10/12/2016
I don't think anyone would challenge the statement that the last seven years have represented a period of unprecedented change in the media industry!
Back in 2008, at the start of my time at ABC, we were heading into the worst recession in 30 years. Within the space of a year, advertising revenue collapsed and it was a difficult time for media owners, agencies and advertisers alike. But the challenges that assailed print and other media gave a new impetus to an already burgeoning force in the industry; digital.
The boom in digital media and the economic recovery kick-started growth and helped drag the industry back into positive territory - digital now forms the still-expanding and evolving core of total ad spend and is the biggest single sector ahead of TV. One of the things that impelled digital forward during those difficult years was the promise of the ultimate measurable medium , where you only paid for what you got. Investment in digital advertising in 2008 saw online ad spend reach £3 billion. Fast forward seven years and that figure has grown by 233 per cent, representing an industry now worth £7 billion to the UK economy.
Digital has also been the catalyst for many of the dramatic changes witnessed by the industry over the last seven years. When I joined ABC, the media sector was still very much siloed into print, radio, TV, out of home and online. With divisions between these platforms rapidly dissolving, cross-industry partnerships are more important than ever before. ABC now works with BARB to audit TV player data as part of Project Dovetail. Traditional Newsbrands are expanding online, with audio and video integral to written content and a reach that is now global - over 70 per cent of Mailonline's 12 million daily Unique Browsers are from outside the UK.
The way an audience engages with content has also dramatically changed. Apple's revolutionary iPad was introduced in 2010 and with smart phone technology improvements, suddenly everyone became mobile. Social media for many companies has become an essential part of doing business. In 2008 Facebook had 100 million active users worldwide. In 2015 this is now 1.5 billion - a growth of 1400 per cent. Successful brands now have to move faster and relevant content is more important than ever before. The role of ABC through all of this has been what it always had been - to continually innovate so media brand owners have the right products and services to demonstrate the breadth of their brand reach across all platforms, website, face-to-face, apps and beyond.
The rise in digital ad trading however has exposed some serious issues for advertisers, which are now right at the top of the CMO's agenda as the amount of money at risk has grown. ABC has used its R&D expertise to rise to these new challenges working closely with the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS). The discovery of big brand advertising on porn and other inappropriate websites sparked widespread panic and an industry investigation back in 2008. ABC now certifies Content Verification Tools and issues trust seals' to over 30 companies to show their compliance with the industry-agreed code for online brand safety. Last month, ABC issued its second Viewability report which compares results for 6 ad viewability measurement products on a comparable basis. In 2016 ABC's focus will be on anti-fraud initiatives as the industry works together to overcome this. We also continue to develop our partnerships for example with JICREG, BARB and UKOM, to offer consistency and transparency across the wider media industry.
As the digital world expands, so do its borders. Partnerships are now global, as I saw during my four-year tenure as President of the International Federation of ABCs. We have undertaken joint projects with our sister organisations in the US, Brazil, Sweden and Australia to name but a few.
Seven years ago, ABC couldn't have coped with all this change. ABC had to evolve its culture to be focused on getting things done, not on processes. I decided to merge our separate print and digital brands, ABC and ABCe, to reflect better the integrated nature of our clients and promote a smoother exchange of resource and expertise inside the company. Our ABC Board and governance structure was streamlined to be more flexible. Now we can change an industry standard as agreed by both buyers and sellers, in six weeks not six months and in as little as two weeks. Based on our members' ideas we developed ABC Quickview and other interactive reports, so everyone could select and analyse the information they needed simply and quickly.
If the last seven years is anything to go by, the media world will continue to evolve in ways we cannot yet predict. Our biggest challenge is to keep our stakeholders active in shaping what we do and helping us to develop future standards, products and services that work hard for them. ABC's future ultimately lies in its ability to provide a stamp of trust' for an increasingly complex industry.
What will I miss the most? As much of clich as it is, it's the people. From small publishers in farmyards in Warwickshire, to the Blue Fin building and the little Shard, my role has taken me to all four corners of the country. Back in Berkhamsted and elsewhere, ABC boasts an incredible team who never fail to impress me with the quality of their work and commitment to deliver. When all is said and done, it's the people not the processes that make ABC and I have every faith that they will continue to build a vibrant and dynamic future for the organisation.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
10/12/2016
