Internet Media Professionals Forming the French Chapter of the Internet Advertising Bureau. Industry Leaders Join Forces to Promote the Professionalism and Excellence of Internet Marketing and Advertising
Milia: Cannes, France – 9 February 1998 – France’s leading Internet advertising and marketing professionals today announced the formation of the Internet Advertising Bureau France (IAB France). The IAB France will be part of an international organization dedicated to increasing the professionalism and acceptance of online advertising and marketing.
“We are very pleased to announce the creation of this exciting organization in France,” says Cécile Moulard, IAB France President and Director, Carat Multimedia. “Internet usage is really growing here and we feel it is essential to promote the use and effectiveness of the medium in a professional way. The IAB France will give companies engaged in Internet advertising and marketing access to key resources and essential information. It will also give them a common voice with which to promote the industry to advertisers in France and internationally.”
The Internet Advertising Bureau, founded in the U.S. in 1996, is the first association devoted exclusively to maximizing the use and effectiveness of advertising on the Internet. Recognizing that the Internet is a borderless medium, members of the U.S.-based IAB began working with like-minded Internet professionals outside the U.S. to share learning, establish best practices and provide comparisons between the markets. The establishment of IAB France is the result of several months of collaboration between U.S. and European Internet professionals.
“The decision of these French leaders in Internet advertising and online media to join us is a positive affirmation of the potential of the Internet here in France, and a strong endorsement of the IAB and its accomplishments,” says Rich LeFurgy, IAB Chairman and Senior Vice President of Advertising for ABC News/ESPN Internet Ventures. “We are extremely pleased to be building a global organization that unifies members of the online advertising community and fosters the growth of the industry. IAB France will be the third IAB country organization formed outside of the U.S., and we welcome them. The other two IAB organizations already formed are IAB Germany and IAB Canada. In addition, we expect to have chapters in the U.K. and Holland launched very soon.”
“Our goal is to work with the IAB member organizations in each country so they can accelerate growth in their markets and leverage the experience we’ve gained in the U.S., while sharing their own experiences,” explains Katherine Randolph, Co-Chairperson of the IAB U.S. International Committee and International Advertising Sales Manager, Microsoft Corporation. “We know we need to work together as a global organization to allow this medium to achieve its full potential.”
The IAB France will:
- Act as a collective voice representing companies engaged in selling advertising in Internet-based media in France, and internationally
- Provide advertisers and marketers with a forum for evaluating and shaping the direction of the Internet advertising industry
- Provide an industry-wide view of key developments about Internet advertising and interactive media in France and internationally
- Promote the value and effectiveness of Internet advertising, both local and global, to advertisers and advertising agencies
- Serve as an educational resource through which advertisers and marketers can further their Internet knowledge and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace
The IAB has already gained the commitment and support of more than 20 founding-member companies in France, and more than 200 member organisations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
“We want to create the IAB France now, when the market is starting to really take-off, so that we can leverage the pragmatic and concrete experience that has been gained in the States for the benefit of everyone involved in the industry,” says Jean-Pierre Levieux, IAB France Vice President and Advertising Sales Manager MSN France. “Through our combined efforts and actions, we want to help everyone in the online advertising industry both publishers and advertisers, and other online professionals – take advantage of the tools, procedures and knowledge that will contribute to our mutual success.”
The association is at the forefront of evaluating site measurement and analysis tools which help companies manage and track the results of their Internet advertising spend. The certified methodologies and standards that the IAB advocates are imperative for the continued growth and development of the Internet medium in France, Europe and around the world.
“The European on-line advertising market is poised for rapid growth, but the lack of common standards and measurements is holding us all back,” explains Louis Rougier, Treasurer IAB France and Managing Director of Médiangles. “Both advertisers and publishers need a common vocabulary, certified tools, and ways to measure their effectiveness. We will work together in France, and with the other IAB chapters in each country, to promote the industry-wide adoption of appropriate methodologies and standards.”
