ABC Forms Digital Advisory Committee

Committee will examine business trends and ABC's role in auditing emerging media.

By Chandra Johnson-Greene
Wednesday, November 19, 2008

In order to examine business trends as well as its role in auditing emerging media, ABC recently announced the formation of a Digital Advisory Committee (DAC).

So far, 23 digital media professionals from ABC’s core membership base of newspaper and periodical publishers, as well as advertisers and advertising agencies, have volunteered to serve on the committee. Three ABC directors—Rob Fisher, American City Business Journals; Bill Stabile, Siemens Corporation and Brenda White, Starcom Worldwide—will serve as liaisons between the committee and the board.

The committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, in advance of the ABC board of directors meeting and the 94th annual conference. At the meeting, the committee examined a proposal to allow hybrid audience measurement sources to be included in ABC reports. A presentation from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to update the group on several industry initiatives was also given. The next meeting will be held in February 2009.

The DAC’s objectives are as follows:

• Foster discussions regarding the future of digital media and how it will be measured and reported, and bought and sold.

• Provide input, guidance and expertise to the ABC board of directors.

• Examine the value of cross-platform metrics to both publishers and advertisers.

• Explore how digital data should be presented and reported by ABC for its various constituencies.

• Review and discuss topical issues that affect buyers and sellers of digital and emerging media.

• Identify emerging media that have value for advertisers and may require independent verification.

• Serve as a public face for ABC’s digital initiatives in media relation and industry events.