Hot from the desk of the IAB:

Interactive Advertising Bureau (NZ) seeks evangelist CEO
Saturday, 18 October 2008

IAB New Zealand, the industry body representing New Zealand’s dynamic and rapidly growing interactive advertising and marketing industry is looking for a new CEO.

In two years IAB New Zealand has grown from a handful of startup members to representing over 80 member companies including New Zealand’s largest and best known online media companies and leading advertising agencies. Our members include instantly recognisable brands such as Trade Me, Yellow Pages Group, Vodafone, Google, Yahoo, MSN, MySpace, APN, Fairfax, ACP, TVNZ, and many many others.

IAB New Zealand is an affiliate of a network of 26 IAB’s around the world, which together form a powerful global network focused on driving interactive advertising and marketing and represents the world’s largest media companies, advertising agencies and advertisers. IAB globally is the authoritative voice on interactive advertising – the world’s fastest growing medium.

We’re looking for a seasoned advertising and marketing professional who’s a passionate advocate of interactive media and advertising to lead us into our next phase of growth. This is an opportunity to work with the leading practitioners in new media locally and globally and to help shape the most dynamic, fast-changing industry around.

If you are an advertising/marketing professional with strong executive experience, a network of contacts to die for, and a passion for interactive this is your opportunity.

We’re prepared to be flexible for the right person, so this could be a full-time or part-time role. But we need the best. So if that’s you, we want to hear from you. Now.

Applications or enquiries via email to applications@iab.org.nz.
Applications close 31 October, 2008

I sit on the IAB Board and can recommend this role for an up & coming interactive evangelist. I reckon it’s a full time position, plus! Get the IAB Job Description if you’re interested.

Ok - here’s a thorny question for advertisers. If you are buying banner advertising on New Zealand websites, do you prefer to buy domestic or all eyeballs? All includes international traffic as well. Are you even advised of the split between local and offshore traffic on the sites your ads are running on?

I wonder if the publishing community needs to agree a compulsory standard for pre- and post-reporting of traffic used for advertising purposes? Or am I alone in thinking that offshore viewers are much less likely to buy your products and services?

It’s great to see Stuff’s new ‘no waste’ ratecard [pdf] specifying domestic eyeballs. Trade Me’s sites [pdf] only have a small percentage of offshore viewers (checking out property, jobs and cars back in NZ and hopefully coming back home soon), unlike the News Sites that have a large offshore audience. Unless you’re trying to target a global audience, offshore traffic should be factored into calculating effective CPM rates.

Many sites including Trade Me are able to offer country targeting if you do need to tap Aussies, Americans, English or others.

I’m back from a month in the European and North African sun. Favourite Greek Island: Syros. Favourite Beach: Megas Gialos then Agathopes depending on the wind. Worst experience: Getting groped by customs officials at Menara Airport, Marrakech (along with all other out-bound travellers). Best plan: deciding to clear my email daily to avoid a backlog. Worst plan: my decision to pack beautifully crafted, hard-haggled-for display ceramic plates into checked-in baggage. Stupid. Big ideas conjured over the trip: get stuck into some growing pains being faced by the IAB, go back to Syros before it gets overrun with oil magnates, lift the bar further in the local display market - watch this space! Being in Europe as the US financial market began to unravel and impact the UK and Europe was fascinating. It was interesting to note that Greece’s GDP is only a third of Lehman Bros asset value. In both Marrakech and a couple of Greek Islands, property values have sky-rocketed in the past two years. Owning a holiday home in an island like Ios is all but out of touch for most Greek families now but there are still some bargains to be had elsewhere. Anyone wanting to own a Cyclades beachside villa should dive in now.