IAB Appoints Eyre To Drive Growth Of Online Advertising
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has appointed former ITV and Pearson chief executive, Richard Eyre, as its chairman.
In his new position, Eyre will head the IAB Leadership Council of 20 leading online companies and will front a concerted drive to double the share of internet advertising from 1% to 2% by autumn next year.
He will also work alongside IAB chief executive, Danny Meadows-Klue, to develop new growth strategies and represent online advertising interests to the agency and client communities.
Commenting in his appointment, Eyre said: “The internet is the fastest growing medium in the world. I relish the opportunity to work with its leading companies to build its advertising share.”
In a combined statement the IAB Leadership Council, which includes companies such as AOL, Freeserve, MSN, Overture and Yahoo, added: “Richard Eyre was our unanimous first choice to help us accelerate the growth of online advertising. He brings a unique mix of experience, energy, commitment and track record at a critical time for us. We are all thrilled that he has agreed to chair our industry.”
As well as spending time at ITV and Pearson, Eyre was also chief executive of Capital Radio for six years, where he was instrumental in expanding the group from two to twelve stations. he also grew the value of Capital fourfold as radio’s share of display advertising grew from 2% to more than 5%. Prior to this he spent 16 years at various advertising agencies.
Last year the IAB unveiled a wide-ranging initiative to promote the growth of online advertising (see IAB Plans To Double Internet Ad Spend In Two Years). It created four additional posts in research, marketing, standards and education. It also expanded its Leadership Council to include senior executives and traditional media owners (see IAB Board Reflects Growth In Search-Targeted Marketing).
The online advertising industry trebled in size between 1999 and 2001, when adspend topped £165 million. Further growth is expected this year and Initiative Media predicts that advertising revenue will soar by 47.9% in 2003 (see UK Advertising Forecasts From Initiative Media).
IAB: 020 8683 9667 www.iabuk.net
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