption. Its findings are based on research results from a survey of nearly 200 industry thought leaders and influencers, as well as Winterberry Group’s own quantitative and qualitative research.

The study found that forward-thinking marketers have begun shifting from traditional data focused on products, channels and campaigns to the real-time identification and optimization of consumer audiences. The long-established use of personally identifiable information (like names and postal addresses) for targeted marketing purposes is increasingly being complemented by aggregated and anonymyzed “digital data”—with a focus on improving ad effectiveness (through better targeting) as well as efficiency (through more economical media buying).

“The plethora of new data sources, targeted technologies and advertising delivery platforms enable marketers to amass more intelligence from varied sources,” said Patrick Dolan, Executive Vice President and COO, IAB. “This promising resource can only bear fruit if marketers can take that raw data and harness it effectively, going beyond traditional usage. This study shows us that there are some hurdles we need to address before we can expect widespread adoption—and the ability for ‘big data’ to deliver big result.”

Currently, the data-driven marketing use cases with the most potential are still in the early adoption stage, and the white paper scrutinizes four of them in greater detail:

Audience Optimization – At a low maturity level. Early adopters include digital advertisers and ecommerce players who use resulting audience profiles to find “look-alike audiences” across channels–-from tablets and laptops to smartphones and other mobile devices.

Channel Optimization – At a low maturity level. Early adopters include publishers and e-commerce players who integrate data on customer preferences and intent across the various media channels to deliver more relevant advertising in real time.

Ad Sales/Yield Optimization – At a low maturity level. Early adopters are primarily publishers, who use such tactics as third-party data overlays, enterprise data management platforms and data exchanges to create richer audience data sets designed to maximize rates and improve the attraction of remnant inventory.

Media Buying/Ad Targeting – At an intermediate maturity level. Early adopters include digital ad agencies and demand-side platforms that enable advertisers to identify and target high-value customers across channels by using real-time bidding and more efficient bidding prices.

The study also identified several challenges to widespread optimization of marketing data, including the need for:

Aggregation and Anonymization – While traditional data management practices were built largely around “personally identifiable information” elements—usually consumer names and postal addresses—the collection, analysis and segmentation of online data now requires the aggregation and anonymization of virtually all data sets.

Improved Operating Infrastructures – The primary barrier to widespread marketing data optimization is legacy operating infrastructures—characterized by rigid organizational “silos” and a lack of data-savvy expertise in marketing, IT and sales operations.

Strong Service- and Technology-Enabled Partners – The fastest, most efficient “big data” aggregation, analysis and throughput solutions require strong service- and technology-enabled partners. The burgeoning data supply chain is proving to be extremely agile in streamlining and processing data for marketing performance—supported by of a new class of open-source tools, as well as maturing advertising optimization that offer new solutions for managing and redeploying large quantities of disparate data sources.

Marketing Data Governance – Data governance has emerged as a critical priority for everyone in the data ecosystem. But whereas organizations have long employed policy experts to advise on the regulatory ramifications of data utilization, many are coming to see marketing data governance—defining the “rules of the road” for assigning distinct data sources to different promotional tasks—as equally important.

“The digital marketplace has been growing by leaps and bounds, with data collection and usage representing a very complex and integral part of the puzzle,” said Jonathan Margulies, Managing Director, Winterberry Group. “Early adopters are making strides in pointing the ecosystem in the right direction, but a substantial ‘data divide’ continues to distinguish a small group of early adopters from those who have yet to explore the real potential impact that data may have on their advertising effectiveness.”

“From Information to Audiences: The Emerging Marketing Data Use Cases” represents the latest addition to the IAB’s efforts to demystify data and bolster dialogue between media planners, publishers and data providers. It builds upon last year’s “Data Segments & Techniques Lexicon” and an earlier “Data Usage & Control Primer” The former provided media planners with a framework for clearer communication with publishers and data partners, while the latter addressed and helped resolve the contractual and competitive challenges that surround data usage and collection within the interactive advertising landscape. Both of those industry efforts were developed by the IAB Data Council, which is dedicated to enabling revenue growth through the establishment of quality, transparency, accountability, and consumer protection in data usage.

Supporting sponsors for the study include BlueKai, eXelate, Janrain, ShareThis and V12 Group.

Complete findings are available for download at www.iab.net/marketingdatause.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About Winterberry Group

Winterberry Group is a unique research and strategic consulting firm that helps advertising, marketing, media and information companies grow value. Affiliated with Petsky Prunier LLC (“PPLLC”)—a leading investment bank providing merger and acquisition advisory services to companies in the same industries—the Firm offers its clients strategic perspective that is unparalleled in its addressable industries, while PPLLC maintains exceptional relationships with industry executives and business owners. This combination of market intelligence, research and strategic operating experience (as well as the ongoing dialogue among buyers and sellers of marketing businesses) provides an educated outside perspective that we bring to each engagement. For more information, please visit www.winterberrygroup.com.

BALTIMORE – Millennial Media, the independent leader in mobile advertising, announced that Paul Palmieri, President and CEO, Millennial Media, has been named to the IAB Board of Directors. As a member of the board, Palmieri will be an executive voice for the challenges and opportunities in the mobile app economy for the IAB.

The IAB Board currently consists of approximately 40 senior executives from the largest media companies in the world, including Amazon, CBS Interactive, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Facebook, Hearst, Meredith, MTV, and Univision. As the Founder and CEO of the leading independent mobile advertising and data company, the addition of Palmieri underscores the IAB’s recognition that the mobile ad industry requires a voice at the most senior levels of the media and advertising industries.

“Mobile has taken a prominent place in the digital media business, and it is essential that we align our focus with other digital media companies to drive the growth of this evolving space,” said Paul Palmieri, President and CEO, Millennial Media. “Millennial Media is known as a leader throughout the mobile advertising ecosystem, and as a member of the IAB Board, I look forward to helping mobile grow as a key focus area within the organization.”

The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. The IAB is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86 percent of digital advertising in the United States.

“Paul’s expertise and insights will prove invaluable to the IAB Board of Directors as we take digital advertising and marketing to the next level,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “With smartphones and tablets having become an integral part of the landscape, his experience and deep knowledge of the mobile marketplace is a great benefit to our mission and members.”

Millennial Media currently serves as executive members of the Steering Committee for the Mobile Center of Excellence at the IAB in the U.S. and the Mobile Steering Committee at the IAB in the U.K. Millennial Media also serves on numerous key committees within the IAB, including Mobile Advertising, Networks and Exchanges, Research, etc.

About Millennial Media

Millennial Media is the leading independent mobile advertising and data platform. The company’s technology, tools and services also power some of the largest companies in the media business today. Millennial Media is committed to growing the mobile advertising marketplace by becoming the preferred partner to all advertisers seeking to reach mobile consumers, all application and media developers seeking to maximize ad revenue, and all mobile operators seeking to further monetize their networks. Visit http://www.millennialmedia.com for more information; join our Facebook community, follow us on Twitter at @millennialmedia or subscribe to our YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/millennialmediavideo for exclusive videos. Mobile developers can visit http://developer.millennialmedia.com/ to learn more about monetizing their apps.

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the promotion of David Doty to Executive Vice President and CMO from Senior Vice President and CMO. David Doty now becomes the organization’s second Executive Vice President, alongside Executive Vice President and COO Patrick Dolan. Working under the ongoing leadership of IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg, Doty and Dolan will comprise the top-level management team of the IAB.

With this new role, Doty will be responsible for the organization’s industrywide brand marketing-related activities. In addition, while maintaining his duties as CMO leading marketing and events, Doty will oversee research as well as international efforts and partnerships.

“David’s experience in working with government entities and similar stakeholders outside the U.S., his command of several languages, and his natural diplomatic skills position him perfectly for this new, vital role,” said Rothenberg. “In addition, his experience, insights and drive will be invaluable when it comes to leading mission-driven industry initiatives in the ever-critical brand marketing and research arenas.”

An expert in strategic communications, branding and the commercialization of intellectual capital, Doty joined the IAB in 2007 from Booz Allen Hamilton. There, beginning in 2001, he served as Director of Corporate Branding and Creative Services. His work was recognized with such honors as the Gold Award of the League of American Communications Professionals, the Telly Award and the Thoth Award from the PR Society of America.

Before joining Booz Allen, Mr. Doty worked in communications for over two decades, developing expertise in web sites, magazines, books, and television networks. As a journalist, author and then as a consultant, he worked with the Hearst Corporation, Microsoft, Turner Entertainment Networks, Primedia, American Express, and others. In 2004, he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by the President of France for his work as a journalist and consultant to the French Government Tourist Office, deepening the understanding between the U.S. and France.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

In Time for the Holidays: ‘Mobile Shoppers’ Study Shows How Ubiquitous Data Spawns Savvier Consumers

NEW YORK – Understanding the crucial role of mobile in marketers’ holiday strategies, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence released “Mobile Shoppers,” a new report that looks at how consumers’ access to mobile data will inevitably influence both what they buy and where they buy it. In addition, the study unveils the first-ever ranking of the most mobile shopping savvy cities in the U.S.

When it comes to being adept, able and prone to shop on mobile devices, “Space City” consumers nabbed Houston the highest spot on the list, followed by New York and Atlanta. Perhaps surprising to those who think of San Francisco as the hub of technology on-the-go, the Bay Area did not break into the top 10, landing instead at 11th place in the rankings.

The complete “2011 IAB U.S. Mobile Shopping Savvy Cities Index” is as follows:

1) Houston
2) New York
3) Atlanta
4) Los Angeles
5) Dallas/Ft. Worth
6) Tampa/St. Petersburg
7) Chicago
Philadelphia
9) Washington, D.C.
10) Seattle/Tacoma
11) San Francisco/Bay Area
12) Boston
13) Detroit
14) Minneapolis/St. Paul
15) Phoenix

The rankings were determined by looking at the mobile shopping audience today along with the distribution of mobile-savvy shoppers across major U.S. cities. The research used to determine the list refers to “mobile shopping” to mean both completing purchases via a phone or tablet and using a phone or tablet to research or shop for products that are later purchased in physical retail locations or online.

“Early data this holiday season already indicated the growing importance of mobile as a shopping tool,” said Joe Laszlo, Deputy Director, IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “Identifying mobile shoppers and delivering relevant messages to consumers as they are in shopping mode represents a key opportunity for marketers. That’s why we took this study one step further – pinpointing cities where advertisers would need to quickly embrace mobile strategies as a part of their overall plans to attract shoppers, both during the holiday season and throughout the year.”

Some of the other findings explored in this report include:

- Mobile shoppers are younger and have higher incomes than the average mobile user

- Ten percent of U.S. mobile users use their mobiles for comparing prices

- Almost 20 percent of U.S. mobile users use their phones to text or call family or friends about a product while in a store

To download the entire “Mobile Shoppers” study please visit www.iab.net/mobileshoppers

Methodology

In creating the “2011 IAB U.S. Mobile Shopping Savvy Cities Index,” IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence leveraged BIGinsight’s Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM), a biannual survey of over 20,000 consumers, conducted in June 2011, a large enough sample to yield data on mobile usage for each of the top 15 U.S. DMAs. The IAB examined four key data points: ownership of a mobile device (primarily smartphones or tablets), propensity to be influenced by mobile coupons, ownership of a mobile retail app on a handset or tablet, and ownership of a mobile social media app. For each of these data points, the IAB constructed an index for each DMA relative to the U.S. national average. The IAB then combined them into a single metric, weighting device ownership most heavily, followed by coupon influence and retail app ownership. Social media apps, as conduits for sharing shopping and other information, received a relatively lower weighting.

About the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence

The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, an independently funded and staffed unit inside the IAB, is charged with driving the growth of the mobile marketing, advertising and media marketplace.

The Mobile Center devotes resources to market and consumer research, mobile advertising case studies, executive training and education, supply chain standardization, creative showcases and best practice identification in the burgeoning field of mobile media and marketing. Our agenda will focus on building profitable revenue growth for companies engaged in mobile marketing, communications and advertising, and helping publishers, marketers and agency professionals understand and leverage interactive tools and technologies in order to reach and influence the consumer. For more information or to find out how to join, please visit www.iab.net/mmcoe.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence today released the final version of “Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions,” or MRAID. This initiative defines a common API (Application Programming Interface) for mobile rich media advertisements, establishing a framework of principles and guidelines to help the mobile marketplace reach new levels of consistency, efficiency and effectiveness.

Mobile’s range of benefits has secured incredible interest from agencies, publishers, vendors and ad designers, driving rapid growth. However, the accelerated speed of adoption also led to inefficiencies, including a marketplace cluttered with multiple, incompatible APIs from a variety of rich media vendors working with publishers to enable in-app advertising. This fragmentation placed undue burden on marketers and agencies, requiring that their advertisement’s underlying code be rewritten several times in order to run across different apps. With MRAID in place, the API “Tower of Babel” will be eliminated, allowing agencies to be able to quickly and easily run creative across applications from different publishers.

“With apps becoming more and more central to the consumer mobile experience and brand marketers’ plans, the industry needs to have set guidelines and principles when it comes to communication between ads and apps,” said Joe Laszlo, Deputy Director of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “MRAID is the next crucial step in bringing mobile to scale.”

“Greater emphasis is being placed on mobile by advertisers, which is a fantastic tribute to mobile’s benefits for brands. However, the industry’s rapid growth also gave birth to a number of inefficiencies that need to be addressed if we’re to move ahead,” said Scott Jensen, Vice President of Digital Products & Applications at The Weather Channel Companies, a participating member company of the IAB’s Mobile Marketing Center Board of Directors. “Simplifying and streamlining the process for designers of ad creative through MRAID today will only further the chance of stronger mobile media buys in the future.”

For a copy of MRAID 1.0 and more information about MRAID, the working group and its members, please visit: http://www.iab.net/mraid.

About the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence

The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, an independently funded and staffed unit inside the IAB, is charged with driving the growth of the mobile marketing, advertising and media marketplace. The Mobile Center devotes resources to market and consumer research, mobile advertising case studies, executive training and education, supply chain standardization, creative showcases and best practice identification in the burgeoning field of mobile media and marketing. Our agenda will focus on building profitable revenue growth for companies engaged in mobile marketing, communications and advertising, and helping publishers, marketers and agency professionals understand and leverage interactive tools and technologies in order to reach and influence the consumer. For more information or to find out how to join, please visit www.iab.net/mmcoe.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

IAB MIXX Conference & Expo 2011
NEW YORK – Launching its groundbreaking Rising Stars Display ad units this past February, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) pledged that it would drive a creative transformation of the interactive advertising space and boost marketers’ confidence that they could successfully build brands online. This morning, the early results from the Rising Stars, announced at the IAB MIXX Conference & Expo, prove that these brand canvases propel new heights of consumer interaction and engagement.

Built to allow creatives the freedom to take advantage of interactive’s full scope of benefits, these ad formats have already garnered strong payoffs for top-tier marketers such as BMW, Procter & Gamble, Levi’s, Ford, and HBO, taking the evaluation of online advertising campaigns beyond click-through rates.

“Rising Stars was designed to unlock all the unique and creative assets that the interactive advertising arena has to offer, giving marketers a dynamic and vibrant canvas on which to tell their brand stories,” said Peter Minnium, Consulting Director, IAB, and lead of the Rising Stars initiative. “We are only scratching the surface of what these new ad formats can bring to bear, rousing the next wave of evolution in our industry.”

Both the Billboard from Google and YouTube, and the Filmstrip submitted by Microsoft, brought in impressive returns. Consumers who saw the IAB Billboard on YouTube were four times more likely to watch the company’s videos, search for the brand, or visit the advertiser’s site, than those who were not exposed to the ad. Also striking high marks, the IAB Filmstrip has increased both exposure time and interaction rates by over 90 percent compared to other rich media ads on the MSN homepage.

“In marketing our new Giulietta, we needed to engage and connect with our target consumer. A car purchase is a complex and emotional process. Each panel of the Filmstrip invited the user to explore a different aspect of our new car—the sleek exterior, the details of the interior, the engine designed for performance,” said Maurizio Spagnulo, Digital Marketing Director, Alfa Romeo and Fiat Group Automobiles. “We were thrilled with the engagement that the Filmstrip delivered. Sixty percent of users who interacted with the Giulietta Filmstrip watched the video on the last panel through to completion, and the average exposure time for a user on MSN Italy was over seven minutes!”

Adding more fuel to the Rising Stars fire, the IAB Sidekick, submitted by Unicast, has already seen ad engagement time soar to seven times the industry average. Similarly, the AOL/Pictela-developed Pushdown has upped ad engagement to more than three times the norm. Meanwhile, AOL’s Portrait unit also shines, with engagement rates averaging 7 percent and regularly climbing into the double digits in certain categories.

“Today, effective online communication with consumers can’t just be calculated based on standard click-through rates. Digital has other unique capabilities that can help us capture mindshare,” said David Levin, President, Creative & Technology, 360i. “And, with the help of the new IAB ad formats like the Sidekick and the Pushdown, we are able to deliver more engaging experiences that strengthen our brand messages and the stories we tell online.”

Promoting comparable innovation on mobile platforms, the IAB has also been calling for entries to the Rising Stars Mobile Contest. The winning ad units for mobile are expected to be unveiled at the IAB Annual Leadership Summit in February 2012.

“Early evidence of Rising Stars Display’s success only spurs us to work more closely with publishers, creatives and marketers to make sure that these units become industry standards, and that our upcoming mobile units deliver the same sort of brand-building results,” said David Doty, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, IAB.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

Best-in-Show Goes to American Express OPEN & CP+B and DIGITAS for “Small Business Saturday”

NEW YORK – A stellar collection of leading-edge brand marketers and agency creatives came together tonight at a sold-out gala to celebrate the winners of the seventh annual MIXX Awards, which recognize creativity and impact in interactive advertising. The campaigns and single execution winners in 25 categories were selected by a prestigious jury of senior agency, marketer, and publisher leaders, making the MIXX Awards the only competition judged by a cross-section of luminaries in the interactive advertising ecosystem. American Express OPEN & CP+B and DIGITAS took home Best-in-Show, the gala’s top prize, for “Small Business Saturday,” a campaign that in three short weeks was able to develop and launch a brand new shopping day that consumers had never heard of, driving retail sales for small business owners at the beginning of the crucial holiday shopping season.

Attesting to the enduring innovation of digital, this year’s MIXX Awards recognized two new categories—Tablet Marketing and Location-Based Advertising. All the winners were unveiled before a crowd of interactive’s movers and shakers, who were also entertained by host Baratunde Thurston, well-known humorist, Co-Founder of Jack & Jill Politics, and Director of Digital for The Onion.

“The art of building brands and connecting with consumers is at the center of each of these remarkable wins at tonight’s MIXX Awards,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “As the culmination of the IAB’s two-day MIXX event, these awards highlight that engaging storytelling, combined with innovative technology, is a potent formula for brand marketers and agencies to take advertising and marketing to new heights.”

“All of the winners tonight attest to the ever-more powerful role that digital advertising is where brands and consumers come together in fresh dialogues, and interactive marketing is delivering both ingeniously creative engagements and real-world results,” said David Doty, Senior Vice President and CMO, IAB. “The two new categories this year—Tablet Marketing and Location-Based Advertising—and their winners—Microsoft Bing and Point Reach for ‘Bing for iPad,’ and Coke Zero and CP+B for ‘TRON LiveCycle’—reflect the incredible innovation happening within these emerging platforms.”

