IAB Innovation Days @ Internet Week:
Day Two Recap

As the energized audience settled in for Day Two of “The Future of Display”—IAB Innovation Days @ Internet Week Randall Rothenberg welcomed back leaders and decision makers from across the ecosystem. Summarizing the themes of day one, he described the confluence of creativity and technology, and how this partnership has the power to reinvent ads online.

Neal Mohan, Vice President, Display Advertising at Google, took the stage as the day’s first presenter. Not only was he on our stage, but his presentation was live streaming within a Google display ad on AdAge.com, AdWeek.com, Behance.com, Entrepreneur.com and FastCompany.com. Now is the most exciting time in the history of display advertising as it’s evolving through a rebirth phase, he said. Users need to be—and stay—front and center. His six predictions for  how the display landscape is going to change in the next few years: 1) online impressions will decrease 25% per person, due to more relevant content 2) engagement rates will increase 50% 3) users will have direct say in 25% of the ads they see 4) 35% of campaigns will use metrics beyond clicks and impressions 4) $25B ads per day will tell users why they are seeing them—what type of data determined that they were served that ad, and by who 5) 40% of people will name online display ads as their favorite ad format.

How is the M&A landscape predicting the future of display? Tolman Geffs, Co-President, The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. and a frequent speaker at IAB events, asked the question and got answers from a panel of industry leaders. The need for world-class technology is a driving force behind the chase for brand dollars, and everyone is looking for the next best thing. Advertisers want scalable, efficient ways to buy audiences, and their partners are searching for the most innovative ways to help do that. Other must-haves: better measurement, strong engagement, proven conversions and interactivity.

Microsoft wowed the audience by demonstrating creative executions that are forming the future, the NOW, of display. Keith Lorizio, Vice President, U.S. Sales and Marketing, Microsoft Advertising, and Stephen Kim, General Manager, Global Creative Solutions, Microsoft Advertising, described the evolution of the purchase funnel as a journey that advertisers need to take a fresh approach to—buying new and different kinds of media along the way. They showcased the power of story-telling through digital mapping and, in a sense creating virtual time travel, with Photosynth technology. View their presentation here.

Back to the fast-paced “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” demonstrations, ShareThis Chief Executive Officer Tim Schiegel, put to rest the myth that “influencers” are one particular segment of an audience, instead suggesting that everyone is truly an influencer to their friends and family. His technology uses content sharing at scale and captures the right moments of relevance to provide social advertising across the web, not just on social sites.

Joanne Bradford, Chief Revenue Office, Demand Media, introduced L’Oréal Chief Marketing Officer Marc Speichert, by describing their new partnership supported by Demand Media’s philosophy of listening to consumers through search, social and app platforms. When questioned by Randall Rothenberg, Marc said that push ads work in classic funnel but creating digital content with Demand Media creates pull strategy that attracts the audiences they are looking for. Digital is not just a nice thing to have—an addition to their traditional media. It's a must have, he said. After joking that L’Oréal doesn’t believe in mobile, he shared insights into their discovery process for finding new, innovative ways to drive traffic into the stores using mobile and on using mobile as a “consideration” piece.

Online video that matches local messaging to the viewer took center stage during the final “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” session. Tal Riesenfeld, Co-Founder and Vice President, Business Development, Eyeview showcased the video technology which enables brands to create endless amounts of ad versions to personalize them for locations and user.

Closing out the two-day sold-out IAB Innovation Days @ Internet Week Michael Wolf, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ACTIVATE, challenged those in the room to be “redefiners.” If you don’t redefine your business, someone else will, he said. It’s also time to revalue content and add some “home cooking” to the menu. Everyone likes to think something is created with love just for them—and as an industry we can do that with quality content. For big companies—traditional media and others—that means learning how to be innovative, even if that means pulling resources away from your core business and giving them freedom to bulid something from scratch.

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