ISBA President on the Opportunities and Challenges of Digital

LONDON, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Jon Woods, ISBA President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Great Britain & Ireland, delivered his keynote speech to an audience of senior adfolk at the annual IPA Members' Lunch today (2^nd May 2012).

In his 20-minute address Woods spoke of the challenges and opportunities presented by digital, a medium of constant and rapid change: 

"... the UK is in the vanguard.  Here, there are more than 30 million active Facebook users and 10 million active Twitter users every month.  UK internet advertising spend has gone from £2 billion in 2006 to almost £5 billion in 2011."

"Whilst the digital landscape is moving apace, we should not view is as a lawless expanse for which sensible regulations cannot be developed.  We need to work towards this.  Firstly, to provide consumers with the assurance they seek and, secondly, because it is a growing focus for stakeholders and policy makers," said Woods. 

He identified two further areas that were high on the ISBA agenda in the context of responsibility:

• Advertising and marketing to children.  He cited the importance of the Bailey Review, the recommendations of which the industry is now implementing.

"We have to continue to demonstrate a genuine preparedness to identify best practice and to respond to concerns in this area.  The creation of the Children's Panel, chaired by Mark Lund, is an important development," he said.

• Online Behavioural Advertising and the challenges posed by the proposed EU ePrivacy Regulation:

"We need to achieve a balance between valid concerns on privacy - which should interest us as consumers as well as advertisers - and enhancing the consumer experience and fostering e-commerce. The crux of the issue is transparency towards consumers. This means consumers being told what data is held on them, and by whom, and being given the chance to opt-out if they so wish." remarked Woods.

Woods was upbeat about the challenges ahead and the industry's ability to meet them.  "It's encouraging that all bodies in our industry are in the same place and working together to achieve our aims," he said.

On IPA and ISBA working together

"Not only is the relationship in good health, the partnership is working."

On the London 2012 Olympic Games:

Woods also spoke about his pride in Coca Cola's 84-year association with the Olympic Games:

"At Coca-Cola, we have always sought to make the Games a catalyst to create a stronger, better business in the host country, and that is our plan again.  We are working with LOCOG and other partners to make London 2012 the most accessible, participative and sustainable Olympics and Paralympics yet." 

As well as the importance of the UK hosting the 2012 Games:

"The Games presents a fantastic, one-off opportunity for the UK to show people around the world what it has to offer."

Jon Woods was the keynote speaker at today's IPA Annual Members' Lunch held at Hackney House, Shoreditch. The Lunch followed an inspirational morning conference: 'Creative Pioneers for our Digital Future: from Silicon Valley to Silicon Roundabout', which played host to a series of speakers from Silicon Valley and Hollywood, as well as UK creative business innovators. This one day event was hosted by IPA President Nicola Mendelsohn as part of her agenda to create the next generation of creative pioneers for our digital future.

Note to editors:

The IPA represents approximately 250 of the best advertising, media and marketing agencies in the United Kingdom, together employing over 18,000 individuals. Collectively, our agencies work for over 5,000 corporates, over 10,000 brands and manage, over £30bn of marketing investment per annum. The current IPA President's agenda focuses on fresh talent, better skills and better connections.