To view the complete gallery of the MIXX Winners please visit: http://www.iab.net/mixxawards/gallery

The Complete List of 2011 MIXX Award Winners:

Best-in-Show
American Express OPEN & CP+B and DIGITAS for “Small Business Saturday”

Brand Awareness & Positioning – Campaign
GOLD:                                         American Express OPEN & CP+B and DIGITAS for “Small Business Saturday”
SILVER:                             IBM & Ogilvy New York for “Watson”
BRONZE:
American Express & DIGITAS NY and MomentumWW for
“UNSTAGED: An Original Series From American Express”

Business-to-Business – Campaign
GOLD:                             IBM & Ogilvy New York for “The Smarter City”
SILVER:                             Google Display Advertising & Google Creative Lab for “WATCH THIS SPACE”
BRONZE:                             Xerox & Y&R and VML for “Ready for Real Business”

Cross-Media Integration – Campaign
GOLD:                             Diageo & BBH New York for “Johnnie Walker “Say It Without Saying It””
SILVER:                             Toyota Motor Sales & Saatchi & Saatchi LA for “Toyota Sienna Family”
BRONZE:                             Renault UK & Publicis London for “The Megane Experiment”

Digital Integration – Campaign
GOLD:                             IBM & Ogilvy New York for “The Smarter City”
SILVER:                             PepsiCo & AMV BBDO for “Doritos King of Ads”
BRONZE:                             Doritos & The Marketing Arm for “Doritos Unlock Xbox”

Direct Response and Lead Generation – Campaign
GOLD:                             Domino’s Pizza & CP+B for “Show Us Your Pizza”
SILVER:                             Diageo Ireland & DDB UK for “Bud Ice Cold Index”
BRONZE:                             Foot Locker & SapientNitro for “Sneakerpedia”

Experimental and Innovative – Campaign
GOLD:                             Google & BBH New York and Google Creative Lab for “Google Chrome Fast”
SILVER:                             Urban Ministries of Durham & McKinney for “SPENT”
BRONZE:                             Microsoft Bing & Point Reach for “Bing & Angry Birds Integration”

Games – Campaign
GOLD:                             Doritos & The Marketing Arm for “Doritos Unlock Xbox”
SILVER:                             Microsoft Bing & Point Research for “Bing & Angry Birds Integration”
BRONZE:                             Mountain Dew & OMD for ““DEWmocracy” on Xbox LIVE”

Interactive Video – Campaign
GOLD:                             American Express & DIGITAS NY and MomentumWW for “UNSTAGED:
An Original Series From American Express”
SILVER:                             Old Navy & CP+B for “Old Navy Records”
BRONZE:                             Xerox & Y&R and VML for “Ready for Real Business”

Mobile Platforms and Apps – Campaign
GOLD:                             Diageo Ireland & DDB UK for “Bud Ice Cold Index”
SILVER:                             Microsoft Bing & Point Reach for “Bing for Mobile”
BRONZE:                             Macy’s & JWT New York for “Macy’s Backstage Pass”

Multicultural – Campaign
GOLD:                             Allstate Insurance Company & Tapestry for “Allstate Latin Grammy Takeover”
SILVER:                             McDonald’s & iNSPIRE! For “Latinos Are One/LR1”
BRONZE:
Dove Deodorant & BrightLine for “Dove Deodorant Hermosamente Cantado”

Product Launch – Campaign
GOLD:                             Google & BBH New York and Google Creative Lab for “Google Chrome Fast”
SILVER:                             Volkswagen Group of America & AKQA for “Great. For the Price of Good”
BRONZE:                             HSN & HSN for “Exclusive Launch of Mary J. Blige’s My Life Fragrance”

Public Service / Not for Profit – Campaign
GOLD:                             Urban Ministries of Durham & McKinney for “SPENT”
SILVER:                             Depaul UK & Publicis London for “iHobo 1.1”
BRONZE:                             Office of Road Safety Western Australia & 303 Group for “Enjoy The Ride”

Search Marketing – Campaign
GOLD:                             General Motors/Chevrolet & SMG Search, DIGITAS and Starcom
for “2011 Chevrolet Super Bowl”
SILVER:                             Volkswagen & MediaCom for “Super Bowl Search Campaign”
BRONZE:                             ADT Security & Razorfish for “ADT Security Launches ADT Pulse
Using Integrated Search Engine Marketing Techniques”

Social Marketing – Campaign
GOLD:                             American Express OPEN & CP+B and DIGITAS for “Small Business Saturday”
SILVER:                             Urban Ministries of Durham & McKinney for “SPENT”
BRONZE:                             Stanfield’s Underwear & john st. for “The Guy at Home in His Underwear”

Brand Destination Site – Single
GOLD:                             Google & Possible Worldwide for “Art Project”
SILVER:                             Skittles & Big Spaceship for “Experience the Rainbow”
BRONZE:                             Liberty Mutual & Hill Holliday for “The Responsibility Project”

Branded Content – Single
GOLD:                             Doritos USA & Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for “Late Night Global featuring Rihanna”
SILVER:                             Abbott Laboratories & McKinney for “Unstoppable Tour ‘Boxing’”
BRONZE:                             Stanfield’s Underwear & john st. for “The Guy at Home in His Underwear”

Digital Out-of-Home Advertising – Single
GOLD:                             Yahoo! & Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for “Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby”
SILVER:                             Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment/Avatar Blue-ray DVD & Inwindow
Outdoor and Zenith Media for “Avatar Digital Face Morphing Exhibit”
BRONZE:                             The Coca-Cola Company & Publicis E-dologic for “Coca-Cola Village Real Life “like”

Games – Single
GOLD:
Urban Ministries of Durham & McKinney for “SPENT”
SILVER:
Toyota Motor Sales & Saatchi & Saatchi LA for “Prius Plural – CarTown”
BRONZE:
Bolthouse Farms & CP+B for “Xtreme Xrunch Kart

Interactive Video – Single
GOLD:                             BIC/Tipp-ex & Buzzman for “A Hunter Shoots A Bear”
SILVER:                             FEMEN & Grape, Ailove, and VGNC for “Do You Want Me”
BRONZE:                             Snapple & Neo-Pangea, Deutsch LA, and Campfire for “Snapple Lunch-Break
Beats: Hot on the Hidden Links”

Location-Based Advertising – Single
GOLD:                             Coke Zero & CP+B for “TRON LiveCycle”
SILVER:                             Bing & Deep Focus for “Home Turf Finder”
BRONZE:                             Gandhi Bookstores & Ogilvy Mexico for “Authors’ Streets”

Mobile Platform or App – Single
GOLD:                             Depaul UK & Publicis London for “iHobo 1.1”
SILVER:                             Diageo Ireland & DDB UK for “Bud Ice Cold Index”
BRONZE:                             ABBA Seafood & CP+B for “Kalles Egg Timer”

Online Commercial – Single
GOLD:                             Unilever & BBH New York for “Cleans Your Balls”
SILVER:                             john st. & john st. for “Pink Ponies”
BRONZE:                             Microsoft & CP+B for “Online Scams Taken Offline/DotCons”

Rich Media Display Ad – Single
GOLD:                             Google – Display Advertising & Google Creative Lab and Grow Interactive
for “WATCH THIS SPACE – Twitter Response Ad”
SILVER:                             Rogers Communications & Publicis Toronto for “Tron Trailer (Wireless Ultimate HD)”
BRONZE:                             Volkswagen & Mediacom Interaction, Grabarz & Partner, and Yahoo!
for “May the Force Be with You”

Tablet Marketing – Single
GOLD:                             Microsoft Bing & Point Reach for “Bing for iPad”
SILVER:                             McKinney & McKinney for “mckinney.com”
BRONZE:
American Honda Motor Company & RPA for “Honda CR-Z Experience App”

Viral – Single
GOLD:                             BIC/Tipp-ex & Buzzman for “A Hunter Shoots a Bear”
SILVER:                             Unilever & Mindshare and BBH New York for “Cleans Your Balls”
BRONZE:                             Urban Ministries of Durham & McKinney for “SPENT”

MIXX 2011 Judges:

Jeff Benjamin – Partner, Chief Creative Officer, CP+B
Lincoln Bjorkman – Chief Creative Officer, North America, DIGITAS
Brad Brinegar – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, McKinney
Ed Brojerdi – Co-Chief Creative Officer, kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners
Tim Castelli – Senior Vice President, Eastern Sales, AOL
Andreas Combuechen – Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Creative Officer, Atmosphere Proximity
Emma Cookson – Chairman, BBH New York
Mark D’Arcy – Director, Global Creative Solutions, Facebook
Brian DiLorenzo – Executive Vice President, Chief of Production, McCann New York
Marjorie Dufek – Interactive Marketing Director, Brown-Forman Corporation
Brad Feldman –Senior Director, Creative Strategy and Development, Yahoo!
Alberto Ferrer – Managing Partner, The Vidal Partnership
Marc Fonzetti – Director, Media Services/Marketing Communications, Verizon Wireless
Theresa Gaffney – Creative Director, Digital Media, Meredith Women’s Network
Quentin George – Chief Digital Officer, Mediabrands
Jane Grenier – Vice President, Integrated Strategy, Condé Nast Media Group
Trevor Kaufman – Chief Executive Officer, Possible
Scott Kinzie – Chief Marketing Officer, BabyCenter
Nick Law – Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer, R/GA
Jean-Philippe Maheu – Worldwide Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Modem
Andy Markowitz – Director, Global Digital Strategy, GE, Corporate Commercial and Communications, General Electric Company
DyShaun Muhammad – Senior Marketing Manager – Bisquick and Wal-Mart, General Mills
Benjamin Palmer – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Barbarian Group
Suzie Reider – Head of Video Advertising, YouTube
David Roman – Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Lenovo
Alan Schulman – Founder and Chief Creative Officer, U . D I G > The Digital Innovations Group
Baba Shetty – Chief Strategy Officer, Hill Holliday
Rick Song – Senior Director, Eastern U.S. Sales, Microsoft Advertising
Steve Wax – Partner, Campfire, Ladies and Gentlemen, and ThirtySix LLC

MIXX Awards Sponsors:

24/7 Real Media
AdKeeper
Buddy Media
Facebook
Google
Horn Group
IDG
Martini Media
Microsoft Advertising
NBC Universal Digital Media
NHL.com
Specific Media
Terra Networks Operations
WildTangent Media
Yahoo!

Official Creative Production Partner

Beehive Communications

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

IAB MIXX Conference & Expo 2011
NEW YORK – Michael Lebowitz, Founder and CEO of Big Spaceship, is the new chairman of the IAB Agency Advisory Board, a consultative body formed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to focus close attention on the frontiers of creativity and brand marketing, and to improve the vital relationships between publishers and creative, media, and public relations agencies. Lebowitz succeeds Brad Brinegar, Chairman and CEO of McKinney, who has helmed the esteemed group of agency leaders since its establishment in 2009. The IAB also announced today that seven other advertising thought leaders have accepted invitations to become new members of this distinguished assembly of industry advisors. The announcements were made at the IAB MIXX Conference & Expo in New York City.

Over the course of the past two years, the IAB AAB has come together on a quarterly basis to drive new ways of thinking about how to make the web as creative and compelling a medium as possible for brand marketers in the interactive era of paid, owned and earned media. The AAB has contributed such tangible results for the industry as helping shape IAB work on the Rising Stars program, which introduced cutting-edge display ad formats built to inspire creativity in digital brand advertising, and on digital ad measurement standards.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Michael Lebowitz as the new chair of this influential company of interactive thought leaders, and we salute Brad Brinegar for his leadership over the past two years harnessing this incredible resource for the industry and for our members,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “Michael’s breadth of knowledge and practice in creating award-winning, cutting-edge digital experiences will help agencies and interactive media work fruitfully together to drive client benefit and mutual growth. Since the IAB Agency Advisory Board’s inception, this group of dynamic senior voices has become a partner in our conspiracy to reinvent advertising and marketing.”

“Big Spaceship has always embraced cross-disciplinary efforts that result in innovative, actionable solutions, which is why I’m particularly honored to serve as chair of the IAB Agency Advisory Board,” said Lebowitz. “The level of collaboration that this board represents is a strong acknowledgment that nobody can flourish in the digital arena today when working in a vacuum. I’m looking forward to driving substantive initiatives with the IAB to support our collaborative efforts.”

“When I started talking with the IAB about the formation of the Agency Advisory Board, we knew that our ultimate goal was to ensure that interactive publishers were working as effectively as possible with agencies like ours,” said Brinegar. “And once we got all of these creative trailblazers to the table together, we had an incredible opportunity to exchange our ideas and best practices and to encourage more brand marketing in interactive media.”

The seven additions to the roster boast equally compelling credentials:

Current members feature luminaries in the interactive advertising world:

For more information about the IAB Agency Advisory Board, please visit: http://www.iab.net/agencyadvisoryboard

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – Internet ad revenues rose 23.2 percent — to a record $14.9 billion — in the first half of 2011, according to figures released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC US). The rate of growth more than doubled year-over-year, as last year’s first-half ad revenues of $12.1 billion had represented an 11.3 percent increase over 2009.

Internet ad revenues for the second quarter alone also reached new heights, increasing 24.1 percent to $7.7 billion. That performance compares to last year’s same-period revenues of $6.2 billion, up 13.9 percent from 2009.

Display-related advertising — which includes banner ads, rich media, digital video and sponsorships — totaled more than $5.5 billion in the first six months of 2011. Display increased 27.1 percent over the same period in 2010, substantially exceeding the previous year’s growth rate of 16 percent. Digital video once again commanded double-digit growth — up 42.1 percent over a year ago, and moved close to the $1 billion mark with $891 million in half year 2011 revenue.

Display accounted for 37 percent of all interactive spend in the first half of 2011, with search remaining the leading online category at 49 percent of the total — nearly $7.3 billion. Search and Display each grew about 27 percent year-over-year, with Search more than doubling its previous year’s growth rate of 11.6 percent.

In other online ad formats, dollars spent on lead generation increased 25.4 percent over the same period in 2010, but classified ad dollars were down 2 percent and email spend decreased 34.2 percent.

IAB and PwC US looked at revenue models supporting online ads. Ads using performance-based models increased faster than ads using impression-based models, rising to $9.6 billion. Impression-based ad spend did grow by 10.8 percent, though that pricing model accounted for only 31 percent of total ads, down from 35 percent year-over-year.

“The remarkably resilient performance of interactive advertising so far in 2011 demonstrates that more marketers are placing big bets on digital to tell their brand stories,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “This welcome news, in light of the weakness in a large part of the rest of the U.S. economy, confirms that the innovations happening in interactive marketing deliver great value to the industry and to the consumer.”

“Strong online advertising growth has continued into the first half of 2011,” said David Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “Fueling this growth is the ability of advertisers to correlate performance and results with the dollars they are investing.”

“These figures build upon the positive news we saw in the 2010 year-end revenue report,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Industry Services, IAB. “It’s a clear signal that all of us in the interactive advertising industry are delivering meaningful results to marketers — and that they are confident in investing in interactive.”

Annual Figures

The following chart highlights half-year Internet ad revenue since the IAB began measurements in 1996; dollar figures are rounded.

Ad Category Breakouts (in millions)

Revenue Pricing Models (in millions)

The IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by the Internet Media Group of PwC US. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising.

The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information. Past reports are available at www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About the PwC Network

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.

NEW YORK – The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence (http://www.iab.net/mmcoe) released “Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions,” or MRAID (http://www.iab.net/mraid), for public comment. This initiative defines a common API (Application Programming Interface) for mobile rich media advertisements, establishing a framework of principles and guidelines to help the mobile marketplace reach new levels of consistency, efficiency and effectiveness.

The growth, versatility and potential of in-application advertising have drawn strong interest from agencies, publishers, vendors and ad designers. However, accompanying this industry enthusiasm has been a surge of disparate APIs from numerous rich media vendors working with publishers to enable these dynamic ads. Multiple, incompatible APIs force advertisers to re-write the programming behind their ad creative several times for a single campaign, creating complexity and adversely impacting their resources.

“Standardizing the development of mobile rich media creative will be a strong benefit for both the mobile and the ad industry overall,” said Anna Bager, Vice President & General Manager of the IAB’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “MRAID provides creative developers with opportunities to achieve reach and scale efficiently.”

“As the premier digital media company, Yahoo! works with many different advertisers and rich media vendors,” said Alex Linde, Director, Mobile & Tablet Advertising, Yahoo! and IAB MRAID working group member. “We know first hand how challenging it would be to bring scale to mobile advertising without a standard for in-application mobile rich media ad serving and a single set of industry-accepted guidelines for agencies and designers. We believe that MRAID is essential to sustain momentum in this rapidly growing industry.”

Under the IAB’s draft MRAID guidelines, if a mobile app is “MRAID compliant,” it will read, understand and correctly display ads developed using the MRAID instruction specification. At the same time, MRAID-compliant mobile rich media ads will operate within MRAID compliant applications from any publisher – allowing agencies to quickly and easily run rich, interactive mobile creative across apps from various publishers.

The public comment period for the IAB’s release of MRAID will run through September 30, 2011. Once the public comment period closes, the MRAID working group will meet to evaluate comments received, make any needed changes to the draft MRAID spec, and release final version of MRAID 1.0. Comments are being accepted by email at mobile@iab.net.

For a copy of the public comment version of MRAID 1.0 and more information about MRAID, the working group and its members, please visit: http://www.iab.net/mraid

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) [www.iab.net] is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) called on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to withdraw its controversial new domain-naming plan, saying that the program to assign hundreds of thousands of new domain names would cause incalculable financial damage to brand owners, including the hundreds of media brands in its membership. These “top-level domain” addresses, which could include domain endings that focus on specific trademarked brand names such as .coke, .jetblue, .cnn, .facebook or .verizon, would come at an extremely high cost to publishers and advertisers, and would also offer “cyber squatters” an opportunity to harm a brand’s integrity and/or profit greatly from their bad-faith domain registrations.

“This could be disastrous for the media brand owners we represent and the brand owners with which they work. We hope that ICANN
“ICANN’s potentially momentous change seems to have been made in a top-down star chamber. There appears to have been no economic impact research, no full and open stakeholder discussions, and little concern for the delicate balance of the Internet ecosystem,” said Randall Rothenberg, CEO and President, IAB. “This could be disastrous for the media brand owners we represent and the brand owners with which they work. We hope that ICANN will reconsider both this ill-considered decision and the process by which it was reached.”

The IAB move followed strong criticism of the ICANN plan by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). The ANA has labeled the plan as economically unsupportable, stating that it is likely to cause irreparable harm and damage to its membership and the Internet business community in general. At the same time, according to the ANA, the program contravenes the legal rights of brand owners and jeopardizes the safety of consumers.

Unless the IAB, ANA and other organizations can effectively defeat plans for ICANN’s “top-level domain” program, these new domain endings are expected to roll out in late 2012.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

IAB MIXX Conference & Expo 2011
NEW YORK – An impressive list of marketers and agencies have been honored, receiving nominations for their groundbreaking work in online advertising, as finalists for the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) seventh annual international MIXX Awards. With new platforms gaining momentum in the interactive advertising space, this year the IAB international MIXX Awards includes two new single execution categories, Tablet Marketing and Location-Based Advertising.

“The uptick in submissions for the 2011 MIXX Awards has been remarkable – more than 25 percent from last year. And even better, our list of finalists for 2011 is culled from a ‘who’s who’ of brand marketers and agency talent,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “International campaign submissions, in particular, have nearly doubled compared to last year, which emphasizes the growth of online media around the world.”

The 2011 MIXX Awards winners will be determined by an all-star panel of 30 experts from the top digital agencies, marketers and publishers. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner on October 4, during Advertising Week in New York City. “We can’t wait to celebrate this industry’s success, and there is no better way to do so than by recognizing the best of the best at the MIXX Awards gala,” said Rothenberg.