Addressing the need for reliable, comparable data and standards, and field-tested measurement tools, the IAB France membership will work to meet its goals through four major committees:
- Internet Market Research – to provide advertisers and marketers with sources for reliable information about the Internet as an advertising medium, and address issues like common terminology, market size, and demographic profiles of users in general and by type of site, in France and in other countries.
- Standards and Practices – to increase the professionalism of the online advertising industry and harmonize its sales practices with those of traditional advertising media, such as general sales terms and conditions and banner sizes, in order to clarify the confusion and complications that surrounds the use of the medium.
- Means and Measurements – to contribute to the effort to evaluate and promote the effectiveness of online advertising through the identification and development of reliable ways to measure online advertising effectiveness, and to identify what is unique and important about Internet media.
- International Relations – to stay abreast of what is happening in other countries, share learning, and promote the interests of the IAB France membership and the French online advertising market internationally.
“These four committees reflect what we, as Internet advertising professionals, have determined to be the priority tasks to work on for the French market,” says Isabelle Bordry, IAB France Board Member and Advertising Sales Manager for Yahoo! France. “Each committee is designed to address the very real need to better understand the Internet and to know how to use it effectively for advertising and marketing activities.”
One of the first initiatives announced today by IAB France will be to put into place an Internet Advertising Revenue Reporting Program for France. This is a survey of advertising revenues administered by Coopers & Lybrand from data collected directly from companies engaged in selling advertising online – rather than projections or estimates. The survey, first deployed in the U.S. in 1996, is the most inclusive report of online advertising spending that exists, and the only one to gather comparable data in North America and Europe.
Under the program, all data provided to Coopers & Lybrand from Web sites, Internet service providers, commercial online services, off-line delivery services and e-mail is strictly confidential and is only reported in aggregate form. No individual online advertisers are identified. IAB France members and survey participants will receive a detailed report of the quarterly findings shortly after the release of the top-line data, which is expected in April 1998.
“The Internet Advertising Revenue Reporting Program is just one example of the kind of work the IAB France will be doing to educate the industry and advertisers,” says Philippe Bailly, IAB France Board Member and Director for Editorial Affairs of France Telecom Multimédia. “Ad spend is one of the many benchmark figures that is needed, as is having a better knowledge of the Internet users’ profile and needs, in order to speed up the growth of the online market in France.” He adds, “Other IAB offices in Germany and the U.K. will be doing the same revenue reporting study this year, which will give us a unified picture of the European Internet advertising industry in key markets for the first time ever.”
As the first truly global communications medium, the Internet offers unprecedented opportunities for extending marketing reach across geographical boundaries, highly-targeted marketing and brand-building. Committed to the development and education of this market, more than 20 founding members of the IAB France include the following industry leaders:
Accessite, BLL/BBDO, bluesky international marketing, Carat Multimedia, Cégétel, Circuit A, Excite, Hachette Filipacchi Interactions, France Telecom Multimédia, HI Media, Lamy/Reed Elsevier, Lokace, Médiangles, Médiapolis, Médiavision, Motivaction, MSN France, Nomade, Optimum Media, RealMedia, ROL, Sofrés, Yahoo! France.
The Internet Advertising Bureau was first formed in 1996 in the U.S. to promote online advertising effectiveness. Its international membership includes companies that are actively engaged in the sales of advertising, and companies that support advertising, including measurement companies, research suppliers, technology suppliers, traffic companies and other organisations from related industries.
Further information about the IAB can be found in English at https://www.iab.com
For more information about the IAB in France and/or the U.S., members of the press should contact the Press Contacts named below. All inquiries for membership in the IAB France should be directed to the Membership Contacts named below.
Press Contacts IAB France
Cécile Moulard [email protected]
Tel: +331 41 16 19 74
Louis Rougier [email protected]
Tel: +331 53 00 10 00
Membership Contacts IAB France
Louis Rougier
[email protected]
Tel: +331 53 00 10 00
USA Contact:
Marla Nitke IAB