Cunningham to Play Key Role in Organization’s Efforts to Fight Advertising Bots, Address Viewability Issues, Create Technical Standards, Establish Industry-Wide Best Practices & More
NEW YORK, NY (April 11, 2014) — The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today announced that Scott Cunningham, Senior Vice President of Product at sovrn, has joined the IAB as Vice President of Technology and Ad Operations. Cunningham will play a pivotal role in the organization’s ongoing efforts to ensure a high standard of quality for the digital advertising supply chain, filling a key position that will be responsible for implementing technical standards and developing best practices on crucial issues such as combating traffic fraud, improving ad viewability, defending against malware, and resolving other issues impacting IAB members and digital advertisers at large.
“Cunningham’s hire is a major strategic coup for the IAB,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “The integrity of the digital advertising supply chain must be protected in order for online advertisers to be both effective and innovative, and we felt it was crucial to bring someone on board who can focus on this issue, as well as provide hands-on expertise when it comes to the technical needs of stakeholders across the ecosystem. With his extensive experience optimizing the advertising systems of major companies such as USA Today, ManiaTV, The Denver Post, Digital First Media, Federated Media Publishing and sovrn, we are confident that Cunningham is the right person for the job.”
“We were very deliberate in our search for an executive to take on this role in addressing critical concerns and opportunities for the industry,” said Patrick Dolan, Executive Vice President and COO, IAB. “While technology has led to major advertising advances, it has also created a great deal of complexity and challenges. Cunningham will work with our members to create and refine ad technology standards for the IAB that will drive forward the interests of the entire digital advertising community, ensuring the industry’s ongoing growth and expansion.”
“Over the years, and most recently with the work we have done at sovrn, I’ve seen firsthand how important high-quality audience data, strong technical standards and best presentation practices are in establishing a firm foundation for success in digital advertising,” said Cunningham. “There are a series of imperative issues on the IAB ad technology and operations docket, all designed to help build that sort of foundation across the marketplace. The IAB is in a unique position to serve as the catalyst for changing the landscape for the better, and working with its members to do just that is my highest priority.”
Cunningham has a long history of implementing ad technology policies that have helped major organizations reach new heights with their ad programs. He got his start in the journalism industry, implementing the first online banner ads at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s independent newspaper, The Badger Herald, and serving as Manager of Multimedia Technologies for nearly 10 years at USA Today, where he developed rich media technologies and video to enhance the publication’s stories and provide more opportunities for advertising for USATODAY.com, as well as across Gannett broadcasting and newspaper sites. He then joined ManiaTV as Vice President of Publishing and Software Development, where he led tool-development and content-publishing teams for the broadband video distribution network and launched five video ad networks.
From there, he proceeded to head the software/web development, operations, and analytics teams at The Denver Post as Vice President of Operations and Solutions; lead engineering and operations for more than 800 nationwide news and niche websites and mobile products at Digital First Media as Vice President of Technology and Platforms; and handled product and design for programmatic and native advertising solutions at Federated Media Publishing as Senior Vice President of Product. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Cunningham will start his new position with IAB on April 28.
About the IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 600 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 iab.com.
IAB Media Contact
Laura Goldberg
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