Phoenix—The new chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau kicked off his tenure Sunday by stressing the vital role of online advertising in brand building.
Randy Kilgore, chief revenue officer at Tremor Video, said in his opening remarks at the IAB's Annual Leadership Meeting here that there are "three fundamental truths" on which the interactive advertising industry can anchor its future.
"First and foremost, online advertising can and does sell brands," said Kilgore, who succeeded Peter Naylor, exec VP-ad sales at NBC News Digital, as IAB chairman.
"Online advertising can and should be as much about insane creativity and storytelling as TV," Kilgore said. "While TV gives us sight, sound and motion, interactive media adds one more powerful tool: touch. When someone leans in to look at your ad, hits 'play' to see it a second time, opts in to see additional content, or likes your ad on Facebook, they are touching your brand and spending more time with your messages."
The second truth, Kilgore said, is: "The path forward is in data."
"We are all grappling with a lot of data," he said. "But weeding through that onslaught is so worth it. Somewhere in that data is the magic that can propel the next ad, or the next Web series, to greatness."
The third truth, Kilgore said, is: "The more time a person spends with a brand message, the better." In support of this, he cited research from Tremor Video that found an 8% increase in purchase intent when a viewer chooses to engage with an online ad.
