IAB Singapore rebrands and spreads its reach to include all of South East Asia and India
Digital industry body the Interactive Advertising Bureau Singapore has expanded its remit from national to regional and rebranded as the IAB South East Asia plus India – or ‘IAB SEA+India’.
The wider footprint comes following major success in Singapore, where the membership has grown from 20 to more than 200 since Miranda Dimopoulos joined the organisation as chief executive officer in 2014. In that time, the organisation claims to have trained more than 10,000 people in the space of just four years.
The IAB says it will now “bring together publishers, agencies and platforms from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and India”.
Those with IAB Singapore membership will immediately transfer to IAB SEA+India membership. Dimopoulos – a prominent figure on the digital scene in Singapore – will also be promoted to regional CEO and will participate in IAB United States board meetings in New York.
This will help “to represent the region on a global platform” – theIAB SEA+India said. Although Dimopoulos told Mumbrella there were no immediate plans to extend the remit to the whole of Asia, including China.
Dimopoulos has proven the IAB’s worth in Singapore
She said: “With over 98 percent of our members having regional remits, we are looking forward to supporting the industry in its rapid growth to meet business needs both now and in the future.
“Our strategy is to partner with local associations as a first step in terms of infrastructure, as well as ensuring all we do respects each market and their unique nuances.”
Addressing the nature of the IAB’s leadership, which in markets like Australia has been criticised for its financial structure despite the not-for-profit status, Dimopoulos said: “We are staunchly anti-pay-for-play whether it be positions on our board and committees or speaking opportunities at our training series. This allows us to be openly agnostic in this rapidly growing region.”
In Singapore, the body historically experienced problems in retaining members. It was common for three quarters of members to leave every year before Dimopoulos arrived and reduced the annual churn to just 5 per cent today. In addition, the IAB claims is has a 4.8 out of five satisfaction rating among its members.
The other big win for the association this year came in the form of a partnership with the Singapore government to provide accredited programmatic training courses.
Explaining the need for expansion, chairman of the IAB Joe Nguyen said it was the only way to provide effective industry standards across a wider geographical territory. Something that is much needed in an adtech industry often plagued by fraud, brand safety scandals and disparate levels of rigour.
Nguyen wants to see ‘credible standards’
“Expanding further across the region is needed for us all to contribute to credible standards, thought leadership and talent development that is truly Asia first,” said Nguyen.
The IAB SEA+India is only the second regional IAB hub in the organisation’s global network with Europe also adopting the same model. The other 44 IAB bodies across the world are focused on national representation.
Dean is the general manager at Mumbrella Asia. He is an experienced British journalist, who has worked in a number of international markets including Singapore, Australia, Dubai, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As well as his media work, he is also a published academic.
Navigating any large organisation in Asia is a challenge – let alone doing it with finesse and scruples. Miranda should be applauded for what she has achieved and putting the east on the same agenda as the west.
ReplyA huge step forward for the region with bringing markets closer together to work as one which is badly needed, particularly when it comes to locally relevant industry standards
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