Print as a secondary medium to digital and digital advertising growth also made the top four, says IFABC. The trends, which were identified through interviews with senior figures from agencies and advertisers worldwide, closely mirror the statistics around changing consumer behaviour also presented during the assembly. Figures from Nielson revealed digital video consumption among 18-64 year olds in the USA has steadily increased over the last two years, and while hours spent consuming on a TV screen has remained strong; there has been an overall decline in this area among the same sample group.
Statistics from FIPP and PwC reveal that magazine publishers across both the B2C and B2B sectors have grown their digital revenue to replace print, while figures from ZenithOptimedia show that mobile digital advertising spend is greater than it is for print and will only continue to squeeze print over the next three years. Looking at advertising risk and measurement issues, the report highlighted that viewability and brand-safe content as well as measuring cross-media audiences and cross-border comparisons were all at the top of the agenda for media buyers across agencies worldwide.
In order to meet the changing needs of the industry, the IFABC has already announced new international working groups involving bureaux from across the world around online brand safety, viewability and new ways of measuring digital media. In addition, the assembly also saw IFABC identify seven key steps, such as engaging with agencies and advertisers directly as well as helping publishers exploit digital opportunities, which ABCs need to take in order to survive and thrive in the rapidly changing media landscape.
This year’s keynote speakers included Joao Ciaco, VP Advertising Latin America for Fiat/ Chrysler as well as Brian Crotty, Group Media Director at Almaty BBDO. Both speakers discussed the enormous changes faced by their operations due to the rise in digital media, and the opportunities that created for ABCs internationally.
During the annual assembly, Pedro Silva was elected as the new IFABC President. He takes over from Jerry Wright, CEO ABC UK, who has decided to step down after a very successful four-year tenure in the role, which included significantly widening IFABC’s scope in response to digital upheavals.
Silva represents IVC Brazil and will move into his new position immediately, while Wright will take up the newly created role of Secretary of the IFABC. Also re-elected to the Board was Iwona Szczensa from Poland, and joining for the first time are Marco Bernasconi from WEMF, Switzerland and Arina Urech from BRAT, Romania. They join along with the three regional Presidents, Magnus Paulsson of Sweden (Europe), Manuel Sala of Spain (Ibero-American) and Heather Craven of Australia (Asia-Pacific). Silva will be overseeing a potential rebrand of the organisation, which should better reflect the wider scope and remit of audit bureaux across the broader media landscape.
Jerry Wright, CEO ABC UK said, “This has been a great two years for the IFABC with the introduction of a new president as well as two new country members. The last four years as President of the IFABC have been exciting and demanding. In an ever-globalising media world where parts of the industry are under a lot of pressure, the role of the IFABC has never been more important. I look forward to working with Pedro to ensure ABCs are constantly innovating and adapting to meet industry needs.”
Pedro Silva, newly elected President of the IFABC said, “I am thrilled to have been elected as President and look forward to continuing the great work Jerry has done over the last four years. The rapidly changing media landscape means this is an extremely exciting and crucial time for ABCs. The results from the interviews with agencies and advertisers threw up a lot of fascinating data about the top trends in the industry as well as current concerns around measurement issues and advertising risks. We have already begun to address these issues through our work programme for the near future.
“One of the key recommendations to have come out of the assembly is for ABCs to move beyond measuring circulation for digital editions and publications and measuring activity and engagement through the Publication Active View (PAV) metric as pioneered by ABC UK. I am also looking forward to working with the Board to progress our potential rebrand.”