MIXX Awards 2011 Finalists by Category:

Brand Destination Site – Single
Google and Possible Worldwide for “Art Project”
Skittles and Big Spaceship for “Experience the Rainbow”
Kraft Foods and 360i for “Kraft Huddle to Fight Hunger”
Liberty Mutual and Hill Holliday for “The Responsibility Project”

Branded Content – Single
Stanfield’s and john st. for “Guy At Home In His Underwear”
Doritos/Frito Lay and Goodby Silverstein & Partners for “Late Night Global – Rihanna”
Liberty Mutual and Hill Holliday for “The Responsibility Project”
Abbott Laboratories and McKinney for “Unstoppable Tour ‘Boxing’”

Digital Out-of-Home – Single
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment/Avatar Blu-ray DVD and Inwindow Outdoor and Zenith Media for “Avatar Digital Face Morphing Exhibit”
The Coca-Cola Company and Publicis E-dologic for “Coca-Cola ‘like’ machine”
Yahoo! and Goodby Silverstein & Partners for “Jessica Worthington”
IBM and Ogilvy & Mather for “SmarterCities”

Games – Single
Toyota Motor Sales, USA and Saatchi & Saatchi LA for “Prius Plural – CarTown”
Urban Ministries of Durham and McKinney for “SPENT”
Lionsgate and Initiative for “The Expendables”
Bolthouse Farms and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Xtreme Xrunch Kart”

Interactive Video – Single
BIC/TIPP-EX and Buzzman for “A Hunter Shoots A Bear”
Audi and Coincident.TV for “Audi R8 Experience”
FEMEN and Grape for “Do you want me?”
Snapple and Neo-Pangea for “Snapple Lunch Break-Beats”

Location-Based Advertising – Single
Gandhi Bookstores and Ogilvy Mexico for “Author Streets´”
Bing and Deep Focus for “Bing Home Turf Finder”
The Coca-Cola Company and MediaVest for “Secret Formula SCVNGR/Simon Malls”
Coke Zero and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Tron LiveCycle”

Mobile Platform or App – Single
Budweiser and Tribal DDB/DDB UK for “Bud Ice Cold Index”
Mead Johnson/Enfamil and DIGITAS, Stamford for “Expecting Baby Mobile App”
Depaul UK and Publicis London for “iHobo”
Abba Seafood and Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Europe for “Kalles Egg Timer”

Online Commercial – Single
Unilever and BBH New York for “Cleans Your Balls”
Microsoft and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Online Scams Taken Offline/DotCons”
john st. for “Pink Ponies: A Case Study”
The Coca-Cola Company and Definition 6 for “The Happiness Truck”

Rich Media Display Ad – Single
Hewlett-Packard and Ariadna for “Augmented Reality Using Motion Tracking”
Volkswagen and Yahoo! for “May the Force Be with You”
Rogers and Rogers Communications for “Tron Trailer”
Google for “Watch This Space – Twitter Response Ad”

Tablet Marketing – Single
Microsoft Bing and Point Reach for “Bing for iPad”
American Honda Motor Co., and RPA for “Honda CR-Z Experience App”
McKinney for “mckinney.com”
Microsoft Dynamics and Point Reach for “Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for iPad”

Viral – Single
BIC/TIPP-EX and Buzzman for “A Hunter Shoots A Bear”
Unilever/Axe Personal Wash and Mindshare and BBH New York for “Clean Your Balls”
Urban Ministries of Durham and McKinney for “SPENT”
McKinney for “Twerrible Towel”

Brand Awareness and Positioning – Campaign
Qwest Communications and McKinney for “Holiday Must-Haves”
American Express and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Small Business Saturday”
American Express and DIGITAS NY and Momentum NY for “Unstaged: An Original Series From American Express”
IBM and Ogilvy for “Watson”

Business-to-Business – Campaign
IBM and Ogilvy & Mather for “SmarterCities”
Dell and MediaCom for “Take Your Own Path”
Google for “Watch This Space 2010”
Xerox and Y&R/VML for “Y&R/VML”

Cross-Media Integration – Campaign
Diageo and BBH New York for “Johnnie Walker ‘Say It Without Saying It’”
Discovery Channel and PHD for “Storm Chasers Season Four”
Renault UK Ltd and Publicis London for “The Megane Experiment”
Toyota Motor Sales, USA and Saatchi & Saatchi LA for “Toyota Sienna Family Campaign”

Digital Integration – Campaign
Kimberly-Clark/U by Kotex and Organic for “Ban the Bland”
Frito Lay and Microsoft for “Doritos Unlock Xbox”
PepsiCo Doritos and AMVBBDO for “King of Ads”
IBM and Ogilvy & Mather for “SmarterCities”

Direct Response and Lead Generation – Campaign
Diageo Ireland, Budweiser Ireland and Tribal DDB/DDB UK for “Bud Ice Cold Index”
Go RVing and Click Here for “Meet the Ambassadors of Affordability”
Domino’s Pizza and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Show Us Your Pizza”
Foot Locker Europe and SapientNitro London for “Sneakerpedia”

Experimental and Innovative – Campaign
Microsoft Bing and Point Reach for “Bing-Angry Birds Integration”
Google and BBH New York for “Google Chrome Fast”
CoverGirl/Procter & Gamble and G2 USA for “My CoverGirl Engagement Program”
Urban Ministries of Durham and McKinney for “SPENT”

Games – Campaign
Microsoft Bing and Point Reach for “Bing-Angry Birds Integration”
Mountain Dew and OMD for “DEWmocracy on Xbox LIVE”
Frito Lay and Microsoft for “Doritos Unlock Xbox”
Dr Pepper and Electronic Arts for “Giving Gamers More”

Interactive Video – Campaign
Old Navy and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Old Navy Records”
AB InBev and BrightLine for “Stella Artois World Draught Masters”
American Express and DIGITAS NY and Momentum NY for “Unstaged: An Original Series From American Express”
Xerox and Y&R/VML for “Y&R/VML”

Mobile Platforms and Apps – Campaign
Microsoft Bing and Point Reach for “Bing Mobile Campaign”
Diageo Ireland, Budweiser Ireland and Tribal DDB/DDB UK for “Bud Ice Cold Index”
The Coca-Cola Company/Trademark and MediaVest for “Coca-Cola Holiday”
Macy’s and JWT New York for “Macy’s Backstage Pass”

Multicultural – Campaign
Allstate Insurance Company and Tapestry for “Allstate Latin Grammy Takeover”
Unilever – Dove Deodorant and BrightLine for “Dove Hermosamente Cantado”
McDonalds and iNSPIRE! for “Latinos Are One/LR1”
P&G/21 Brands and Terra Networks USA for “P&G Mi Casa, Tu Casa on Terra.com”

Product Launch – Campaign
adidas and Isobar for “adidas ClimaCool”
Google and BBH New York for “Google Chrome Fast”
Volkswagen and AKQA for “Great. For the price of good.”
HSN for “HSN/Mary J. Blige Launch”

Public Service/Not For Profit – Campaign
Office of Road Safety and 303 Group for “Enjoy The Ride”
Depaul UK and Publicis London for “iHobo”
Urban Ministries of Durham and McKinney for “SPENT”
The London Metropolitan Police and AMVBBDO for “Who Killed Deon?”

Search Marketing – Campaign
General Motors/Chevrolet and SMG Search, Digitas, & Starcom for “2011 Chevrolet Super Bowl”
ADT Security and Razorfish for “ADT Pulse Launch Using Search Engine Marketing”
Volkswagen and MediaCom for “Super Bowl Search Campaign”
Visit Florida and Location3 Media for “VisitFlorida.com”

Social Marketing – Campaign
Stanfield’s and john st. for “Guy At Home In His Underwear”
American Express and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Small Business Saturday”
Urban Ministries of Durham and McKinney for “SPENT”
Yahoo! Sports and Isobar for “Yahoo! Sports Grudge Judge”

About the IAB MIXX Awards

The IAB international MIXX Awards reviews all critical components of the interactive marketing mix, including strategy, creative, execution and results. The screening committee—comprised of senior marketing professionals—individually evaluates and scores each submission. Every entry is assessed by multiple members to ensure an accurate, thorough review. The four entries with the highest scores become the finalists for each category.

The winners of the MIXX Awards are announced at a gala dinner, this year on October 4, during the MIXX Conference & Expo. They both take place near the start of New York City’s Advertising Week, a gathering of the media and marketing industries that typically draws 10,000 professionals to conferences, seminars and parties celebrating advertising and its evolution.

To learn more about the IAB international MIXX Awards and view the complete gallery of past MIXX winners please visit: iab.net/mixxawards/gallery.

To find out more about the MIXX Conference and Expo, “What’s the Story? Building Narrative in the Digital Age” please go to: iab.net/mixx.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

IAB MIXX Conference & Expo 2011
NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will take on one of the industry’s biggest issues in this year’s IAB MIXX Conference & Expo 2011 with the theme of “What’s the Story? Building Narrative in the Digital Age.” To bolster thought leadership and creative insights on this topic, the IAB has teamed with The Martin Agency to collaborate on this year’s event.

The two organizations will program the event to explore the science and art of powerful narrative in the digital age. As always, the event will assemble thought-provoking, provocative content and convene the interactive advertising ecosystem’s most adept storytellers and storybuilders to deliver an unprecedented two-day event that examines the dynamic worlds of media and brand.

“Great advertising creative has always been able to tell a story that evokes emotion and response from its audience. This conference will explore the unparalleled opportunities and challenges that interactive advertising presents to marketers as they build and disseminate their narratives,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “Fostering deep relationships with agency voices in new and innovative ways—such as this partnership with The Martin Agency –ensures that the IAB continually develops events that constructively address concerns and issues across the interactive advertising industry landscape.”

“Storytelling has always been a critical element of what makes us human,” said Mike Hughes, President of The Martin Agency. “New technologies are creating transformative cultural shifts in how stories are created, shared, understood—and now constantly reshaped. Like journalists and educators, marketers charged with creating or building brand stories today cannot afford to ignore this revolution. Our partnership with the IAB will generate thoughtful dialogues for anyone involved in today’s interactive storybuilding.”

Hughes will also be speaking at the event, alongside other top industry leaders and influencers, including:

Nick Brien, Chief Executive Officer, McCann Worldgroup
Carolyn Everson, Vice-President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook
Jaron Lanier, Partner Architect, Microsoft Research
Michael Lazerow, CEO, Buddy Media
Jonathan Mildenhall, Vice President, Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence, The Coca-Cola Company
Charlie Rose, Journalist
Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn

The seventh annual IAB MIXX Conference & Expo “What’s the Story? Building Narrative in the Digital Age” will be held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York City on October 3 and 4.

For more information and registration details, visit: www.iab.net/mixx.

About The Martin Agency

The Martin Agency offers unified advertising, strategic planning, media, direct response, interactive, data analytics, design and content creation. Clients include the American Cancer Society, BFGoodrich, Comcast, Discover Financial, ESPN3.com, Expedia, GEICO, Hanes, LivingSocial, Morgan Stanley, Norwegian Cruise Line, PING, Pizza Hut, Sun Life Financial, Tylenol and Walmart. www.martinagency.com

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

“This collaboration focuses on the needs of brand marketers and highlights the importance of cross-platform comparison,” said Bob Liodice, president and CEO, ANA.  “For the first time in the history of Internet advertising, business leaders and functional experts from leading marketers, publishers and agencies have come together to jointly develop a plan for improving digital media measurement.”

To identify priorities, develop measurement solutions and build industry consensus, Making Measurement Make Sense has assembled a group of 40 thought-leaders and decision-makers to actively contribute to the initiative.  In addition to the three founding associations, the NAA (Newspaper Association of America) and OPA (Online Publishers Association) are also participating in the initiative.

Making Measurement Make Sense has three primary objectives:

-    Define transparent, standardized and consistent metrics and measurement systems to simplify the planning, buying and selling of digital media in a cross-platform world

-    Drive industry consensus around the solutions

-    Establish a measurement governance model to support ongoing standards development, ensure compliance and manage change in a rapidly evolving media climate

The initiative’s leaders have agreed on five Guiding Principles of Digital Measurement.  These principles are the product of extensive fact-finding and due diligence regarding current measurement offerings and their application to the business of transacting and evaluating advertising effectiveness.  The five principles are built upon the input and consensus garnered from workshops with teams of functional experts and business leaders representing companies across the ecosystem.

Principle #1 – Move to a “viewable impressions” standard and count real exposures online.

Today we count “served impressions” as recorded by ad servers.  Often, ad units are not in a viewable space to the end-user or fail to fully load on the screen – potentially resulting in substantial over-counting of impressions. Viewable exposures are increasingly the norm across other media and better address the needs of brand marketers.

Principle #2 – Online advertising must migrate to a currency based on audience impressions, not gross ad impressions.

Brand marketers target specific audiences.  Marketers need to understand the quality and number of exposures against their targets – and the respective reach and frequency of such exposures.  The existing digital currency makes this extremely difficult.  Moreover, the practice of selling ad impressions makes cross-media comparisons extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Principle #3 – Because all ad units are not created equal, we must create a transparent classification system.

Unlike traditional media, which have a limited number of inventory types (e.g., 30-sec spot, full-page back cover), digital has a myriad of units. A transparent classification system will:

-    Reduce complexity from a creative standpoint
-    Simplify the comparison of ad units across websites
-    Enhance the ability to track how different types of ad inventory drive different outcomes
-    Facilitate planning and evaluation across media

Making Measurement Make Sense advocates a transparent classification system, adhered to by all publishers. Such a system will enable marketers to identify and spotlight the best offerings for brand building, and for other marketing objectives.

Principle #4 – Determine interactivity “metrics that matter” for brand marketers, so that marketers can better evaluate online’s contribution to brand building.

Currently, the industry is awash in digital interaction metrics. However, these metrics are not necessarily relevant for brand marketers.  Aside from click-throughs, there are few standards for enabling reliable comparison across sites.  The industry must identify and define the specific metrics most valuable to brand marketers and define and implement reliable standards for existing metrics.

Principle #5 – Digital media measurement must become increasingly comparable and integrated with other media.

Measurement solutions must facilitate cross media platform planning, buying and evaluating of marketing and media.  This is a substantial issue that hampers analysis and decision making throughout the ecosystem.

According to Bill Koenigsberg, president, CEO and founder of Horizon Media and Chairman of the 4A’s Media Policy Committee, “In addressing measurement issues, these principles will provide a consistent standard of currency across the digital platform.  This will allow the media community to navigate the digital technology landscape in a more reliable manner.”

“Now that industry leaders have defined Guiding Principles of Digital Measurement, the Making Measurement Make Sense initiative is refining and vetting concrete means of advancing these measurement principles,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP Industry Services, IAB.  “The process of developing recommended solutions and communicating a detailed implementation plan is expected to be completed this summer.”

In addition to bringing together the marketers, agencies and publishers to determine measurement solutions, Making Measurement Make Sense is engaging the measurement and research community.  This initiative will build on existing measurement efforts to further the goals of better, streamlined, high quality measurement that reduces supply chain friction.  As such, other industry organizations, including the Media Rating Council (MRC) and the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) are being consulted.  To gauge the feasibility of potential solutions and to encourage innovation, there has been outreach to the leading measurement vendors.

About the ANA
Founded in 1910, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) leads the marketing community by providing its members with insights, collaboration, and advocacy. ANA’s membership includes 400 companies with 10,000 brands that collectively spend over $250 billion in marketing communications and advertising. The ANA strives to communicate marketing best practices, lead industry initiatives, influence industry practices, manage industry affairs, and advance, promote, and protect all advertisers and marketers. For more information, visit www.ana.net, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook, or visit our YouTube channel.

About the IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About the 4A’s
The 4A’s is the national trade association of the advertising agency business. Its membership comprises virtually all of the large, multinational agencies and hundreds of small and mid-sized agencies from across the country. The 1,200 member agency offices served by the 4A’s employ 65,000 people; offer a wide range of marketing communications services, and place 80 percent of all national advertising. The management-oriented association founded in 1917 helps its members build their businesses, and acts as the industry’s spokesperson with government, media, and the public sector. For more information, visit www.aaaa.org, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or download the 4A’s iOS app in the iTunes Store.

New York, NY – To rally the marketing and media industry in a creative movement across smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) launched a formal call-for-entries to its new Rising Stars Mobile contest. Announced at the IAB “Mobile in the Mainstream…and as the New Main Screen” in New York City, the competition encourages agencies, marketers and publishers to effectively delve deeper into the mobile arena. The winning submissions – which will be named the first-ever IAB-endorsed mobile ad formats – will be selected based on their potential to propel brand creativity on mobile devices at scale.

“We call upon experts across the marketing and media landscape to submit their most innovative ideas for the next wave of mobile ad formats,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “Smartphones and connected devices are everywhere and if we are to tap into mobile’s full potential, we must deliver engaging experiences that serve marketers and resonate with consumers – all within the palm of their hands.”

This contest is part of the IAB’s larger Rising Stars initiative aimed at broadening the creative canvas across the interactive advertising spectrum. It kicked off in September 2010 with the launch of the Rising Stars Display competition. After a months-long review phase, the IAB announced the six winners in February 2011. By June 36 top-tier advertisers – including GM, Home Depot, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Universal Pictures – had already implemented one or more of the six new display ad formats to tell their brand stories.

“If the success of Rising Stars Display is any indication, Rising Stars Mobile is likely to be a real motivating factor in revving up mobile interactive advertising with blue-chip brands and publishers,” said Peter Minnium, IAB Consulting Director and head of the Rising Stars program. “These prospective ad formats are sure to be great enhancements to already established mobile advertising guidelines from other organizations like the MMA.”

A cross-disciplinary panel of judges that will include agency creative directors, media executives and adoperations specialists will lead the IAB Rising Stars Mobile selection process. The mobile ad unit submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:

User Experience – How well does the ad format positively impact the user experience?
Branding – How well does the ad format provide a canvas for brand creativity?
Functionality – How does the ad format take advantage of mobile user behaviors and technologies?
Page Integration – How does the ad format enhance the relationship between the ad and the mobile publisher content?
Adoption – How easily could the ad format be widely adopted across the mobile ecosystem?

“With brand marketers saying they plan on increasing their mobile ad buys over the next two years, there is no better time to develop the first IAB-endorsed mobile ad units to help advertisers better integrate this rapidly developing platform with their traditional ad campaign strategies,” said Anna Bager, Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “This initiative is part of the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence’s core objectives and we are thrilled to start the submission process.”

Submissions for the new mobile ad units will be accepted until October 15 and the selection process will span the remainder of 2011. In 2012, a set of Rising Stars Mobile ad units will be chosen and subsequently evaluated in-market based upon consumer and business adoption, with new IAB-endorsed mobile ad units named by the end of the year.

To submit prospective mobile ad units and to learn more about the criteria, please go to: http://www.iab.net/risingstarsmobile

To find out more about the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, please go to: http://www.iab.net/mmcoe

The mobile rich media advertising industry is far from scalable, with resource-intensive proprietary integrations, weekly SDK updates, under-delivering rich media ecosystems and broken mobile ad server functionality. GoldSpot Media has been collaborating with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Open Rich Media Mobile Advertising (ORMMA) to develop a solution that eliminates the fragmentation in mobile advertising. IAB is expected to ratify its MRAID version 1.0 specifications in early September.

The GoldSpot Media in-app SDK for iOS and Android enhances the pioneering contributions to the ORMMA open source project and is available at no charge to participants of the Open Mobile Advertising Alliance. Partners can optionally enable advanced features such as ad caching, frequency capping and video overlays.

“Publishers in the mobile advertising ecosystem are frustrated with today’s disparate online and mobile ad serving infrastructures,” said Cameron Clayton, EVP Digital Products, The Weather Channel Companies and Co-Chair of IAB Mobile Committee. “Initiatives such as the Open Mobile Advertising Alliance bridge the compatibility gap between any ad server and mobile rich media vendors.”

GoldSpot Media’s white label solution simply plugs into a publisher’s existing ad server via an open campaign interface, thereby eliminating additional operations and infrastructure costs. Publishers can sell digital effectively as they can use their existing inventory forecasting and other ad server functions, while maximizing their mobile revenues by selling MRAID compliant ads from any rich media vendor, as soon as they are available.

“For a highly scalable mobile advertising ecosystem, advertisers and agencies should be allowed to focus on driving marketing goals without being restrained by technology hurdles,” said Srini Dharmaji, Founder & CEO, GoldSpot Media. “Similarly, a publisher should be free to focus on driving higher ad revenues through engaging ad campaigns using state of the art creative ad units without significantly increasing their CapEx and OpEx. The Open Mobile Advertising Alliance helps make that a reality for our publisher and advertiser customers.”

