Interact 2009: Online advertising continues to innovate to beat the crunch

IAB Europe lines up the best brains in digital to share valuable insights

Brussels 21st April 2009:  IAB Europe’s speakers at the Interact Congress will be using the event to address how innovation can help the digital advertising industry through the recession.  On day two – 11th June - some of the industry’s heaviest hitters will share their insights on how to tackle the current crisis in advertising spend.  In a variety of keynote sessions and interactive panel debates, speakers will share their experience, advice and predictions.  What’s more, they will help delegates with practical guidance on implementing innovation in their own business.

VP Operations EMEA, Google Europe, Nikesh Arora, will focus on the important role innovation can play when times are tough.  How can you identify the ideas and opportunities that will be profitable for your business?  He will also discuss what Google sees as the major innovations so delegates know what to expect from the internet’s biggest player.

Guy Phillipson, CEO of IAB UK will chair the first panel on ‘Spending Shifts’, where L’Oreal, Orange, Group M, Google and United Internet Media debate how advertising spend is moving into the online sphere and the changes this will bring. How will continued innovations in formats and creative executions contribute to the shift to digital advertising? Screen Digest kick off the session with the results of an advertiser survey.

Simon Waldman, Director of Digital at The Guardian chairs the second panel entitled ‘Making Integration Win’. He is joined by senior executives from Microsoft, Yahoo!, Turner International/CNN and Nielsen Online who will explore how innovations in bringing online into the traditional media mix can help advertisers and their agencies get the most from their budgets.

For delegates looking for inspiration for making money from online content, Editor-in-Chief of New Media Age, Michael Nutley, will chair the panel ‘Long Tail, Short Tail: Making content pay’. The final panel debate of the day will provide case studies and real examples of companies including Hi-Media and Goldbach Media that have looked beyond Europe to take advantage of opportunities in emerging markets including Brazil, and India. IAB representatives from Greater China and Russia complete the panel.

Chris Clarke, Head of Creative at LBi Europe will round off the day by discussing how innovation is changing the role of creativity within advertising agencies and how today’s challenge for advertisers is making an emotional connection to consumers through the web.

Alain Heureux, President and CEO of IAB Europe is excited about the impressive line-up of speakers and the topics they are debating “We’re hearing more and more from our thousands of member companies and 23 member countries that the current economic situation is putting a real pressure on digital advertising. Innovating is even more important when times are tough, as is having the opportunity to listen to the leading lights in the industry and learning from their experiences. The delegates at the Interact Congress will also benefit from the ability to network with their peers from across the industry, share the findings of IAB Europe’s important research projects, AdEx and The MIA Project and a Research Showcase on Social Media. We are looking forward to hosting an event that can really help this industry innovate in challenging times.”

For more information or to register at the early bird discount rate, please visit www.interactcongress.eu

Ends

Media please contact: Lucy Green, PR Consultant (English) Tel: +44 (0) 7817 698366
Geraldine Gitel PR Consultant (Francaise) Tel: +44 (0) 7917 885380
publicrelations@iabeurope.eu

About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is a federation of national Interactive Advertising Bureaux (IAB) across Europe. Its mission is to promote the growth of the interactive advertising markets on behalf of its clients and national members. Supported by every major media group, advertisers, agency, portal, technology and service provider, its voice represents the interest of more than 5000 company members. IAB Europe coordinates activities across the region including public affairs, benchmarking, research, setting standards and best practices. The member countries are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK. Our corporate members include Alacatel-Lucent, Axel Springer Verlag, BBC.com, BusinessWeek, comScore Europe, Goldbach Media Group, Google, Hi-Media, Insites Consulting, Netlog, Nugg.ad, Nielsen Online, Publicitas Europe, Truvo and United Internet Media. For more information, please see www.iabeurope.eu