IAB launches mentorship program for digital advertising industry

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia’s Executive Technology Council has launched an industry mentorship program to support and enable the next generation of digital advertising and technology industry talent.

The peak trade association for online advertising, IAB will take a particular focus on supporting gender diversity and identifying the unsung heroes of the industry, in its mentorship program which will provide support for up to 40 mentees via 20 mentors every six months.

“The IAB is at the heart of the digital advertising community and developing diverse, resilient and emotionally strong leaders with support from industry leaders outside of their organisations is something we are incredibly passionate about,” said IAB Australia CEO, Gai Le Roy.

Le Roy was appointed as CEO in late 2018 when it launched a new industry charter to focus on helping marketers and agencies understand how digital advertising can deliver on their business objectives. It included a renewed focus on standards that promote trust, steps to reduce friction in the ad supply chain; and ultimately improve ad experiences for consumers, advertisers and publishers. 

At the same time, IAB has also announced its newly elected co-chair of the Executive Technology Council is Rubicon Project Australia and New Zealand country manager, Rohan Creasey.

"I’m delighted to have the opportunity to help drive the executive technology council’s program of works as we come together to contribute to the betterment of the industry here in Australia. I’m looking forward to our next phase of projects including today’s launch of the mentoring program,” said Creasey.

The Australian online advertising market continues to grow and in 2018 it hit $8.8 billion expenditure in 2018, an increase of 11.6 per cent on 2017, according to the IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) published by PwC. The strong results for the digital advertising market in 2018 is underpinned by the continuing shift in consumer media consumption. 

IAB has said its aim is to work collaboratively with the industry to develop a diverse and sustainable digital advertising industry and the mentorship program is a key part of this goal for the organisation.

In other initiatives, it launched a project earlier this year to review audience and cross-media measurement to encompass  content ratings, aligning and investing in ad audience ratings, linking metrics to ad delivery verification, and ensuring inputs into ad impact.

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