To participate in the Open Mobile Advertising Alliance, visit www.goldspotmedia.com/OMAA for more information. For partners who are developing their own MRAID compliant SDK, a comprehensive MRAID compliance test suite is available.

About GoldSpot Media, Inc.

GoldSpot Media is the leader in scalable mobile rich media advertising solutions for all smartphones and tablets. miSpot, our award-winning, cloud based mobile rich media advertising platform, is the only open and universal mobile ad platform that delivers a self-serve environment to create, distribute and measure rich media campaigns across any publisher or ad network.

GoldSpot Media founded the Open Mobile Advertising Alliance to bridge any ad server with mobile rich media to promote rapid adoption of IAB-MRAID (Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definition) standard.

A privately-held and venture-backed company, GoldSpot Media is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, with regional offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Japan, and India. For more information, visit www.goldspotmedia.com.

Study Finds Nearly Three-Quarters of Top Marketing Executives Look to Increase Their Mobile Spend Over Next Two Years

New York, NY — Though mobile interactive advertising platforms are still considered a complex landscape of constant innovation by many brands and agencies, they are nonetheless being adopted at increasing speed, according to results from a new survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). “Marketer Perspectives on Mobile Advertising” found that 63 percent of respondents stated that their companies’ mobile advertising spend over the past two years has increased to some degree, with 29 percent reporting an increase of over 50 percent. The outlook for an uptick in the next two years is even more striking, with most of these key ad spend decision-makers (72%) saying that they are looking to increase their mobile advertising budget; 35 percent of respondents expect to increase spend by over 50 percent.

The study of 300 top-level brand marketing executives currently using mobile in their media mix was commissioned by the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence and conducted by Ovum, and unveiled during the IAB “Mobile in the Mainstream…and as the New Main Screen” in New York City.

“Given the current economic climate, these overwhelmingly positive ad spend numbers are telling. They truly underscore what those of us working in the mobile space have always recognized – that the remarkable evolution and progression of mobile interactive advertising has only begun to deliver on its extraordinary promise,” said Anna Bager, Vice President and General Manager of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence

Additional results revealed that half (51%) of the brand marketers surveyed already treat mobile platforms as an integral element of their overall advertising strategy. The other half of the survey’s respondents are also intrigued by mobile advertising’s benefits, but are currently exploring how best to leverage mobile platforms within their marketing plans: more than a third (35%) stated they are “experimenting” with mobile, while another 14 percent are tapping into mobile on an ad hoc basis.

Several of mobile advertising’s benefits received strong endorsements from respondents:
Immediacy (considered of high importance by 57% of respondents)
- Cost-effectiveness (54%)
- Increased engagement (52%)

The research study also asked marketers about which types of mobile devices they are presently reaching with their mobile ad campaigns. Ranked in order of highest priority, they are:
- Smartphones (a high priority for 60% of respondents)
- Tablets (31%)
- Feature phones (22%)
- Ebooks (10%)
- Connected games consoles (3%)

Beyond being asked about interest and engagement in the mobile space, respondents were also queried about challenges. They cited several key hurdles in deciding whether to make larger mobile ad buys:
- Device fragmentation (cited by 72% of respondents as a challenge of medium or high importance)
- Privacy issues (70%)
- Lack of standardized metrics (69%)

A significant number (60%) also ranked a limited opportunity for creative as a mobile challenge, which could in part be a reflection that most of those surveyed (62%) do not use creative agencies for mobile advertising. However, a majority (85%) of those marketers who are working with a creative agency on their mobile advertising objectives said that these partnerships produced good results.

“Mobile advertising is advancing rapidly and many of the issues that slowed progress in earlier years have been overcome, for example constraints imposed by networks and mobile phone limitations have radically improved through developments in, respectively, mobile broadband and smartphones,” said Eden Zoller, Principal Analyst with Ovum and author of the report. “I am confident that the industry and the IAB will successfully address the newer challenges marketers identified.”

UK-based Ovum Consulting (www.ovumkc.com) conducted the survey (April-June 2011) on behalf of IAB, consulting U.S. organizations currently engaged in mobile advertising, from seven distinct verticals (travel, financial services, FMCG, retail, media and entertainment, hospitality & restaurants and automotive) across four size-of-business bands (revenue less than $100m annual revenues, $100m-$500m annual revenues, $500m-$2 billion, and over $2 billion annual revenues) with local, regional and national advertising focus. Interviews were conducted with key marketer decision makers and budget holders (Executive Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents in Marketing).

To review the entire “Marketer Perspectives on Mobile Advertising” study, visit: www.iab.net/CMO_Mobile

NEW YORK – With the online advertising industry in need of more rigorous tools and systems for understanding campaign performance, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has unveiled “Best Practices for Conducting Online Ad Effectiveness Research.” Written by Marissa Gluck of Radar Research (www.radarresearch.com) and prepared in collaboration with the IAB Research Advisory Board, it provides online ad market stakeholders with a practical set of recommendations for standard operating procedures with respect to the use of ad effectiveness studies.

This new document is a follow-up to the groundbreaking 2010 IAB report “An Evaluation of Methods Used to Assess the Effectiveness of Advertising on the Internet” by Dr. Paul J. Lavrakas. That study examined the strengths and weaknesses of online ad effectiveness research methodologies.

The new report looks across the widely available methodologies to assess best practices in each phase of online ad effectiveness research and examines the challenges the industry faces within each phase, as originally outlined by Dr. Lavrakas, and proposes prescriptive remedies to each.

“Marketers are always looking to understand how their campaigns perform, and ad effectiveness research is one of the key tools in doing so,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Industry Services, IAB. “But there are still so many questions about the methodology itself that hamstring the validity of this research and undermine the industry as a whole. For our industry to continue to grow and realize its full potential, it is essential that we invest in the necessary advancements described by Dr. Lavrakas. In the interim, the ‘Best Practices’ document illuminates the planning, thresholds and decision parameters for working the existing tools.”

Some of the recommended IAB Best Practices for agencies and advertisers, as well as publishers, include:

Planning:

- To use online ad effectiveness surveys appropriately to make optimization decisions on an individual site, a study will optimally include at least 200 respondents.
- A 15-million impressions campaign should be the minimum before a site should consider running a study on behalf of advertisers, while a suggested “rule of thumb” is that the cost of an effectiveness study should be less than 10 percent of the overall buy.
- Agencies should include training and education for their media staffers not just on the mechanics and math of planning and buying, but also on the basics of research methodologies and implementation.

Recruitment:

- While the use of panels to recruit respondents may be an attractive alternative to live intercept recruitment, provided that the panels are validated, there are certain types of campaigns and circumstances that lend themselves more easily to the use of panels: high volume campaigns, multi-platform campaigns and customized ad placements.
- Publishers need to take some responsibility for declining response rates, and publishers should try to limit the frequency of survey invitations to protect the user experience and reduce clutter.
- Agencies and publishers should pressure vendors to undergo independent, third-party evaluations of their statistical methods and recruitment methodologies.
- Vendors should weigh results to actual campaign delivery, using third-party audience verification companies as a benchmark.

Deployment:

- All survey questions should be asked in an environment where the measured brand ads are not visible.
- Surveys aimed at business professionals should take less than 10 minutes to complete; four minutes or less is ideal and will improve completion rates.
- For consumer-targeted products, a longer survey may be possible, though advertisers should be wary of exceeding seven minutes; the “sweet spot” for survey length seems to be five to seven minutes, or approximately 20 to 25 questions.

Optimization & Analysis:

- When feasible, marketers should marry their campaign effectiveness research to salient online and offline metrics to get a more comprehensive view of their advertising efficacy.
- Even as optimization has been trending towards real time, brand marketers should be wary of making optimization decisions based on real-time ad effectiveness data.

“Online ad effectiveness research is challenged by serious methodological limitations and irresponsible study management,” said Marissa Gluck, Founder and Managing Partner, Radar Research. “By examining each phase in the delivery of online ad effectiveness research, we hope to not only understand the complexities and challenges inherent in this research but also remedy the industry’s most vexing problems.”

Origins of IAB Evaluation Study

Multiple interviews with key stakeholders were conducted in February and March 2011. Executives on both the publisher and agency side were interviewed, as well as vendor executives. Both larger and smaller agencies were interviewed, and both research and analytics executives were represented to get a more comprehensive view of the landscape as well as how data from these studies is incorporated into the overall value chain.

To view the Best Practices for Conducting Online Ad Effectiveness Research please visit: www.iab.net/ad_effectiveness_best_practices.

To view the 2010 “An Evaluation of Methods Used to Assess the Effectiveness of Advertising on the Internet” please go to: www.iab.net/media/file/Evaluation_of_Internet_Ad_Effectiveness_Research_Methods.pdf

About the IAB’s Research Council

The Research Council provides a forum for interactive research practitioners to share findings that support the growth of the industry; it encourages strong methodologies and best practices for research and measurement, and it works with the IAB to design and field important industry research projects and share these findings with key stakeholders.

A complete list of Research Council member companies can be found at

http://www.iab.net/member_center/councils_committees_working_groups/councils/research_council

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) (www.iab.net) marked the opening of its new online advertising community center, the IAB Ad Lab, by hosting the first of several national privacy roundtables organized by U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The roundtable series, which is focused on discussing the interactive advertising industry’s self-regulatory efforts to protect consumer privacy, was attended by Representative Blackburn, IAB leadership and 15 of its member companies and partner trade associations.

Designed as a new community hub for the entire marketing-media ecosystem, the IAB Ad Lab, located directly above the IAB’s 7th floor headquarters at 116 East 27th Street in New York City, is a venue where thought leaders can address some of the industry’s most pressing needs and exciting opportunities, from creating new ad formats, to building brands online, to anticipating the future of mobile advertising.

“The IAB Ad Lab is the physical embodiment of the IAB, where the digital world comes together live and in real time for innovation, collaboration, and learning,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “We’re honored that the IAB Ad Lab was selected by Representative Blackburn to host this key public policy discussion and we applaud her leadership. This is the first of many groundbreaking events we plan for our new center, where we hope to see marketing and media leaders come together to network and help power the continued growth of the digital advertising and media industry.”

The IAB Ad Lab features a modular space that can accommodate presentation-style gatherings for as few as five and as many as 74 participants. In addition to thought leadership conversations and presentations by industry leaders on compelling topics of interest to marketers, agencies, publishers, technology companies and service providers, the IAB Ad Lab will host IAB board and committee meetings, product demos, press and award events, networking receptions, and meet-ups. The Ad Lab will also be open to members and other companies in the marketing-media ecosystem for meetings and sponsored events.

“Representative Blackburn’s decision to launch her privacy roundtable series at the IAB Ad Lab further cements our leadership position on the privacy policy front,” said Mike Zaneis, Senior Vice President, Public Policy and General Counsel, IAB. “The Ad Lab was created precisely to facilitate conversations about what the interactive advertising industry is doing, where the industry is going and what we’re doing to maximize the experience for both the provider and the consumer.”

“Data driven advertising is the lifeblood of our most dynamic economic sector. It is also the crux of growing consumer privacy concerns,” said Blackburn. “I am grateful to IAB for hosting a session where we began to explore this vital issue. The Ad Lab is an excellent space from which IAB can highlight the work advertisers are doing to keep the Internet free, promote economic expansion, and protect the consumer.”

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

CANNES, France – AOL (NYSE: AOL) announced that Pictela, a global platform for distributing high-definition brand content and advertising and a division of the AOL Advertising.com Group, is partnering with FOXNews.com, Meredith Corporation, Variety, The Wall Street Journal Digital Network and The Weather Channel’s weather.com to help them deploy the IAB Portrait ad unit across their digital platforms. This news follows last month’s announcement with Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a unit of Hearst Magazines, and shows the IAB Portrait is beginning to gain industry-wide adoption. Today’s announcement demonstrates publishers are buying into AOL’s strategy to drive premium experiences for consumers, advertisers and publishers.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with these publishers on implementing Pictela technology and the IAB Portrait into their digital footprint,” said Greg Rogers, CEO, Pictela. “The quick acceptance of the unit, since being named an IAB Rising Star in February, helps validate that AOL is leading the way in innovating in display advertising. Additionally it proves that publishers are ready to consider creating new experiences for their audiences with their quality content side-by-side with our engaging brand ad unit.”

Launched in September 2010, the IAB Portrait unit has generated remarkable results. Engagement levels on IAB Portrait ads are significantly higher than that of industry standard rich media banners: consumers spend an average of 47 seconds more with an IAB Portrait ad (236%) lift; they also play 24 seconds more of video (100%) lift.* At 300X1050 pixels, IAB Portrait integrates the functionality of three applications, granting users access without leaving the page.

In February 2011, the IAB Portrait unit was recognized as an IAB Rising Stars ad unit. Agencies, marketers and publishers recognize IAB standard ad units as the foundation of modern digital marketing communications. Seven of the IAB ad units compose approximately 80 percent of all online ads served in the U.S. The unit was chosen as a rising star because of the ‘state-of-the-art functionality’ and its ‘large, creative-friendly canvas that balances well with page content.’

Jeff Levick, President, AOL Advertising said, “Over 70 brands have run the IAB Portrait ad unit on AOL Huffington Post Media Group properties. Our impressive renewal rates from these brand advertisers speak volumes about the power of this innovative and game-changing brand ad unit.”

“The metrics and unit results speak for themselves – IAB Portrait is resonating not only with brand advertisers, but with publishers who are embracing the Pictela technology – the real power behind the ad unit,” said Ned Brody, President, AOL Advertising.com Group.

Just last week, AOL announced that Advertising.com is leveraging the Pictela technology across its network enabling advertisers to deliver premium advertising formats at scale across more than 4,500 publisher partners. Advertising.com currently runs two Pictela units, the 300×250 and the 300×600, and powers an additional four which are all IAB standard units including the IAB Portrait.

“The quick adoption of IAB Portrait by these leading publishers demonstrates the industry’s commitment to bringing brand advertisers new, more exciting uses of display that offer rich, dynamic, immersive experiences,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “The IAB Portrait embraces the full range of the latest interactive tools and technologies that draw on the robust capabilities of the Internet. Brands have wanted this to happen for a long time, and now–thanks in large measure to these publishers–the online creative revolution is upon us.”

Publishers Embrace Pictela and IAB Portrait

The five, new publishers accepting the Pictela technology and IAB Portrait ad units are leaders within their key verticals, including Business News, Publishing, Entertainment, News and Weather, as well as pioneers in display advertising.

“Meredith is committed to supporting innovative ad units that are powerful vehicles for telling brand stories,” says Lauren Wiener, Senior Vice President, Meredith Women’s Network. “The IAB Portrait is an exciting new unit that allows our marketing partners to engage our consumers with sight, sound, motion, and relevant conversation without forcing them to leave the page. We look forward to utilizing it within our digital platforms.”

“Variety is pleased to be offering the new IAB portrait ad unit on its website. This unit is all about engagement, which fits squarely with our time based sell strategy, moving away from CPM,” said Neil Stiles, President, Variety.

“We at the Wall Street Journal Digital Network are pleased to offer the innovative IAB Portrait units to our advertisers. We feel the large-scale rich format will bring creatives to the forefront while providing significant brand impact against our upscale, affluent audience of business decision makers and engaged investors,” said Mark Fishkin, Vice President Digital Sales and Marketing, The Wall Street Journal Digital Network.

“Pictela’s platform and IAB Portrait ad unit help us provide visually appealing, engaging, and impactful ads for weather.com advertisers,” said Beth Lawrence, Executive Vice President, Ad Sales and Media Solutions for The Weather Channel Companies. “By optimizing the overall look and feel of our advertising content, we’re improving the user experience and, ultimately, enhancing ad effectiveness.”

Pictela is a business unit of the AOL Advertising.com Group which was formed in May 2011. The focus of this group is to position AOL as a global partner for leading publishers, advertisers and agencies seeking to maximize the value of their online brands through premium formats, video, content, networks, platforms and monetization. The eight businesses that make up this Group are Advertising.com, ADTECH, AOL Video, goviral, Pictela, Content Solutions, 5min Media and Sponsored Listings.

*Sources: IAB Portrait Q1’11 Performance Benchmark Report, AOL Internal Data; Unicast Industry Benchmark Report, Q1-Q4’10 (most recent industry data available)

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a premier global media company with a suite of brands and products serving consumers, advertisers and publishers worldwide. The AOL Huffington Post Media Group is a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment, community and digital information comprised of a wide range of destination websites, including AOL.com, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Moviefone, Engadget, Patch, AOL Music, StyleList and MapQuest. The AOL Advertising.com Group includes Advertising.com, ADTECH, Pictela, Video, inclusive of AOL Video, goviral and 5min Media, Content Solutions and Sponsored Listings and serves a combined content and advertising market at scale through video, brand advertising, content and ad serving. AOL is focused on engaging consumers and providing online advertising services and solutions on both AOL Huffington Post Media Group destination websites and third party websites, in addition to serving consumer platforms including AOL Mail, AIM, about.me, and mobile experiences. AOL also operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as another distribution channel for its consumer offerings.

Display advertising is back! That’s according to figures just released by IAB Europe that show a revival in digital Display in 2010. With an average growth rate of 21.3%, Display overtook Search advertising as the fastest growing online ad format in Europe. Search, which has been the catalyst of online advertising growth in recent years, increased 15.1% in the same period across the 25 markets measured. Video, mobile and social media all contributed to the powerful performance of Display.

IAB Europe’s annual AdEx survey is the definitive guide to the state of the European advertising market. Released at IAB Europe’s Interact Congress in Barcelona, it shows the online advertising market accelerating at a growth rate of 15.3% in 2010 – outperforming the overall European advertising market which grew 5.0% in the same period. Total online adspend was €17.7bn in 2010, compared to €15.3bn in 2009. Market growth ranged from 37% in Russia and 24% in the Czech Republic, to 14% in Denmark and 7% in France.

Compiled by IHS Screen Digest, the research covers the entire European region, from the mature markets of Western and Northern Europe to the emerging markets in Eastern and Southern Europe for the calendar year 2010. New to the report is the Czech Republic.

The markets with the highest online adspend in the report are UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy and Spain (in that order). Together they account for almost three quarters (74%) of the total online advertising market. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) markets now represent almost a tenth (9.8%) of the total.

Display’s Brand Boost

Display* advertising enjoyed growth rates of 20% or more in many markets – both emerging and mature – during 2010.  Above average growth rates were experienced in Ireland (31%), Spain (30%) and Russia (27%).

The continued growth of online TV inventory, and long-form video consumption, pushed up spend while simultaneously maintaining high CPM (cost per thousand). Online video adspend has doubled in most markets. In Spain online video grew 125% to a value of €13m; growth in the UK was 90%, to a market value of €63m.

Super Search

Paid search continued to grow double-digit at an average of 15.1%. It remains the biggest category in online advertising, with 45% of total advertising spend compared with 33% for Display and 22% for Classifieds and Directories. Whilst some of the more established markets experienced smaller increases (UK +8% like-for-like, France +10%) many saw explosive growth (Hungary +44%, Poland +31%).

Mobile Advertising Gets Carried Away

Mobile search and mobile display are included in the AdEx survey for the first time this year. Although mobile adspend figures are available for only 12 of the 25 markets, they confirm that the long-awaited take-off of mobile advertising has been realised thanks to the advent of the smartphone/3G/apps ecosystem. In those markets, mobile adspend already accounts for 2% to 3% of total online adspend.

The Big Picture

With €17.7bn of adspend last year, online now accounts for 18% of the entire European advertising market. It is now beyond 20% in some markets (UK 29%, Denmark 28%) whilst it’s only 5% in Greece and 4% in Romania. European market value is smaller than the US which also experienced a 15% growth rate last year and is now worth $26bn/€19.6bn.

According to Vincent Létang, Senior Analyst at IHS Screen Digest says “Back in 2009, video was the only growth engine in an otherwise flat Display market. In 2010 by contrast, three pillars – mobile, video and social – attracted new advertising investment. On top of fast-growing new formats, let’s not forget that traditional PC-based, banner-style formats have retained their appeal thanks to innovations in design and targeting and a rise in mainstream brands using Display for branding campaigns.”

