IAB Merges its Main and Mobile Boards

IAB Guy Phillipson
Phillipson: “Making mobile central to everything we do is a significant move for the IAB”

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK has merged the IAB Board and Mobile Board to put mobile at the centre of everything the trade body does.

For the last six years, both groups have played a pivotal role in setting the strategy and direction of the IAB across online and mobile. The IAB says the board merger reflects the growing importance of mobile to the digital industry as smartphones and tablets are now the most commonly used internet-enabled devices. Recent stats from the IAB and UKOM showed that consumers spend 1 hour and 37 minutes per day on their smartphones and tablets, compared to just 1 hour 16 minutes on desktop.

The IAB Board is the main leadership group at the IAB, providing the trade body with its long-term strategy, coming together to make collaborative tactical decisions on behalf of the digital advertising industry. The group convenes every six weeks.

Goals for 2015 include highlighting the strengths of digital as a branding medium and ensuring the advertiser can connect with consumers equally effectively across multiple devices. The Board inputs into the direction of IAB projects as they are executed and works with the IAB team to set KPIs for the trade body.

“We have taken the decision to merge the IAB Board and the Mobile Board after much discussion with our members,” said IAB CEO, Guy . “We feel it’s the right time to do this with mobile ad spend now accounting for nearly one quarter of digital advertising. Mobile has been a core focus for us for a while now but making it central to everything we do is a significant move for the IAB and reflects mobiles mainstream status in the lives of UK consumers.”