The new ABC Board has been streamlined to include a total of 16 industry representatives, compared to the previous Council’s 32 members, whilst bringing in a new sector – digital media. The Board’s role will be to oversee the effective running of ABC and ABCe and will meet five times a year, supported by Finance and Remuneration sub committees. As part of the new governance structure, the Reporting Standards Groups will have more autonomy, including the ability to ratify rule changes providing a unanimous decision has been reached by members of the group (unless a specific objection is lodged by a Board member).
ABC provides the media industry with independent and comparable data for print media, events and digital platforms, to industry-agreed standards. The standards (for print and events) are set for the industry, by the industry, via ABC’s governance structure, which will continue to be weighted equally between trade bodies, advertisers, media buyers and media owners, represented by leading industry practitioners.
For the first time, 25% of the ABC Board will specifically represent the digital media industry, including nominees from JICWEBS; the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA). The previous election system for Council representatives is now replaced with nominations from trade associations.
The new Board will be comprised of former Council members, trade association representatives and industry heavyweights such as Tim Brooks, Managing Director of Guardian News and Media and Jeremy Found, Head of Media of the COI, as well as key players from digital such as Lee Baker, Director of AOP and Nigel Gwilliam, Digital Consultant of IPA .
The new governance structure will incorporate a newly formed ABC Irish (ROI) Council, which is delegated responsibility for decisions relating to the Irish market, resulting in the autonomous development of rule sets directly relating to Irish media.
Sally Cartwright OBE has been appointed as Chairman of the ABC Board. Cartwright replaces John Mayhead CBE, who is retiring after 10 years in the role.
Jerry Wright (pictured), Chief Executive at ABC, comments: “The new governance structure has been introduced to reflect and support the changing needs of the media industry, the growth of digital media and to set a clear direction for ABC into the future. Greater autonomy for the Reporting Standards Groups and a separate Irish Council will allow ABC to operate more effectively in the interests of its members.”
About ABC
ABC says: “Owned by the media industry, ABC independently verifies and reports on media performance providing a stamp of trust for media buyers and owners across print, events, digital and evolving platforms.
The ABC Board consists of 16 media owner, agency, advertiser and trade body representatives who make strategic decisions as to how ABC and ABCe is run. In addition each sector of the industry is represented by a Reporting Standard Group. These agency, advertiser and media owner representatives agree the ABC Reporting Standards to ensure the needs of the media industry are met.
JICWEBS is the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards. This industry-owned organisation meets 4 times a year to provide credibility, comparability and transparency by agreeing census standards for digital media. ABCe then audits to these industry-agreed standards. Representatives on JICWEBS encompass all areas of the industry including advertisers, agencies and media owners from the following trade bodies: IPA, IPA digital, ISBA, AOP, IAB, NS, NPA.
ABC was first established in the UK in 1931, is a founder member of the International Federation of ABC’s, and is one of the largest media auditing bodies in the world. ABCe was established in 1996 and works to deliver common international standards for digital media measurement via its role as chair of the IFABC web standards group.”