Alain Heureux, President and CEO of IAB Europe, concludes “The IAB network has worked tirelessly to showcase how effective online Display advertising can be at supporting brand advertising campaigns. I am delighted to see that message has been getting through and the innovative ways brands are incorporating online in their advertising campaigns.  At IAB Europe’s Interact Congress this week we’ll be recognising the best of online advertising creative at with the MIXX Awards. We will also be celebrating with the winners of the Research Awards – without this valuable insight, we would not be able to prove the contribution online makes to advertising campaigns.”

Note:

*Display includes PC-based and mobile banners, rich media and video formats

The data has been compiled by IAB Europe based on information provided by the national IAB offices around Europe. It is then processed and analyzed by IHS Screen Digest. The report includes market size and value information for the full membership of the IAB Europe in 2010 including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Romania, Russia, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The data represents the calendar year 2010 January-December. This is the fifth edition of AdEx which began in the calendar year 2006

About IAB Europe

IAB Europe is a federation of national Interactive Advertising Bureaux (IAB) across Europe. Its mission is to promote the growth of the interactive advertising markets on behalf of its clients and national members. Supported by every major media group, advertisers, agency, portal, technology and service provider, its voice represents the interest of more than 5000 company members. IAB Europe coordinates activities across the region including public affairs, benchmarking, research, setting standards and best practices. The member countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK. Our corporate members include Adconion, Adobe, ADTECH, Alcatel-Lucent, Aol, AudienceScience, BBC, CNN, comScore Europe, CPX Interactive, Criteo, e-Bay, Ernst & Young, Expedia Inc, Fox Interactive Media, Gemius, Goldbach Media Group, Google, GroupM, Hi-media, InSites Consulting, Koan, Microsoft Europe, Millward Brown, MTV, Netlog, News Corporation, nugg.ad, Nielsen Online, Orange Advertising Network, Prisa, Publicitas Europe, Sanoma Digital, Selligent, Specific Media, The Walt Disney Company, Tradedoubler, Truvo, United Internet Media, ValueClick, White&Case, Yahoo! and zanox.

About IHS Screen Digest

IHS Screen Digest is the pre-eminent firm of industry analysts covering global media markets. Headquartered in London, with offices in the US and Australia, we employ a team of 50 specialist analysts covering film, television, broadband media, mobile media, cinema, home entertainment, gaming and advertising. Our online services and reports provide the information and analysis that hundreds of media companies worldwide base their decisions on. Screen Digest was acquired by iSuppli Corporation in November 2010 and the combined entity was acquired immediately after by IHS. Screen Digest and iSuppli will together be the base around which IHS builds out its coverage of the TMT sector. To find out more, contact Screen Digest sales@screendigest.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 7424 2820. www.screendigest.com

Explanatory note on IAB Europe/IHS Screen Digest AdEx figures

Each national IAB in Europe runs its own annual online advertising spending study and the IAB Europe AdEx figures are based on these results. As the methodology of the studies varies country by country, IAB Europe and IHS Screen Digest have defined methodology rules to represent the figures in such a way as to make them realistically comparable. This involves:

·         Readjusting local figures to allow for harmonised representation. Readjustment rates are supplied by groups of local market experts
·         Estimating/harmonising adspend data for certain formats or segments in certain countries where local IAB studies do not include data or the definition or scope of a format is substantially different from IAB Europe standardised segments
·         Where local data is collected in a currency other than euros, the average exchange rate in 2010 has been used to convert this to euros. To provide data for prior year growth rates, the prior year figures have also been re-calculated using the 2010 exchange rate in order to give transparency over the growth rate
·         AdEx focuses on four normalised segments: ‘Display’ (including mobile Display, rich media and video), ‘classifieds and directories’, ‘paid search’ and ‘other’ (including email but excluding email marketing).
·         Figures quoted are gross figures (i.e. net invoiced value of the media, plus agency commission if any).

WASHINGTON – Fifty-six small ad-supported Internet “Long Tail” publishers from 22 states from across the country, plus one from the District of Columbia, joined the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) this past Monday and Tuesday for the Third Annual Long Tail Alliance Washington, D.C. “Fly-In.” The attendees spent a day on Capitol Hill meeting with representatives from 37 House Districts and 12 Senate Offices, including members of the Senate Commerce Committee, to raise awareness about how interactive advertising regulation affects not just the big players in the industry, but also the livelihoods of small Internet publishers.

“Small businesses are a vital part of the American economy and the Internet economy. This annual gathering of the IAB’s Long Tail Alliance members has become a critical touchpoint for legislators and regulators, giving them the opportunity to learn first-hand about the concerns and challenges facing ‘mom and pop’ entrepreneurs who are struggling to survive and thrive online,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB.

“The new media landscape is not just about the larger players in the marketplace, but also a diversity of smaller voices seeking success on their own terms and scale,” said Mike Zaneis, Senior Vice President, Public Policy and General Counsel, IAB. “This annual trip to Washington with the Long Tail publishers is part of the IAB’s commitment to make sure that Capitol Hill does not overlook this crucial base of small businesses that are powered by interactive advertising.”

In addition to meetings with Congressional leaders, the Long Tail publishers attended workshops to learn strategies and best practices for growing their businesses.

For a list of the Long Tail publishers who participated as well as a detailed agenda of the two-day event, please go to: www.iab.net/flyin

The IAB Long Tail Alliance is a special member category for publishers who sell online advertising opportunities indirectly, through ad networks, or directly and have revenues under $1 million per year. To learn more about the Long Tail Alliance and to find out how to qualify for membership, please go to: http://www.iab.net/longtailalliance

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – As mobile acceptance and adoption continues to skyrocket, the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence (MMCOE) announced a set of major initiatives it intends to accomplish in 2011 and six new member companies. In addition, the IAB MMCOE is calling on device and equipment manufacturers, software companies, platform developers and operators to join its newly formed Technology Advisory Board, a separate body that will act in an advisory function to the MMCOE board on technical and operational matters.

The IAB MMCOE plans to drive better monetization of the mobile market across six specific dimensions in 2011:

Unify

Establish standard and best practices to help industry participants meet buyer expectations for congruent and reliable metrics, formats and back-end systems for mobile advertising

Educate

Help marketers learn about mobile marketing strategy and tactics
Help sellers of mobile advertising understand the buying community’s needs, desires and concerns

Lead

Act as a guiding force for the mobile marketing industry, helping it understand itself better (market size, creative, technology evolution) and recognizing and celebrating excellent mobile advertising

Evangelize

Educate and excite marketers and agencies about the possibilities of mobile marketing both today and going forward
“Our members are ready for IAB to take an authoritative role guiding the emergence of mobile,” said Anna Bager, IAB VP and General Manager of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “The growth in the space over the last two years has been dizzying—and we at IAB are best positioned to bring the same supply chain discipline to the mobile marketing sector that we have done for the broader digital advertising space for more than 15 years, from its nascent stages to its present state as a $26 billion industry.”

The MMCOE Board of Directors is:

John Cantarella, Time Magazine
Cameron Clayton, The Weather Channel
Kevin Conroy, Univision
Bobby Figueroa, Yahoo! Inc.
Chris LaSala, Google
Tony Nethercutt, Mojiva
Maria Mandel, AT&T
Jamie Wells, Microsoft
Michael Zimbalist, New York Times

Since the Center’s launch in November of 2010, six more companies have become MMCOE members. These companies are Mojiva and Time, Inc., which have joined as board members, and BabyCenter, Jumptap, Nexage and Unicast, which have joined as supporting members.

These organizations join the original members of the Center, which include board members AT&T Converged Services, Cars.com, Google, Microsoft, The New York Times, Univision Interactive Media, Weather Channel and Yahoo!; and supporting members 24/7 Real Media, CNN, Disney Interactive Media Group, Federated Media, The Huffington Post, IDG Communications, NBC Universal and Tremor Media.

The Center is also recruiting members to participate in a new Technology Advisory Board. All members of the Center will also contribute thought leadership via specialized IAB committees, councils, and working groups that will address specific developments including the rise of tablets, mobile ad operations, and in-app advertising. For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Anna Bager at anna@iab.net or (212) 380-4730.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

Contacts

NEW YORK – 24/7 Real Media’s Global Web Alliance of high quality publisher websites is one of the first 17 ad networks & exchanges to certify against the IAB Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAG). The guidelines are an IAB initiative — steered by 24/7 Real Media’s Chairman, Founder and CEO, David J. Moore during his tenure as IAB Chairman — to provide greater transparency and build trust in the marketplace. Additionally, Nicolle Pangis, SVP, Product Management, Global Media and Technology at 24/7 Real Media, sits on the Steering Committee that helped create the guidelines.

This certification program is the first of its kind in the industry, striving to promote standardization and quality assurance in media buys on ad networks and exchanges. Certified networks receive a compliance seal from the IAB, which ensures that the company adheres to the only industry-established standards as outlined by the IAB QAG, finalized in June 2010.

24/7 Real Media underwent detailed guidelines training, conducted an intensive internal audit, and assigned a compliance officer to meet the stringent criteria set forth in the IAB’s Quality Assurance Guidelines. Compliant networks also agree to conduct quarterly internal tests of network inventory and media buys to maintain these quality standards.

With an official launch on April 4, 2011, the IAB announced 17 inaugural companies, including 24/7 Real Media, that achieved certification.

24/7 Real Media is a leader in digital advertising quality assurance initiatives, which will give marketers the confidence that their advertising will be displayed in a brand-safe environment. The IAB guidelines enhance marketers’ control over the placement and context of advertising, build brand safety and clarify the networks and exchanges marketplace by standardizing the information provided to advertisers. The Ad Network & Exchange Certification Program is the only industry-endorsed certification program that exists today. Marketers working with networks and exchanges should check to see if they are IAB compliant, in order to begin providing this value to the brands that they represent.

To learn more about 24/7 Real Media, visit www.247realmedia.com.

About 24/7 Real Media, Inc.

24/7 Real Media, Inc., a WPP company, provides digital marketing solutions for advertisers and publishers globally by empowering them to reach their target audiences with greater precision and transparency, resulting in better ROI. 24/7 Real Media’s award-winning ad management platform, Open AdStream®, and its Global Web Alliance of high quality publisher websites, have turned the art of reaching audiences across any digital medium into a measurable science. Behind every insight, there’s the experience of 18 offices in 12 countries, billions of global advertising impressions served every month and a stellar reputation as a leader in the digital marketing industry. 24/7 Real Media is headquartered in New York and operates throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.247realmedia.com

24/7 Real Media: The Science of Digital Marketing

24/7 Real Media is a member of the NAI and adheres to the NAI privacy principles that have been applauded by the FTC. These principles are designed to help ensure Internet user privacy. For more information about online data collection associated with ad serving, including online preference marketing and an opportunity to opt-out of 24/7 Real Media cookies, go to: www.networkadvertising.org.

NEW YORK – The IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for the full year 2010 and Q4 2010 both showed record results in the United States. Released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and prepared by PwC US, the latest report puts all 2010 Internet advertising revenues at a record $26 billion, up 15% from 2009. Fourth quarter revenue also hit new highs at $7.45 billion, up 19% from Q4 2009 and 15% from Q3 2010.

Highlights of the report include:

* There were record numbers for the yearly advertising revenue as well as record quarterly highs in the Q4 2010.
* The most popular ad format in 2010 was search which represented 46% of revenue and saw 12% growth from last year.
* Sponsorships saw the most growth with an 88% increase over last year and 142% increase in the fourth quarter alone.
* Display-related advertising — which includes Digital Video Commercials, Ad banners/display ads, sponsorships and rich media – continued to grow this year, totaling nearly $10 billion with an increase of 24% over 2009.
* The results exhibit revenue growth for the past five consecutive quarters.
* The Annual Report marks the debut of estimated US mobile ad revenue for 2010: between $550 and $650 million.

“As the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report amply demonstrates, brand advertisers and marketers have adopted the power of digital media as a central element of their campaigns,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “Consumers have shifted more of their time to digital media — watching television shows and movies online — and advertisers now accept this multifaceted medium as a key component for reaching their targets.”

“With a strong rebound from 2009, the $26 billion spent on Internet advertising points to a continued focus on digital media ad spend, with dollars catching up to the eyeballs. More time spent online, especially with increases in digital video and social media, has certainly helped to fuel the continued growth,” said David Silverman, PwC Assurance partner.

“We now have had five consecutive quarters of growth since the great recession impacted interactive advertising in 2009,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Industry Services, IAB. “The record-breaking revenue in Q4 2010 and the total year indicate that interactive advertising has weathered the storm and then some.”

Here are the results from the full year in comparison with last year’s numbers:

The IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by the New Media Group of PwC. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertisements on the Internet.

The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers and all other companies selling online advertising. The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.

A copy of the full report is available at: http://www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport.

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About the PwC Network:

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.

NEW YORK & IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next-generation media platform company, announced its certification through the new Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Ad Network & Exchange Quality Assurance Certification program. Specific Media is one of the first companies to meet the rigorous training, audit, and compliance requirements for the program, which ensures that digital advertising companies are following the IAB’s Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAG) for ad placement and context.

The QAG enhances advertisers’ control over the placement and context of their ads and offers transparency to the marketplace by standardizing the information provided to advertisers. QAG is the only industry-endorsed certification program that exists today.

This announcement furthers Specific Media’s longstanding commitment to brands, and its efforts to help create a safe environment in which their messages can live and engage receptive consumers. “We’ve always been committed to maintaining trustworthy and transparent relationships with brands,” said Ron Nielsen, senior vice president of media operations for Specific Media. “Advertisers deserve to understand how and where their messages reach consumers. Our participation in the IAB’s Quality Assurance Certification program is further validation of our adherence to accepted industry standards, and our intention to give advertisers the best possible environment for connecting with customers.”

Prior to receiving the IAB compliance seal, Specific Media has consistently been recognized as a leader in creating brand safety in the online environment. In 2010, DoubleVerify, the leader in online media verification and compliance, issued two reports, both of which named Specific Media as among the top ten safest and most compliant companies in the industry. To view the most recent DoubleVerify report and read more about Specific Media’s commitment to brand safety, click here.

Under the provisions of the new Quality Assurance Certification program, a compliance seal will be issued only to companies that undergo rigorous training on the QAG, conduct an intensive internal audit, and assign a compliance officer who will ensure that the company is delivering on the promises of the program.

More information about the IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines and the certification program can be found at http://www.iab.net/ne_guidelines.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media. Learn more at www.specificmedia.com.

NEW YORK – “An Inside Look at Demand-Side Perceptions of Digital Video Advertising,” a comprehensive survey examining the views of marketers and agencies, reaffirms that the shift in ad dollar allotment has solidified. The study, released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and conducted by Advertiser Perceptions, shows that 69% of marketers and 55% of agencies plan to increase their Digital Video Advertising (DVA), with a 22% growth predicted in the next 12 months. Those surveyed project they will spend 17% of their total online display advertising budget on DVA in the next 12 months. The results of the study were announced at the IAB Digital Video Marketplace where almost 400 industry executives gathered to address the most pressing issues across the digital video platform.

Some of the other key findings of the study include:

- Advertisers are finding that their audiences respond better to DVA, with consumers showing a higher engagement rate with online video.
- DVA is more trackable and targetable and DVA production is less expensive, making it more cost efficient.
- Marketers will migrate TV ad dollars to digital video based on the belief it will deliver better ROI; agencies and television decision makers will shift ad dollars in an attempt to follow their target audiences.
- Among the different available DVA formats (pre-roll, in-banner, expandable banner, mobile video, rich media overlay and post-roll), agencies primarily use pre-roll while marketers are not committed to any specific format. Most respondents believe the appropriate length is 15 seconds.
- The preferred pricing model is CPM.
- A majority of marketers and a majority of agencies believe they should each be responsible for deciding whether to use DVA and how much budget to allocate to it.

There are still several opportunities for increasing the growth of DVA including:

- Improved ROI measurement
- Better standardized metrics
- Demonstrated audience shift to digital

“The study substantiates the buy-side appeal of digital video advertising – the power of sight, sound and motion paired with interactivity,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP Industry Services, IAB. “This bodes exceptionally well for the future revenue growth.”

“There was strong consensus that demand for digital video advertising was strengthening,” according to Randy Cohen, President of Advertiser Perceptions. “It was described best by a senior agency buyer who stated that ‘Digital video is becoming an ever-more common way that our target is consuming what was traditionally broadcast content – and our target is spending more time online, and video is another way to reach and engage the target.’”

All interviews for this study were completed online between November 17- December 6, 2010 in a blind survey. The sample was digital and/or television media decision makers with the intent to spend $1 million or more in the next 12 months. There were 500 respondents total, 148 marketers and 352 agencies, with 44% percent holding higher level titles. Sixty-two percent of respondents were involved in television decision making and 85% were involved in digital decision making.

The summary findings can be found at www.iab.net/digital_video_perceptions.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

First 17 Companies Receive Compliance Seal

NEW YORK – To enhance buyer control over ad placement and context, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the in-market debut of the Ad Network & Exchange Quality Assurance Certification program, a first-of-its-kind compliance mechanism and the only industry-endorsed certification program that exists today. Only companies that undergo rigorous training, conduct an intensive internal audit and assign a compliance officer to ensure they maintain the IAB’s Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAG) will receive a compliance seal from the IAB. The seal, which can be placed on the company’s website and marketing materials, certifies that the company is adhering fully to the only industry established criteria as outlined by the QAG, finalized in June 2010.

The IAB also announced the first 17 ad networks & exchanges that have completed the training and received the seal:

24/7 Real Media
Adap.tv
Adconion
AOL/Advertising.com
AudienceScience
BrightRoll
Burst Media
Casale Media
CONTEXTWEB
CPX Interactive
Google
Specific Media
SpotXchange
TubeMogul
ValueClick Media
YuMe
Traffic Marketplace

“IAB congratulates this first wave of companies and looks forward to announcing additional compliant companies in 2011,” says Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO, IAB. “The Ad Network & Exchange Certification Program is the next step of the Quality Assurance Guidelines and gives marketers an extra level of comfort that companies carrying the IAB seal are brand safe and deliver what they promise. Buyers who want to ensure they are getting the highest level of quality assurance can now look for the IAB compliance seal and know they are dealing with an ad network or exchange that has made a commitment to transparency, accountability and trust in advertising.”

“We are grateful to the IAB for creating the Ad Network & Exchange Certification Program. Knowing that the IAB is making sure ad networks & exchanges with a compliance seal are following the Quality Assurance Guidelines is very reassuring,” says John Montgomery, COO, North America, GroupM Interaction. “If an ad network or exchange has an IAB compliance seal, we can trust they are working with our agency and the brands we represent to deliver ads to relevant audiences in appropriate content. This commitment will now be a very important factor when we are considering campaigns.”

Seven other IAB member companies are currently enrolled in the Ad Network & Exchange Certification Program, and along with those that have received their seals, they represent more than two thirds of the top 25 ad networks ranked by comScore based on site traffic or audience.

IAB is allowing buyers to file complaints via the IAB website about compliant companies that might be falling short of their commitment to maintain the highest industry-established standards of quality. The IAB will then investigate with an independent third party under the direction of a Steering Committee of IAB member ad networks and exchanges, which can result in revocation of the seal. The guidelines and contact information for the compliant companies can be found at: http://www.iab.net/ne_guidelines

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

Adobe Omniture Summit 2011
SALT LAKE CITY – Adobe Omniture Summit 2011 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for a new report within Adobe® SiteCatalyst®, powered by Omniture®. The following Adobe SiteCatalyst metrics are now accredited: Page Views, Visits, Daily Unique Cookies and Time Spent on Site. These metrics measure digital audience size and engagement.

