IAB Singapore Sets Up Brand Advisory Board

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Singapore chapter today announced the launch of Brand Advisory Board as part of their mission to grow the digital marketing industry in region. A first in Asia, the Brand Advisory Board will allow the IAB to infuse a brand point of view more fully in its work and highlight the critical importance of premium online experiences, with audiences as the first priority.

The IAB Singapore Brand Advisory Board is made up of 12 senior brand-side marketers. Nominated by members of the IAB with final selections made by the organisation’s leadership council, founding members of the Brand Advisory Board include:

- Rod Strother, Director, Digital and Social Centre of Excellence, Lenovo
- Sheldon Hee, Head of Brand Communications, Singapore Airlines
- Tito Costa, Managing Director, Zalora
- Miguel Bernas, Director, Digital Marketing APAC, Paypal
- Emily Ketchen, VP Marketing for PPS APJ, Hewlett Packard
- Grace Ho, Chief Commercial Officer, Singapore Post Ltd
- Joe Loy, Head of Digital, StarHub
- Pete Mitchell, Global Media Innovations Director, Mondelez
- Agatha Yap, Director Sales & Marketing, Sentosa
- Janice Chan, Senior Director Digital Marketing, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
- Ketan Samani, Chief Digital Officer, UBS Wealth Management APAC
- Cheryl Goh, Group VP Marketing, GrabTaxi

“Brands are playing an increasingly active role in the IAB, and this called for a more structured approach to addressing their needs,” said Olivier Legrand, head of marketing solutions, Asia Pacific & Japan, LinkedIn and chairman of the IAB Singapore.

“The Brand Advisory Board will meet once a month to shape the IAB agenda – reviewing our content and training offerings in the region, as well as participating in the development of educational materials, guidelines, standards and research. Our new Brand Advisory Board comprises of senior decision makers and I’m sure their participation will add more rigour to our initiatives, making them more comprehensive and most importantly, ensuring their relevance to brands.”

Pete Mitchell, global media innovations director, Mondelez commented, “Digital media is a key driver of change in many organisations especially in their marketing. However, there is still a lack of structure or formal process within most organisations to help them harness the power of digital in the right ways. We hope that the setting up of the Brand Advisory Board will enable organisations to share their learnings as they try to crack the digital code.”

“Staying relevant to customers today means that brands must continually innovate and offer users the intuitive experiences they crave. In order to stay on top of the game in the telecommunications industry, StarHub has been working closely with its partners to push the boundaries of digital in Singapore. Through our participation in the IAB’s Brand Advisory Board, I believe that we can play an important role in helping to shape brands in Singapore and beyond, and to view digital as part of their overall marketing strategy,” said Joe Loy, head of digital, StarHub.

The IAB Singapore is also going regional, driven by the need for further education, standardized guidelines and insightful research across the region. Through its appointment as the IAB Ambassadors for the region, the IAB’s Singapore chapter is now able to better support businesses as they expand beyond the shores of Singapore, in partnership with IAB champions in each
market.

“New members, new geographies and new initiatives have featured high on our agenda this year. All signs point toward an increasing interest in the evolving digital ecosystem in this region and we’re excited to be able to take the IAB into new markets by being the official IAB Ambassadors for SEA. This means that we’re now able to share our learnings from Singapore, and encourage innovation and creativity in digital across borders. It’s a big responsibility that we take seriously,” said Miranda Dimopoulos, executive director, IAB Singapore.

The IAB Singapore is a globally affiliated trade association of interactive advertising companies in the SEA digital advertising sector. It seeks to promote investment in interactive advertising, support its membership through information and education.