MSN for kids

One of the most exciting parts of my role here at the IAB is that I get to meet a great many people who are very passionate about the internet and what it can do for businesses and brands.  However, In Mr Davey’s case I appear to have been slightly misquoted, so in order for this debate to continue (which I hope it does) I feel I should outline what I actually said at this conference.

I did not say, “that the technology does not exist”, I simply highlighted that with the dual use of PC's under one log in it makes it hard for any ad server/media owner to serve relevant ads with 100% accuracy.  By this I mean that if a family shares a computer, the site itself does not know who is using it.  Similar to a TV station not knowing that an 11 year old 'could' be watching TV and ads they shouldn't be.   As I explained on the day and subsequently in a direct email this morning, I can't possibly know everything about online or indeed MSN technologies, which is why I was happy to get MSN to answer his question directly.

In response to Mr. Harvey saying, “I thought that IAB was there to respond to questions about best practice”…

At the conference my role was to explicitly present and chair a session about ‘online measurement’ which fuelled many focused questions from the floor.  Mr. Davey’s question about ad serving technologies and in particular MSN’s was dealt with as best I could at the time, with a promise that I will put him in direct contact with MSN to answer any of his questions more accurately.

Unfortunately both Paul Walsh and Mr. Davey have been misinformed as standards issues are not within the remit of IAB UK, and this is something that I would like to clarify.

The mission statement for the IAB is to ‘help advertisers find the best role for online, engage consumers and build their brands’.  Early last year, when Guy Phillipson started as chief executive of the company we repositioned ourselves as a service to advertisers.  Supported by our 200+ members we educate the marketing community to the potential of internet advertising, all the major online disciplines and provide them with practical examples of how the medium can fit at the heart of their communications strategy.  Of course this is of direct benefit to our membership base of media owners, agencies and sales houses amongst others (see here http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/iabmembershipdirectory.html for more details.)

Before this, IAB UK was indeed responsible for regulating best practice, developing standards and dealing with all public affairs issues.  However, IAB UK is a member of IAB Europe (http://www.iabeurope.ws/ ) who now deal with these matters on a Pan-European level, and we have complete confidence in them to deliver this service.

Needless to say, I will continue to ensure that I provide Mr. Davey with the contact he needs at MSN and I hope that his dealings with IAB Europe will fuel the answers he needs for a subject that he feels so passionately about.

Kieron Matthew (Head of Marketing for IAB UK)