The MRC was formed at the request of the U.S. Congress and audits and accredits audience measurement services on a voluntary basis, helping to ensure that the advertising industry has valid, reliable and effective advertising metrics. The MRC’s digital audience measurement accreditation encompasses the Audience Reach Measurement Guidelines established by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). As a result, these four SiteCatalyst metrics are also IAB compliant.

“Our customers rely heavily on Adobe to give them insight into their online businesses and have asked us to certify these SiteCatalyst metrics,” said Brad Rencher, vice president and general manager, Omniture Business Unit, Adobe. “Meeting standards backed by the MRC and the IAB means that publishers and advertisers can rely on these metrics to accurately measure and discuss digital audience size and engagement throughout the media planning, buying and selling process.”

To ensure a high level of data integrity, Adobe has put in place innovative methods of cleansing raw site traffic from events that could compromise the accuracy of the accredited metrics. Events filtered from raw site traffic include spider and robot activity. Adobe also provides facilities to remove traffic generated from customers’ internal employees.

Receiving MRC accreditation gives advertisers and publishers census-based measurement of key site metrics, meaning the metrics are generated by counting all relevant traffic to the site. These metrics can be relied upon as a more complete measurement of actual traffic and behavior since they are not based on statistically projected panel-based estimates. The statistically generated results from panel-based estimates often differ significantly from census-based results and have been a point of controversy in the advertising industry.

MRC’s Executive Director, George Ivie, said, “We congratulate Adobe for achieving accreditation of its SiteCatalyst metrics, which required implementation of several important new data filtration and accumulation practices. This commitment to quality and transparency is admirable and will serve Adobe customers well by informing them of traffic counts and other metrics more accurately.”

“Having reliable metrics that report digital audience size and engagement is critical to the growth of the interactive advertising industry,” said Sherrill Mane, senior vice president, Industry Services, IAB. “The IAB applauds Adobe for its commitment to transparency. Adobe’s completion of an audit by the Media Rating Council brings greater clarity and consistency to digital audience measurement.”

SiteCatalyst is Adobe’s flagship online analytics solution within the Adobe Online Marketing Suite.

Availability of Certification from Adobe

Adobe customers can have their digital audience size and engagement metrics (Page Views, Visits, Daily Unique Cookies and Time Spent on Site) certified by Adobe. The Adobe Audience Certification Program will be initiated via an opt-in process in the next few months. For more information, please contact an account manager.

“Scripps Networks has been a long time customer of Omniture and has depended on our Adobe SiteCatalyst numbers to give us insight into the size and engagement of our online audiences,” says Cheryl Brink, VP Interactive Research & Analytics, Scripps Networks. “Becoming an Adobe Certified Publisher will give our advertisers an added level of confidence that Scripps Networks can help them reach a highly engaged audience in a quality lifestyle environment. We’re pleased that Adobe is helping the industry evolve toward a more comprehensive approach to measurement.”

About the Adobe Online Marketing Suite

The Adobe® Online Marketing Suite, powered by Omniture®, offers an integrated and open platform for online business optimization, a strategy for using customer insight to drive innovation throughout the business and enhance marketing efficiency. The Suite consists of integrated applications to collect and unleash the power of customer insight to optimize customer acquisition, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to make quick adjustments, automate certain customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which, ultimately, can positively impact the bottom line.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

SES New York 2011
NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)’s Local Committee and Ad Networks and Exchanges Committee are programming a forum and track at SES New York, which takes place March 21-25, 2011 at the Hilton New York. SES New York, which is expected to attract more than 5,000 industry professionals, is the industry’s leading search and social marketing conference and expo. To attend SES New York and the IAB forum and session track, register before March 21 and receive the pre-show discount of up to $200.

The IAB Forum, scheduled for Monday, March 21, is a full day of sessions on Local Advertising, including a keynote speech by Warren Webster, President of Patch by AOL. The forum is a perfect guide for brands and agencies who are building a local advertising program.

Scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, the IAB track features the leading voices in the advertising industry who will be examining the latest trends and opportunities in ad networks and ad exchanges.

“We love partnering with the IAB’s industry gurus to present the latest developments and best practices to our attendees,” said Matthew McGowan, Managing Director of Americas for Incisive Media. “There are so many critical changes taking place in the advertising industry that it’s hard to keep up. The specialized networks and exchanges track will save anyone working in this arena a lot of time and effort, and the forum is perfect for local advertising professionals.”

“We’re particularly interested in participating in SES New York at this juncture of our committee because we will only be days away from certification against the new IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines,” said Jay Sears, General Manager of CONTEXTWEB, Inc. and co-chair of the IAB Networks and Exchanges Committee. “It will give us a great opportunity to hear from our constituents in the ad networks and exchanges community.”

Following the Webster keynote, the five sessions of the IAB Forum are:

“Geofences make good customers: Mobile targeting and local results” presents ideas on how to drive the right local audience to commercial opportunities.
“When it rains, it pours: Using apps to drive mobile and iPad engagement” lets attendees in on the first industry-wide study on the intersection between mobile and tablet devices and user engagement in the away-from-home market.
“Back at the wheel: How big auto drives sales” delivers information about how to use display, local and onsite-search to drive local sales.
“Clip and save: Group buying, digital couponing and content that works” addresses the group-buying craze and how marketers can incorporate it into their marketing campaigns.
“In El Barrio: Reaching US Hispanics where they live and shop” presents ideas for going after the $1 trillion purchasing power of the US Hispanic market.

The four sessions within the IAB Ad Networks and Exchanges Track focus are:

“Meet the Buyers: Defining Quality in the Buying Experience”
Chuck Moran, CMO of BURST Media, will moderate a discussion among leading New York City digital buyers about what they are looking for in an ad network or ad exchange.
“The QAGies Are Coming: The Movement for Quality in Display Advertising”
Rob Rasko, President and COO of CPX Interactive and co-chair of the Quality Assurance Guidelines Go-To-Market Working Group, will moderate a discussion about what it will mean to certify against the IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines starting in April 2011.
“The AAAA Digital Committee Speaks About Quality”
David Jacobs, Senior VP of Publisher Services, Advertising.com and Jay Sears, co-chairs of the IAB Networks and Exchanges Committee, will moderate a discussion among representatives from the 4As Digital Committee: Agency.com, Digitas, Kirshenbaum, MEC, MediaSmith, Moxie, Neo, OMD, and Starcom about the relative importance of transparency, control and simplicity in partnering with ad networks and exchanges.
“RTB, DSP, ATD, WTF: Finding Quality in a Sea of Solutions”
Jay Sears will moderate a discussion with demand side platform leaders about the role demand side platforms play in the digital media supply chain.

Through March 21, marketers can register to receive the SES New York pre-show discount of up to $200. For the first time at SES New York, Incisive Media has designed an attractively-priced All Access Passport, which includes access to all conference sessions, keynotes, the expo hall, training sessions and partnered events.

About SES

Incisive Media’s SES is a leading global conference and training series focused on search and social media marketing. Other Incisive resources for interactive marketers include ClickZ for digital marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion and research and Search Engine Watch, which provides news and information about search, analysis of the search engine industry and tools for improving search marketing effectiveness.

Incisive Media is a leading global provider of specialized business news and information, in print, in person and online. The company’s principal markets include financial services, legal services, commercial real estate, marketing services and risk management. Incisive Media’s market-leading brands include Accountancy Age, Computing, Investment Week, Legal Week, Post, Risk, and SES Conference and Expo. For more information, visit www.incisivemedia.com

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) launched the first-ever Data Council to provide a permanent forum for its members to address topics surrounding the collection and use of data in interactive advertising. The Council is an expansion of the Data Usage and Control Taskforce which was formed in 2009. The announcement was made during IAB’s fourth Annual Leadership Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0: The People vs. Data, at La Quinta Resort & Club, where leaders across the digital media landscape have converged to address the most critical issues facing the industry.

“What better place to launch the Data Council than at IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting where industry leaders are gathered to discuss how data affects online advertising,” said Patrick Dolan, EVP and COO of IAB. “The Data Council will focus on increasing transparency in a complex and rapidly evolving segment of the industry.”

The council’s initial agenda items include:

Marketers & Agencies Education: An initiative that will address misinformation around data gathering and usage.
Ecosystem Mapping: An effort to clarify the different kinds of data that can be collected through media buying.
Data Lexicon: The creation of standard definitions and terms for data segmentation and data sources.

The IAB Data Council will expand upon previous efforts of the Data Taskforce, such as the “Data Usage & Control Primer: Principles & Definitions.” To read more on the IAB’s Data Usage and Control primer, visit http://www.iab.net/data_primer.

The IAB Data Council is open to all members. Those interested in joining can email committees@iab.net.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – A new study reveals a significant gap between the level of sophistication of interactive advertising platforms and how comfortable industry executives are in articulating the value of those platforms to media buyers and marketers. Released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the 2011 “Interactive Ad IQ Survey” was conducted by Ernst & Young LLP’s Media & Entertainment Advisory Services practice. It is the first installment in what is planned to be an annual benchmark of how well industry executives are able to communicate the opportunities associated with the rapid transition of digital and social media, which has accelerated over the past 18 to 24 months. The announcement was made during IAB’s fourth Annual Leadership Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0: The People vs. Data, at La Quinta Resort & Club, where leaders across the digital media landscape have converged to address the most critical issues facing the industry.

More than 640 digital publishers, advertisers, agency executives and researchers from across the U.S. responded to the survey. The gaps it identifies may contribute to what many industry insiders believe is the undervaluing of interactive advertising relative to traditional ad platforms, such as television and print media. For example, roughly 75% of these executives work directly with social media and mobile ad platforms, but roughly one-quarter of them are uncomfortable explaining the value of these platforms in the context of buying or selling ads. Approximately 85% of respondents said online video is important to their businesses, but a full 20% were uncomfortable demonstrating the benefits of this interactive ad vehicle.

“The diversity of interactive advertising presents tremendous opportunities, and challenges, for explaining why our clients should spend with us,” said Patrick Dolan, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, IAB. “If we can’t communicate the unprecedented value of interactive, it just might be far easier for advertisers to allocate dollars to more traditional platforms.”

Respondents were also asked to rate their comfort level with using common tools and data. Close to 35% of survey respondents indicated they were uncomfortable using third-party audience and sales data to optimize ad performance and 20% expressed unease interpreting syndicated audience research. Additionally, 22% are unclear as to how to utilize server-side web analytics.

“We anticipated some of the discomfort, particularly on the newest platforms, such as social media. But what was refreshing was the industry’s recognition that training is not only necessary, but desired,” said Howard Bass, who led this initiative for Ernst & Young LLP, referring to a result indicating that more than 60% of respondents want training for themselves or their colleagues.

“We will act on these results by developing an industry training programs so buyers and sellers of interactive advertising can gain the requisite knowledge and skills to make the most of every dollar invested in these emerging platforms,” said Michael Theodore, Vice President, IAB Member Services, and leader of the organization’s Professional Development efforts. “The IAB plans to establish a certification program that should help hiring managers identify qualified talent and maintain top-quality skills as part of their personnel development practices.”

The IAB is making the survey available to individual member companies who want to test their Ad IQ, and then will be available to work with those companies to develop custom training programs for those looking to increase their Ad IQ.

For more information about the Interactive Ad IQ survey, please visit www.iab.net/adIQ

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 141,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the US.

About Ernst & Young’s Global Media & Entertainment Center

Whether it’s the traditional press and broadcast media, or the multitude of digital media, audiences now have more choice than ever before. For media and entertainment companies, integration and adaptability are becoming critical success factors. Ernst & Young’s Global Media & Entertainment Center brings together worldwide teams of professionals to help our clients achieve their potential — teams with deep technical experience in providing assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The Center works to anticipate market trends, identify the implications and develop points of view on relevant industry issues. Ultimately it enables us to help our clients meet their goals and compete more effectively. It’s how Ernst & Young makes a difference.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – For the first time, standardized key metrics for measuring advertisements have been established for the mobile interactive industry. Developed in a joint effort by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and with the assistance of the Media Rating Council (MRC), the “Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines” provide a framework to govern how ad impressions are counted on the mobile Web.

A joint task force, comprised of members of the IAB’s Mobile Advertising Committee and the MMA’s Measurement Committee, met for more than a year to develop these guidelines, which specifically cover WAP/Mobile Web advertising.

“The ‘Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines’ will help marketers accurately assess the delivery of ads within mobile websites and offer a clear way to count ad impressions, assuring them that their advertising messages are reaching mobile consumers,” said Anna Bager, Vice President and General Manager of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence.

“More than anything, the guidelines demonstrate the mobile industry’s commitment to its marketing partners to create a transparent and consistent business environment for buying and selling ads,” said Greg Stuart, President and CEO, MMA. “Brands and their agencies will be further encouraged to devote resources towards marketing campaigns unique to the mobile web- reaching customers at critical times in the purchase cycle, enhancing brand relationships or providing critical information through mobile marketing.”

“The IAB and MMA are to be applauded for recognizing that the creation of measurement guidelines for all marketing platforms eliminates a huge barrier to entry for advertisers and opens the market for enormous opportunity and innovation,” said George Ivie, CEO, MRC. “We were pleased to facilitate writing this new set of guidelines.”

The objectives of the “Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines” include:

- Defining the mobile web ad impression
- Creating a common methodology that will be widely adopted in the U.S. and globally for counting mobile web ad impressions
- Encouraging U.S. mobile web ad servers to have their impression counts audited by an independent third party
- Providing marketers and agencies with greater clarity and certainty (via the auditing process) that key metrics used for buying mobile web ads are methodologically sound and meet the highest standards available to the media industry
- Reducing levels of discrepancies and spurring the industry’s growth by offering Internet publishers and ad servers a consistent, rigorous way to count the delivery of ad impressions

The IAB’s Mobile Advertising Committee is comprised of over 140 member companies who are dedicated to developing and expanding the mobile space as a viable advertising platform. This committee now sits under the newly created IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, a new unit within the organization that will serve as an industry-wide resource for innovation in mobile advertising.

The MMA’s Measurement Committee is comprised of MMA member companies. The Measurement Committee’s charter is to provide global leadership in the following areas: (1) Advertising Currency Definition & Quantification, (2) Mobile success definition as part of cross media marketing mix, and (3) White Paper/Education on importance of measurement to brand marketer engagement of the mobile channel.

The Mobile Web Advertising Guidelines are available here: http://www.iab.net/mobilewebmeasurementguidelines and http://mmaglobal.com/MobileWebMeasurementGuidelines_final.pdf.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.

About the Media Rating Council (MRC)

The MRC is a non-profit Industry association established in 1964 composed of leading television, radio, print and internet companies, as well as advertisers, advertising agencies and trade associations whose goal is to ensure measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective. Measurement services desiring MRC accreditation are required to disclose to their customers all methodological aspects of their service; comply with the MRC Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research; and submit to MRC-designed audits to authenticate and illuminate their procedures. In addition, the MRC membership actively pursues research issues they consider priorities in an effort to improve the quality of research in the marketplace. Currently approximately 60 research products are audited by the MRC. Additional information about MRC can be found at www.mediaratingcouncil.org.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Three advertising trade groups have launched a major initiative to lead the industry in developing digital metrics and cross platform measurement solutions, with the goal of enhancing marketing and media management decision-making. The announcement was made during IAB’s fourth Annual Leadership Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0: The People vs. Data, at La Quinta Resort & Club, where leaders across the digital media landscape have converged to address the most critical issues facing the industry.

The initiative entitled “Making Measurement Make Sense” is a joint undertaking of the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies). These organizations, which represent the entire value chain in marketing and advertising, have engaged the management consulting firm Bain & Company and the strategic advisory firm MediaLink, to support the initiative.

The absence of a consistent approach to measuring and assessing the effects of digital media has resulted in a cacophony of competing and contradictory measurement systems, contributing to a complex and costly supply chain for the industry. “Making Measurement Make Sense” has three primary objectives:

- Define standard metrics and measurement systems that are transparent and consistent to simplify the planning, buying and evaluating of digital media:
- Analyzing the current digital measurement situation from a business perspective
- Defining a common currency for measuring online exposures
- Developing generally accepted standards for brand impact measurement online
- Creating an effective methodology for cross media measurement
- Drive industry consensus around the solutions:
- Gaining stakeholder input and driving consensus around the solution
- Engaging industry leaders to champion the measurement process
- Establish a measurement governance model which encompasses:
- Creating a structure for an ongoing measurement governing body
- Establishing a governance and standards-setting process
- Developing an implementation plan for the roll-out of metrics, standards and management structure

“As more consumers have migrated to digital media, marketers have sought to follow them by deploying interactive campaigns,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP Industry Services, IAB. “The ‘Making Measurement Make Sense’ initiative gives the industry the opportunity to understand how to follow and connect with the consumers targeted by these campaigns, and how to measure both within digital and across media platforms.”

“It is indeed time for the industry leaders to develop a ‘currency’ that is widely and consistently accepted and adopted,” said Bob Liodice, President and CEO, ANA. “Online media has an abundance of metrics, but none that serve as currency across the ecosystem. This process will allow the industry to use consistent measurements to evaluate a program’s return.”

“The leading marketing and media trade organizations have united to spearhead an ecosystem-wide solution to many of the critical issues in measurement,” said Nancy Hill, President-CEO, 4A’s. “The confusion in this area has added costs to advertising agencies, which have been forced to use, subsidize and staff around increasing numbers of metrics and data in order to plan, purchase and post-analyze their media buys. This initiative will streamline and simplify those processes.”

Newspaper Association of America (NAA) has joined the “Making Measurement Make Sense” initiative as a supporter, and outreach to the rest of the advertising ecosystem is ongoing.

This initiative is intended to expand and accelerate the work done to date by the IAB and the Media Rating Council (MRC), which have developed some standards for digital measurement including Audience Reach Measurement Guidelines and Click Measurement Guidelines.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About the ANA

Founded in 1910, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) leads the marketing community by providing its members with insights, collaboration, and advocacy. ANA’s membership includes 400 companies with 9,000 brands that collectively spend over $250 billion in marketing communications and advertising. The ANA strives to communicate marketing best practices, lead industry initiatives, influence industry practices, manage industry affairs, and advance, promote, and protect all advertisers and marketers. For more information, visit www.ana.net, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook, or visit our YouTube channel.

About the 4A’s

The 4A’s is the national trade association of the advertising agency business. Its membership comprises virtually all of the large, multinational agencies and hundreds of small and mid-sized agencies from across the country. The 1,200 member agency offices served by the 4A’s employ 65,000 people; offer a wide range of marketing communications services, and place 80 percent of all national advertising. The management-oriented association founded in 1917 helps its members build their businesses, and acts as the industry’s spokesperson with government, media, and the public sector. For more information, visit the 4A’s Web site at www.aaaa.org.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the winners of its 2010 Sales & Service Excellence Awards. Celebrating the importance of outstanding leadership and performance, the IAB Sales Awards are given to individuals and organizations that have excelled in interactive advertising sales. The IAB Service Excellence Awards honor outstanding member contributions to IAB industry-related initiatives. The announcement was made during IAB’s fourth Annual Leadership Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0: The People vs. Data, at La Quinta Resort & Club, where leaders across the digital media landscape have converged to address the most critical issues facing the industry.

Sales Excellence Awards

The IAB Sales Excellence Awards are driven by the IAB Sales Executive Council through a partnership with Advertiser Perceptions, Inc., a highly regarded research firm specializing in researching the agency and marketer communities. The Council worked with Advertiser Perceptions to develop and field a two-part survey to identify the sales organizations and individuals who are viewed by the ad buying community as achieving the highest standards of sales excellence. Approximately 400 agency and marketer decision makers responded across two waves of research. The respondents represented a broad cross-section of verticals, including Automotive, CPG, Financial, Retail and Travel. Each individual respondent spent at least $1 million on online advertising in the last year.

“The Sales Excellence Award has become one of the most telling industry awards because its qualifications are based completely on customer feedback,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP Industry Services for the IAB. “The IAB is proud to have created a mechanism that recognizes excellence in sales and this year’s recipients should be thrilled to know the demand side approves of and appreciates their efforts to provide exceptional knowledge, innovation and customer service.”

2010 Sales Excellence Award Winners include:

Long Term Achievement:
- Large digital sales organizations: Scripps Networks
- Small to mid-size digital sales organizations: Undertone

Most Innovative: Pandora

Best Newcomer: Turn

Salesperson of the Year:
- East Coast: Anna Lem, Google
- Midwest: Todd Hayes, 24/7 Real Media
- West Coast: Nick Leal, ValueClick Media

Service Excellence Awards

Across the IAB’s nearly 500 member companies, 18 IAB councils and committees and dozens of working groups, hundreds of IAB members participate in shaping the interactive advertising business and driving educational outreach to the marketplace.

The IAB Service Excellence Awards honor individual members who have demonstrated strong leadership and provided an exceptional contribution to one or more significant, completed IAB initiatives over the year.

“The winners of this year’s Service Excellence Awards have worked rigorously to help the IAB with a variety of efforts shaped to promote growth and drive the entire industry forward,” said Michael Theodore, VP Member Services for the IAB. “These awards recognize the dedication and leadership it takes to address important issues and create change. The IAB congratulates this year’s winners for their achievements and thanks them for their contributions.”

2010 Service Excellence Award Winners include:

ANNA BANKS, Executive Director, Strategy, Organic and NICHOLE GOODYEAR, CEO & President, Brickfish, for their significant contributions to the Social Media Buyer’s Guide

KEITH BERKELHAMER, VP, CNN Digital Research at Turner Broadcasting and DAN MURPHY, SVP of Research and Ad Traffic at Univision Interactive Media, for their extensive work with Site Intercept Ad Effectiveness Studies

PABLO CHAVEZ, Director of Public Policy, Google and BRYCE HARLOW, VP Government Relations, CBS Interactive, for their dedication and leadership on the IAB’s self-regulatory efforts

GEOFFREY COCO, Group Product Manager, Video & Rich Media Advertising at Microsoft and JOEY TROTZ, Sr. Director, Strategic Advertising & Digital Technologies at Turner Broadcasting, for their participation and guidance on Digital Video Agency Day

PETER HORAN, Chairman, Goodmail Systems, for his noteworthy influence on the development of the IAB’s Code of Conduct

DAVE JACOBS, SVP of Publisher Services, AOL/Advertising.com and JAY SEARS, General Manager, CONTEXTWEB Ad Exchange at CONTEXTWEB, for their substantial contributions to the development of the Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines

JOSHUA KORAN, VP Targeting & Optimization at ValueClick and NICK WEIR, CEO at ChoozOn (formerly VP, Data Strategy, Yahoo!), for their dedication and guidance around the IAB’s Data Primer initiative

JASON RYNING, Attorney for Microsoft, for his contributions to the 4A’s/IAB Standard Terms & Conditions version 3.0

SHANE WILEY, Senior Director, Privacy & Data Governance, Yahoo!, for his considerable contributions to the IAB’s CLEAR initiative

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

“We’re excited that Randall is taking the helm again at IAB,” said Bob Carrigan, Chairman of IAB Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, IDG Communications, Inc. “During his four-year tenure, IAB became the central trade association for marketing and media. With our industry at a critical point, we are pleased that Randall’s coming back to advance the work he’s done to date.”

“I am thrilled to be returning to IAB, to this superb team, and to a membership I feel honored to serve,” Rothenberg said. “As we prepare to convene IAB’s largest Annual Leadership Meeting ever, there couldn’t be a more exciting time to lead this association. I’m particularly energized by the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, the plans for an IAB Ad Lab, a groundbreaking cross-industry measurement standardization initiative, and our efforts to assure that data usage and control are negotiated fairly and transparently among trading partners, with consumer rights squarely in the forefront. This will be a great year for IAB and its members.”

Rothenberg served with distinction as IAB’s leader from 2007 through 2010. During that period, IAB’s membership increased by more than 50 percent and its revenues more than doubled. More important, IAB’s service to its member companies grew and broadened. During his tenure:

- IAB opened a public policy office that became the leading voice for industry self-regulation and consumer privacy protection in digital media
- The association launched a groundbreaking campaign to promote creative excellence in interactive brand advertising
- IAB released vital research on brand-building, advertising pricing, and metrics
- IAB’s effort to standardize online measurement gained support from leading agencies, marketers, media, and their association partners
- IAB’s events became the central gathering place for the digital industry.
For the past month, Rothenberg has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Time Inc., the largest magazine media company in the United States.

Time Inc. reaffirmed its commitment to IAB today, announcing that it will continue to be represented on the IAB Board of Directors. It also announced it will continue its Board-level sponsorship of IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. In addition, the company’s leadership has agreed to contribute funding to an upcoming cross-industry measurement initiative and will become a charter sponsor of our impending IAB Ad Lab.

“Time Inc. is a valued member of IAB, and I am pleased about the graciousness of the organization and the fact that its senior executives have reaffirmed their commitment to the association,” Rothenberg said. “Time Inc. is a great partner for IAB, and I thank them for their digital leadership.”

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

PALM SPRINGS, CA — In a sustained effort to spur greater creativity in interactive advertising and speed adoption of new brand-friendly ad formats, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the six winners of its “Rising Stars” Competition. These new-to-the-market formats will be named IAB Standard Ad Units following six months of in-market validation. A pool of 36 innovative submissions came from more than two dozen companies. The Rising Stars contest kicked off at the MIXX Conference & Expo in September 2010, when the IAB put out a call for new standard ad units that would encourage engagement with viewers on their terms and allow people to participate confidently with brands.

It was also announced that 11 of the 18 current IAB standard ad units will be retired as they are no longer commonly bought and offered throughout the market, a requirement defined by the “Ad Unit Guidelines Update” developed by the Reimagining Interactive Advertising Task Force in November 2009.

The winners are:

The IAB has been the standard-setting body for interactive advertising formats since 1997 and is widely regarded for instituting rigor in the digital media supply chain. Agencies, marketers and publishers recognize IAB standard ad units as the foundation of modern digital marketing communications. Seven of the IAB ad units comprise approximately 80 percent of all online ads served in the U.S.

The Rising Stars contest is a core component of “Reimagining Interactive Advertising,” an IAB initiative being led by top agency executive Peter Minnium, formerly Managing Director of Lowe Worldwide, the global creative agency network of the Interpublic Group, where he held leadership roles overseeing international operations. Mr. Minnium joined IAB in June 2010 as a Consulting Director.

The ad unit submissions were evaluated on the following specific criteria:

* Branding - How well does the ad format provide a canvas for brand creativity?
* User Experience - How does the ad format positively impact user experience?
* Functionality - How does the ad format take advantage of online user behaviors and technologies?
* Page Integration – How does the ad format enhance the relationship between the ad and publisher page layout?
* Adoption - How easily could the ad format be widely adopted by publishers?

“In the constant ebb and flow of creative brand advertising online, one thing is clear from the Rising Stars submissions: if the creative community and the brands they represent are inspired by the canvas they are given, we are set to experience a renaissance of more and better brand advertising on the web,” Minnium said.

“I’m incredibly excited about the creativity that flowed in with the Rising Stars submissions and this endeavor has the potential to inspire others within the advertising and marketing community to take the dialogue about standard ad units to a whole new level,” said David Doty, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, IAB.

The winners of the Rising Stars initiative were selected by a cross-disciplinary group that included agency creative directors, media executives, publishers and ad operations specialists, who judged the ad formats for their potential to drive brand equity at scale. In addition to IAB Ad Ops Council professionals from Turner, Microsoft, Google and Disney, among others, Rising Stars evaluators included:

* Alex Shulhafer, Creative Director, BBDO
* Ana Andjelic, Director, User Experience, Huge
* Becky Minervino, Senior Interactive Strategist, McKinney
* Calle Sjoenell, Executive Creative Director, BBH
* Carl Fremont, Executive Vice President, Media Director, Digitas
* David Levin, President, Creative & Technology, 360i
* Dom Goodrum, Art Director, Barbarian Group
* Edward Boches, Chief Innovation Officer, Mullen
* Gary Scheiner, Chief Creative Office, Rosetta
* Ivan Kayser, Senior Vice President, Hill & Knowlton
* Jarrod Riddle, Senior Art Director, Big Spaceship
* Joe Barone, Managing Director, Digital Advertising Operations, GroupM
* John Norman, Chief Creative Officer, Martin Agency
* Josh Stinchcomb, Vice President Digital Sales, Conde Nast
* Kaare Wesnaes, Director of Creative Development, AKQA
* Maggie Sapovchak, Marketing Director, NBC Universal
* Mike Brunick, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Platforms, MediaBrands
* Patrick Clarke, Executive Creative Director, Publicis Modem
* Tony Whiteside, Creative Director, Ogilvy

While many of the Rising Stars are available today, there will be a 90-day build-out period after which they will all be available at scale. For embeddable videos, media-ready screen shots and additional information of the Rising Stars, visit: http://www.iab.net/risingstars

About the IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced that its Board of Directors has elected a new Chairman, Bob Carrigan, Chief Executive Officer, IDG Communications, Inc. Carrigan has served on the Board of Directors for five years and has been a member of the Executive Committee since last year.

Carrigan assumes the role of Chairman from David J. Moore, Chairman and Founder of 24/7 Real Media. Moore will continue to remain active in IAB, and will be heading the Search Committee to find a new CEO for the organization. The Board of Directors plans to vote on the rest of the board appointments and additions at its Annual Leadership Meeting Ecosystem 2.0: The People vs. Data, scheduled for February 27-March 1 at La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, CA.

“After 18 months as Chairman of IAB, six months longer than the expected term, I am pleased to pass the torch to Bob Carrigan. Bob is a recognized leader, with a firm commitment to the IAB, and I am confident he will bring a strong vision to the organization as it continues to be a force of change in our industry,” said David J. Moore.

“I’m energized to be taking on this position at such a crucial, transformational time for media, just when more marketers are shifting their attention to building brands online and engaging with their consumers in creative, new ways,” said Carrigan. “In the coming months, the IAB will be focused on leading the industry on some challenging and exciting issues – from mobile to local to privacy. I look forward to playing an integral role building and expanding on IAB’s legacy of outstanding accomplishment and guiding the interactive landscape of tomorrow.”

As Chairman, Carrigan will lead the IAB in its pursuit of six strategic objectives of the organization in 2011 – Making Measurement Make Sense, Building Brands Online, Protecting Privacy, Data Demystification, the launch of the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, and Supply Chain Simplification.

Bob Carrigan oversees IDG’s media operations, including online, print, and events in 90 countries around the world. Prior to assuming his worldwide CEO role in 2008, Carrigan was responsible for IDG Communications media business units in the U.S. Carrigan has also held senior executive positions at AOL and Spinner.com.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, announced it will be the first Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) member to begin integrating the Advertising Option Icon across all online display ads distributed by the organization, effective immediately. The Advertising Option Icon is a straightforward, easy-to-use tool that empowers consumers to make informed choices about online privacy while working to enrich their Internet experience. Specific Media is currently working with PreferenceCentral, a consumer privacy and empowerment solution company, to deploy the Advertising Option Icon.

“Transparency is essential to our clients and their customers. Incorporating the Advertising Option Icon across all of the display ads we distribute marks a proactive step in helping consumers gain a better understanding of how data is collected and used for online behavioral advertising purposes,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media. “By implementing consumer-friendly principles and standards, we are enabling consumers to make more informed choices on the web, and helping to strengthen relationships between brands and their customers.”

The Advertising Option Program was initiated by IAB to provide consumers with a better understanding and more control over ads that are served to them based on their online behavior. By clicking on an icon within or around an ad unit, consumers can link to a disclosure statement regarding the data collection and usage practices associated with that ad; users can also opt to stop receiving behaviorally targeted ads from the company in the future.

Specific Media was recently recognized by DoubleVerify, a pioneer in online media verification, for being one of the highest rated networks in online ad delivery and compliance. In recent months, Specific Media successfully market tested the new Advertising Option Icon on behalf of several industry-leading clients including MasterCard, Zales, Electronic Arts, and high-end watchmaker Breitling.

“Transparency is at the forefront of today’s online advertising landscape, as industry leaders come to understand the significance of giving consumers choice and control over the ads they are served,” said Jeffrey Katz, GM, PreferenceCentral, which enables consumers to manage their advertising preferences across the web. “Specific Media is helping lead the way by implementing the Advertising Option Icon across its platform and setting a precedent for other media companies.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

Dear IAB Members,

As we prepare for a new year that promises to be another record setter for interactive advertising revenues, the IAB is announcing some changes in our management. Randall Rothenberg, who has been President and CEO since January 2007, will be leaving the IAB on January 17, 2011, to become Chief Digital Officer of Time Inc.

A search has already begun for a new CEO. As that search continues, we are confident that the IAB moves into 2011 with the right leadership for tackling the issues of importance to its member companies and to the industry at large. Patrick Dolan, recently promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will be acting as the organization’s leader. David Doty, also recently promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, will join Dolan in the organization’s leadership.

The IAB is stronger than ever and the Board of Directors has expressed its complete confidence in the current management team to carry out our key strategic initiatives—Building Brands Online, Making Measurement Make Sense, Protecting Privacy, Data Demystification, the Mobile Center of Excellence and Supply-Chain Simplification.

Two other executives round out the management team: Mike Zaneis, who was recently named Senior Vice President and General Council, focuses on matters related to public policy in Washington, D.C., and Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President of Industry Services, leads the organization’s measurement and research efforts.

Over the past four years, this management team has worked to grow the IAB membership by 50 percent, and has more than doubled our revenues. They have advocated effectively for us in Washington, and made our industry a public policy force to be reckoned with. They have done groundbreaking work in developing industry standards and best practices for digital video distribution, online networks quality assurance, social media advertising, interactive games marketing and mobile advertising. They have built a world-class conference business that attracts more than 5,000 marketing, agency, media and technology executives annually. The IAB’s efforts to develop cross-industry standards for audience measurement are changing the way the marketing-media ecosystem does business, as is the IAB’s ongoing campaign to promote creative excellence in digital advertising.

Randall Rothenberg as President and CEO has been a superlative leader and will be missed. We are thrilled that he is becoming a senior executive at one of the IAB’s largest member companies and we look forward to Randall’s continued involvement with the association.

The IAB is a strong and well-respected organization and will manage through these changes with no interruption in serving our members and advancing the interactive advertising industry at large.

Sincerely,
David Moore
Chairman, Founder & CEO, 24/7 Real Media, Inc.,
Chairman, IAB Board of Directors

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – To bolster the digital marketing industry’s interests in Washington, D.C., the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced that it had created an Office of General Counsel and promoted Mike Zaneis to Senior Vice President and General Counsel from Vice President of Public Policy. Zaneis steps into this role having already achieved significant progress in creating a public policy presence for the industry in the nation’s capital and in overseeing successful efforts to bring industry self-regulation to fruition.

In addition, the IAB appointed two others to new senior positions. Patrick Dolan, formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in recognition of his strategic and operations leadership. David Doty, who has been Senior Vice President for Marketing & Thought Leadership, will take on the newly created role of Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, reflecting the organization’s growing focus on outreach and education.

“Public policy has taken center-stage as one of the most critical issues facing the digital marketing industry, and no one is better equipped to represent the IAB and our members than Mike,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “At the same time, Patrick and David have helped fashion the pivotal role IAB now plays in the industry. Their leadership will help guide us through 2011 and beyond. These appointments are another step we’re taking to strengthen our management team as we meet the challenges and opportunities of the continuously evolving digital marketing landscape.”

In his new position, Zaneis will continue to lead the IAB’s public policy office and guide the strategy of the self-regulatory privacy program. Additionally, he will oversee outside counsel and coordinate all IAB legal resources in industry relations, public policy and other critical initiatives. Prior to joining the IAB, Zaneis worked with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, where he served as Executive Director of Technology and E-Commerce. As the chief technology and telecommunications lobbyist, he oversaw issues affecting the business community pertaining to e-commerce, online and consumer privacy, data security, telecommunications and intellectual property.

Patrick Dolan, who joined the IAB in 2007, assumes broader organizational responsibilities at the IAB with the title of Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Dolan has strengthened the operational and financial position of the IAB and improved collaboration within the international network of IABs. Appointed by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as a commissioner of the city’s Latin Media and Entertainment Commission, Dolan led the establishment of New York City’s Latin Media and Entertainment Week. Dolan has recently taken on a more active role in the IAB’s Committees and Councils work as well as in its evolving Professional Development program. He marshaled IAB member companies to produce the “Data Usage and Control Primer: Best Practices & Definitions,” the first-ever guide to explain in plain terms what data can be collected online and how that data should be collected. Prior to joining the IAB, Dolan held senior positions at DoubleClick, the Locomotion Channel (a joint venture between Hearst Entertainment and Corus Entertainment), the Early Learning Coalition of South Florida and the Soros Foundations Network.

In the newly created role of Chief Marketing Officer, David Doty will spearhead the communication of interactive marketing’s value to marketers, advertising agencies and other key constituents. In Doty’s time at the IAB, he has repositioned and elevated the IAB brand, taking it beyond the image of traditional trade associations. He has propelled the organization into new areas of expertise. Doty established the IAB Agency Advisory Board comprised of leading creative agency executives, and he launched “Privacy Matters,” the industry’s first PSA campaign focused on educating the broader public about how to manage privacy online. He has also led the transformation of the IAB’s events business unit into the acclaimed conference leader in the digital space. Doty joined the IAB in 2007 after serving as Director of Corporate Branding and Creative Services at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he was responsible for overseeing the firm’s successful global strategic branding initiative. Previously, Doty was President of Flatiron Communications, a company he founded to serve the media industry in strategy and execution. As a writer, consultant and strategic content developer, he worked with Wired Magazine, Hearst Magazines, Departures Magazine, Turner Entertainment Networks, Microsoft and the French government.

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – In a move that highlights the growing importance of mobile advertising in the marketing-media ecosystem, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the launch of the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, an independently funded and staffed unit inside the IAB, charged with driving the growth of the mobile marketing, advertising and media marketplace. The IAB also announced the appointment of Anna Bager as Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile Center, a new position in the organization.

Bager joins the IAB from Ericsson, the global telecommunications company, where she was the head of business intelligence for the Multimedia division.

“The IAB’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence will provide the next phase of leadership required for continued growth in the mobile advertising industry,” said Greg McCastle, Senior Vice President for Advanced Ad Solutions at AT&T and a member of the IAB’s Board of Directors. “Consumers want their information and entertainment on-the-go, and this trend is only going to continue, bringing enormous opportunity for advertisers to stay connected to their audiences.”

The IAB’s new Mobile Center will devote resources to market and consumer research, mobile advertising case studies, executive training and education, supply chain standardization, creative showcases and best practice identification in the burgeoning field of mobile media and marketing. “The Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence will serve as the industry-wide resource for innovation in mobile advertising,” said Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO of the IAB.

Sixteen IAB member companies have committed financial support to the association’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, marking the first time the industry trade group has directed enhanced resources to a single platform. Eight IAB member companies have provided advanced support and will serve on the Center’s Board of Directors, including AT&T Converged Services, Cars.com, Google, Microsoft, The New York Times, Univision Interactive Media, Weather Channel and Yahoo.

Another eight companies are supporting the Center as research and development sponsors, including 24/7 Real Media, CNN, Disney Interactive Media Group, Federated Media, The Huffington Post, IDG Communications, NBC Universal and Tremor Media.

Up to three more Board sponsorships are available to IAB General Member companies, Rothenberg said. The Mobile Center of Excellence will be based in the IAB’s New York headquarters, at 116 East 27 Street.

“Mobile marketing is clearly one of the fastest-growing segments of interactive advertising and we’re responding to its potential by opening an office that will help to advance technologies and best practices so advertisers can take full advantage of what mobile has to offer,” said David J. Moore, Chairman of the IAB Board and Chairman and CEO of 24/7 Real Media.

“What the mobile marketing ecosystem needs in order to grow is a dedicated force of industry experts working together to promote best practices and solve vital supply chain issues,” said Bager. “That’s exactly what the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence will provide.”

Before heading business intelligence at Ericsson Multimedia, Bager was the head of research and a senior consultant at Ericsson’s Business Consulting unit. Prior to Ericsson, Bager was a European consulting manager at IDC’s Telecommunications and Networking Center. Bager attended Lund University in Lund, Sweden, where she studied business administration and economics.

The formation of the Mobile Center of Excellence is the latest addition to the IAB’s ongoing work to educate the marketing and media ecosystem about mobile advertising. Together, the IAB and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) recently released “Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines” that provide a framework for governing ad impressions through mobile devices.

This report and others can be reviewed on the IAB website, www.iab.net.

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – Lotame Solutions announced that it has closed new funding of $11 million. The marketing technology leader is building a Platform Sales Group to address growing publisher demand for its data.

Emergence Capital led the latest round of funding, Lotame’s Series C round, and all of Lotame’s investors participated, including Hillcrest, Battery Ventures, and Pinnacle Ventures. Lotame has also secured a growth capital line from Pinnacle, to supplement its equity financing. This story was first reported in Advertising Age.

Jason Green, a general partner at Emergence Capital, said, “Lotame’s continued success is a result of their clarity of vision and focus around giving publishers greater insight into their customers and leading brand advertisers access to the specific audiences they want to reach.”

The Crowd Control audience data-management platform gathers first-party data from publisher sites, and enables them to leverage third-party data in a simple user interface. Publishers looking for more effective ways to compete with ad networks and portals say this platform gives them more insight into their most important asset: their audience data.

“When it comes to selecting a platform, big publishers can’t afford to wait, and we believe Crowd Control is perfectly positioned as the premiere audience data-management platform,” said Lotame CEO Andy Monfried. “Bruce Budkofsky, Eric Porres and Andrew Bradway bring the drive and experience needed to help those publishers create, manage and sell audience profiles — enabling those publishers to drive better monetization and intelligence for their organizations.”

Budkofsky opened Fandango’s Eastern Region sales office in 2005, grew ad sales from $500K to $8MM, and became the senior director of national sales at Comcast Interactive Media after the latter company bought the former. He will lead Lotame’s new department as VP of Platform Sales and Services. Current Lotame CMO Porres will also join the department, moving over to lend his talents as VP of Business Development.

After five years managing online video monetization at AOL, Bradway became Regional Sales Manager at Metacafe a year ago, developing strategic partnerships with agencies in NYC, Chicago and San Francisco. Bradway will be Lotame’s Director of Platform Recruitment, working out of the Columbia, MD, office.

Steve Alessi, Vice President of Advertising Sales at AGInteractive, said of the platform earlier, “Working with Lotame has taught us a great deal about our visitors, enabling us to market to them in new ways. We chose to work with Lotame’s solution because it provides our sales team with an intuitive interface to build and sell audiences to our brand advertising clients in additional to our custom content solutions.”

About Lotame

Lotame is a marketing technology company. Its flagship audience data management platform (DMP), Crowd ControlTM, integrates with web publishers to activate audiences and make data-driven display advertising a reality. The company provides advertisers with comprehensive online advertising solutions and publishers with a leading data management platform. Lotame is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), the Interactive Adverting Bureau (IAB), and the Online Publishers Association (OPA). For more information, please visit: www.lotame.com

NEW YORK – U.S. Internet advertising revenues hit $6.4 billion in the third quarter of 2010, representing the highest quarterly result ever for the online advertising industry and a 17% increase from the same period in 2009. The third quarter 2010 revenue estimates were announced by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC US.

“The Internet has transformed consumers’ lives and how they experience entertainment, information and brands,” said Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO, IAB. “Marketers have embraced digital media because that’s where they can engage with their consumers. This vibrant, innovative industry is creating jobs and contributing to the growth of the U.S. economy.”

“Advertisers are shifting more of their brand messaging online, accounting for this welcome surge in a difficult economy,” said David Silverman, a partner at PwC. “This trend reflects the accelerating shift in consumer behavior towards the internet and away from traditional media.”

The IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by the New Media Group of PwC. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising. The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.

A copy of the full report is available at: http://www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport

About the PwC Network

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.

© 2010 PwC. All rights reserved. “PwC” and “PwC US” refer to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate and independent legal entity.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net http://www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – To standardize key metrics for the mobile interactive industry for the first time ever, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (www.mma.com) released “Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines” for public comment. Developed with the assistance of the Media Rating Council, the guidelines will provide a framework to govern how ad impressions are counted on the mobile Web.

“Consumers have brought mobile devices into their daily lives at an astonishing pace,” said Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO, IAB, the industry’s de facto standard setting body for interactive advertising since 1997 which is widely regarded for instituting rigor in the digital media supply chain. “The ‘Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines’ will give marketers greater assurance that their advertising messages are reaching consumers on these mobile devices and that’s critical for continued growth.”

“These guidelines are a milestone in providing agencies and marketers with the kind of clarity that’s instrumental in the mobile channel’s continued growth,” said Michael Becker, Managing Director for MMA. “Our partnership with the IAB on this important project is the latest example of the MMA’s leadership in providing the mobile ecosystem with industry-standard guidelines and best practices.”

“The guidelines are designed to provide marketers, agencies and mobile providers with an industry-standard methodology for measuring the delivery of ads within a mobile website,” said Cameron Clayton, Senior Vice President of mobile and digital applications at The Weather Channel, co-chair of the IAB Mobile Advertising Committee and member of the Board of Directors of the MMA. “By adopting these guidelines, publishers and ad servers will all count impressions in a consistent, rigorous way, helping assure marketers and agencies that they are getting what they pay for when they purchase mobile Web advertising.”

The objectives of the “Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines” include:

- Defining the mobile Web ad impression
- Creating a common definition and methodology that will become widely adopted in the U.S. and globally for counting mobile Web ad impressions
- Encouraging U.S. mobile Web ad servers to have their impression counts audited by an independent third party
- Distinguishing between the established IAB Web ad impression and the mobile Web ad impression, and when each metric is appropriate
- Providing marketers and agencies with greater clarity and certainty (via the auditing process) that key metrics used for buying mobile Web ads are methodologically sound and meet the highest standards available to the media industry
- Reducing levels of discrepancies and spurring the industry’s growth by offering Internet publishers and ad servers a consistent, rigorous way to count the delivery of ad impressions

“The Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines will provide mobile advertisers with a clear way to count ad impressions and quantify the value of their investment in mobile advertising,” said George Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC. “This important collaboration between the IAB and the MMA provides the market with a valuable tool and I applaud their effort.”

These guidelines are related to, but distinct from, the IAB’s pioneering “Interactive Audience Measurement and Advertising Campaign Reporting and Audit Guidelines” released in 2005, which established the impression as the standard ad currency on the PC-based Internet.

Members of the industry—advertising agencies, advertisers, online publishers and technology vendors—are encouraged to read the proposed guidelines and submit comments.

For IAB members, the guidelines can be reviewed and comments submitted at http://www.iab.net/mobilewebmeasurementguidelines

For MMA members, the guidelines can be reviewed at http://mmaglobal.com/MobileWebMeasurementGuidelines.pdf and comments can be submitted via email at committees@mmaglobal.com.

The public comment period for the guidelines will remain open until Friday, December 10.

About the IAB Mobile Advertising Committee

The Mobile Advertising Committee of the IAB is comprised of over 140 member companies dedicated to helping develop and expand the mobile space as a viable advertising platform. The committee works to educate marketers and agencies on the strength of mobile advertising as a marketing vehicle. A full list of Committee member companies can be found at: http://www.iab.net/mobile_advertising_committee

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mma.com.

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC US released the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for the first half of 2010. Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. were at $12.1 billion in that period, setting a new half-year record that represents an 11.3 percent increase over the first half of 2009. This is also the highest second-quarter revenue on record, up 13.9 percent over the same period of 2009.

Display-related advertising—which includes banner ads, rich media, digital video and sponsorships—totaled more than $4.4 billion in the first six months of 2010, showing a significant increase of close to 16 percent over the same period in 2009. Digital video continues to experience record growth, this year achieving the highest half-year performance ever and up 31 percent over first half 2009. Search advertising remains the largest percentage of overall interactive spend at 47 percent, representing more than $5.7 billion for the first six months of 2010, up 11.6 percent from the same period in 2009.

“Consumers’ appetite for immersive online experiences is limitless as technological innovation and creativity give rise to new forms of entertainment and information in the digital age,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “This report highlights marketers’ ongoing adoption of interactive media to build brands—and that’s only going to continue.”

“Interactive advertising revenue is on a strong upward trajectory,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP, Industry Services, IAB. “Nearly all types of ad formats are showing positive movement and marketers across all advertising categories, most notably consumer packaged goods and pharmaceuticals, are increasing their investment in digital media.”

“With the strongest first half on record, 2010 has so far indicated that Internet advertising is back, and better than ever,” said David Silverman, PwC Assurance partner. “While the recession clearly affected short term growth in 2009, with double digit growth in both search and display during the first six month of 2010, the long term prospects continue to be strong.”

The following data highlights key first six-month revenue data breakouts; dollar figures are rounded.

($ millions if not indicated):
Advertising Formats: Search and Display-related ads continue to be leading formats.

FH 2010                                   FH 2009
Search                 47% ($5,747)                                   47% ($5,148)
Display Related:                 36% ($4,356)                                   34% ($3,759)
-Banner Ads                 23% ($2,744)                                   22% ($2,394)
-Rich Media                 6% ($743)                                   7% ($704)
-Digital Video                 5% ($627)                                   4% ($477)
-Sponsorship                 2% ($242)                                   2% ($184)
Classifieds                 10% ($1,262)                                   10% ($1,116)
Referrals/Lead Generation                 5% ($642)                                   7% ($728)
E-mail                 1% ($120)                                   1% ($149)

Industry Concentration: Percentages of revenues by the top 10, top 25 and top 50 have remained consistent.
FH 2010                       FH 2009
Top 10                       70                       71
Top 25                       82                       82
Top 50                       90                       89

The IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by the New Media Group of PwC. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising. The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.

A copy of the full report is available at: http://www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport

About PwC

PwC (www.pwc.com) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 163,000 people in 151 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.

© 2010 PwC. All rights reserved. In this document, “PwC” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net http://www.iab.net.

NEW YORK – The Better Advertising Project, Inc. (Better Advertising) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a joint project of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the Association of National Advertisers, the Direct Marketing Association and the Interactive Advertising Bureau announced that DAA has designated Better Advertising as an Approved Provider. DAA also endorsed Better Advertising’s Assurance Platform as an Approved Technology and a standard method for providing evidence of participating companies’ compliance with the cross-industry self-regulatory program for online behavioral advertising that was announced Monday.

“This is a key example of how we’re working with our partners, advertisers and consumers to ensure strong privacy protections,” said Bob Quinn, Chief Privacy Officer for AT&T. “Protecting consumers’ privacy is a top priority for AT&T. We fully support the efforts of the DAA, and we look forward to continuing our work with Better Advertising.”

Better Advertising is the first company designated as an Approved Provider of compliance services for the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising (Principles) of the DAA. This includes the ability to deliver the Advertising Option (or Forward I) icon on behalf of companies who are participating in the self-regulatory program. The company’s Assurance Platform is operating at scale, delivering notice with billions of advertising impressions across the internet for leading brands.

“We’ve been working closely with Better Advertising since its start. We’re especially pleased about this endorsement and we fully support this launch,” said John Montgomery, COO, North America, GroupM Interaction, a WPP company. “Our clients have made it clear that providing consumers more transparency into and control over how interest-based data is collected and used is essential to their online marketing efforts. Better Advertising’s technology delivers the transparency that will keep this ecosystem safe for these brands, and provides our clients with the evidence of compliance with the Self-Regulatory Principles that they need.”

The accountability program is part of the implementation of the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising announced in July, 2009 in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s call for the marketing industry to develop self-regulatory principles and practices for online behavioral (or interest-based) advertising. Separately, The Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Direct Marketing Association have announced that they intend to use technology from Better Advertising to monitor and report on the industry’s compliance with key provisions of the Principles, including providing consumers with enhanced transparency and control options for online behavioral (or interest-based) advertising.

“We’re extremely pleased to be working with Better Advertising’s team on the implementation of their platform to deliver compliance services to the online behavioral advertising industry,” said Stuart P. Ingis, Executive Director of the DAA and a Partner at Venable, LLP in Washington, who led the crafting of the Self-Regulatory Program. “Crafting meaningful self-regulation has been a long time in development for the companies at the vanguard of the interactive media industry. So, we are especially pleased to be innovating with Better Advertising as we make this program a reality.”

“Our partnership with Better Advertising is in line with VivaKi’s broader mission to collaborate for industry change,” said Grace Liau, VP/Group Director, VivaKi Nerve Center, a division of VivaKi and a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. “We believe that establishing meaningful self-regulation is in the best interest of every party within the industry ecosystem. Transparency delivered through a platform such as the one Better Advertising has built represents a powerful mechanism to help us achieve this goal faster.”

Launched in July 2009, Better Advertising is working closely with leading agencies, networks and publishers on behalf of their brand clients. These and other companies are already using Better Advertising’s Assurance Platform as a standard method to provide evidence of compliance with the Principles.

“Better Advertising is delighted to receive this endorsement from the DAA,” said Scott Meyer, CEO and founder of Better Advertising. “We look forward to working cooperatively with the DAA and our clients to deliver full industry implementation of these important self-regulatory Principles.”

About DAA

The Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising gives consumers enhanced control over the collection and use of data regarding their Web viewing for online behavioral advertising purposes. Launched by the nation’s largest media and marketing trade associations – the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) – with support from the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), the Program responds to the Federal Trade Commission’s call for more robust and effective self-regulation of online behavioral advertising practices that would foster transparency, knowledge and choice for consumers.

The Program promotes the use of the “Advertising Option Icon” and accompanying language, to be displayed within or near online advertisements or on Web pages where data is collected and used for behavioral advertising. The Advertising Option Icon indicates a company’s use of online behavioral advertising and adherence to the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising, guiding the Program. By clicking on it, consumers will be able to link to a clear disclosure statement regarding the company’s online behavioral advertising data collection and use practices as well as an easy-to-use opt-out option.

More information about the DAA and its member associations is available at: http://www.aboutads.info/

About Better Advertising

Selected by the Digital Advertising Alliance to power its interest-based advertising self-regulatory program, Better Advertising enables a more trusted environment for everyone in the online ecosystem. It gives businesses an easy, standard method to provide evidence of compliance with industry guidelines and provide consumers with more transparency into, and control over the interest-based advertising (IBA) they receive. By empowering consumers and earning their trust, businesses build their brands, participate in IBA with confidence and generate better advertising results. For more information, please visit: www.betteradvertising.com.

MIXX Conference & Expo 2010
NEW YORK – Brand marketing and advertising have been transformed by digital media’s capability to target consumers, nationally and locally, with precise messaging. But many have not yet fully exploited the power of interactive to reach geographic segments. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released “Targeting Local Markets: An IAB Interactive Advertising Guide,” a comprehensive resource designed to help marketers and agencies target local audiences through interactive advertising. The announcement was made at the IAB’s sixth annual MIXX Conference and Expo in New York City where leaders from across the marketing and advertising industry converge for the industry’s largest digital media summit.

“There is a huge, untapped opportunity in local online advertising,” said Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO, IAB. “‘Targeting Local Markets’ will provide critical guidance to the industry on localizing advertising efforts which quite simply allows brands to connect with consumers where they are most likely to buy them and that’s a benefit to everyone.”

“Targeting Local Markets” examines methods offered by online publishers and includes:

IP-Based Geo-Targeting
Search Targeting
Explicit Profile Data Targeting
Behavioral Targeting (Implicit Profile Data Targeting)
Mobile/Location-Based Targeting
Contextual Targeting
“There is a large percentage of consumer spend that happens within a few miles of the home, which means there is a real benefit for the online ecosystem to continue to develop better tools to drive local advertising,” said Victor Wong, CEO, Paper G, and co-chair of the IAB Local Committee. “‘Targeting Local Markets: An IAB Interactive Advertising Guide’ is an important first step in providing marketers and agencies with the tools needed to grow those opportunities.”

“In developing ‘Targeting Local Markets’ we provided examples for both national and local advertisers to implement various strategies to reach local audiences,” said Ed Darmanin, VP Sales, The Weather Channel, and co-chair of the IAB Local Committee. “These are illustrations of targeting techniques that marketers can use in their own local efforts that will drive growth and demonstrate how digital media can be deployed in new ways to reach local audiences.”

About the IAB’s Local Committee:

The mission of the IAB Local Committee is to communicate the value of online local interactive advertising to national and local marketers and to provide tools for publishers to effectively monetize their local ad inventory. A full list of Committee member companies can be found at: http://www.iab.net/local_committee

This document can be found on the IAB website at: http://www.iab.net/targeting_local

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

MIXX Conference & Expo 2010
NEW YORK – Last week as the MIXX Conference and Expo served as the central gathering point for digital marketing leaders during Advertising Week in New York City, IAB committees and councils have announced a number of groundbreaking initiatives:

- A Competition for New Brand Ad Formats – the IAB has issued an unprecedented call for competitive submissions of new, brand-hospitable ad formats to enhance the already existing list of IAB standard ad units. See www.iab.net/risingstars

- Digital Audio Committee – has introduced the first “Digital Audio Advertising Overview,” which defines the market, the audience and the growing marketing opportunities in digital audio. See www.iab.net/digitalaudio

- Local Committee – has released the industry’s first report designed to help marketers and agencies targeting local markets. See http://www.iab.net/targeting_local

“The IAB helps drive the industry forward through the efforts of 10 committees and 7 councils in various industry segments,” said Michael Theodore, VP, Member Services, IAB. “IAB’s committees and councils are comprised of some of the brightest minds in their space, working together to develop solutions that improve the interactive advertising and marketing ecosystem.”

IAB Committees

Audio
Chaired by Andy Lipset, TargetSpot; Brian Benedik, Katz 360
Digital Video
Chaired by Joey Trotz, CNN.com; Geoffrey Coco, Microsoft Advertising
Games
Chaired by JJ Richards, GM at Massive; Dave Madden, WildTangent
Interactive TV
Chaired by Chris Falkner, NBC Universal; Jared Iwata, Time Warner Cable
Lead Generation & Email
Chaired by Jason Oates, Datran Media
Local
Chaired by Ed Darmanin, The Weather Channel; Victor Wong, PaperG
Mobile Advertising
Chaired by Sharon Knitter, Cars.com; Cameron Clayton, The Weather Channel
Networks & Exchanges
Chaired by David J. Moore, 24/7 Real Media; Jay Sears, ContextWeb
Search
Chaired by Daniel Schock, Google; Saleel Sathe, Microsoft
Social Media
Chaired by Chris Cunningham, appssavvy; Seth Goldstein, SocialMedia

IAB Councils

Ad Ops
Chaired by Adrian D’Souza, Google; Dan Murphy, Univision
CFO
Chaired by Lisa Campbell, Cars.com; Michael Cohen, Associated Content from Yahoo!
Legal Affairs
Chaired by Jason Ryning, Microsoft Advertising; Stephen Hicks, Ziff Davis, Inc.
Multicultural Council
Chaired by Borja Perez, Telemundo; Mark Lopez, Terra Networks
Public Policy
Chaired by Dave Morgan, SimulMedia
Research
Chaired by Beth Uyenco, Microsoft Advertising; Stephanie Fried, NBC Universal
Sales Executive
Chaired by Sheila Buckley, The Weather Channel; Brian Quinn, Triad Digital Media

Over time, these committees and councils have addressed major issues in supply chain, research and measurement, simplifying the processes associated with buying, planning and creating interactive media.

The committees are open to representatives from IAB member companies. To learn more about getting involved, please email committees@iab.net.

For more comprehensive information about the work of the IAB Committees and Councils, please visit http://www.iab.net/member_center/councils_committees_working_groups

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.