ACHIEVING AN AGENDA THAT DRIVES IMPACT
Introduction
On the 8th February 2023 we hosted our first in-person AGM in three years at the new Carousell offices in Singapore. Members from across the region caught up over coffee then joined Regional CEO, Miranda Dimopoulos as she shared our achievements in 2022, our priorities for 2023; and how Members can optimise their memberships.
We have summarised this meeting into three parts of which this is Part One:
1. 2022 Highlights – Achieving an agenda that drives impact
2. 2023 Business Plans – Communities, Impact and Advisory and how to make the most of your membership this year
3. Our Amplify Sponsored Collaboration Content Series – bespoke research, webinars, content syndication, Thought Leadership
ACHIEVING AN AGENDA THAT DRIVES IMPACT
2022 culminated in success metrics supporting our association’s pandemic pivot to removing paywalls to content and education. Increasing original, multi-language regional research and content led to a sustained increase in engagement metrics. Views and dwell times for the website and YouTube channel have continued an increase of 200%+ YOY for the past two years. Producing relevant, credible, agnostic content for our industry will continue to be a focus.
Another highlight of last year were more than 300 responses to our annual Member Survey from the full breadth of companies, with overall scores of 96% for satisfaction and value. Regional Councils, networking opportunities, the content we publish; and appreciation for the multi-government advisory role we play were the main reasons for these high scores. This is an important number as accountability is critical for an industry association whose performance is judged through the business lens of each Member company individually. The IAB SEA+India Regional Board continually assesses, analyses and restrategises throughout the year to ensure an agnostic and responsive agenda that represents a wide range of perspectives with a single consolidated point of view.
Membership renewal rates remain high and of those who chose not to continue, the main reasons were consolidation or acquisition. This meant the Membership was not cancelled, but absorbed into another Member company. To ensure Member representation across the region, we have not raised Member fees, even with the increased business costs year on year. While this may be addressed in the future, in the current economic climate we are pleased to say that there will be no change in dues for 2023.
Miranda also shared more about her role as an official Government Advisor and what representing our Members at this level has meant for the digital industry. Her achievements include having a say in creating the stimulus packages for our industry during the pandemic, to the redrafting of the India Digital Data Protection Bill. Having a seat at the table at decision-making levels is a privilege that has resulted in business benefits for all IAB SEA+India Members.
IAB SEA+India Regional Board – Solving for the future
Our Regional Board shares their collective wisdom and experience to help steer our Association. Choosing to volunteer for this responsibility on top of hectic day jobs at the most senior levels – especially during recent years with a pandemic and economic challenges – is something for which we are exceedingly grateful. As a testament to a successful leadership team, 95% of our regional board members are continuing their terms in 2023-2024.
Each year, the IAB SEA+India Regional Board identifies and spearheads special projects they undertake to identify where our industry needs to focus in the near future. Updates were shared for the following two :
1. The Asia Consumers’ Understanding of Privacy Online: Vidyarth Eluppai Srivatsan, The Coca-Cola Company and Alvin Liong, IlmuOne Data gave a sneak peek of the results of a multi-language regional research report on Consumer Privacy from the perspective of consumers in Asia. This included their levels of understanding about their privacy online along with their behaviours and preferences online. Divided into local market reports and a summary regional report, the local reports will be released throughout this month.
2. Representation in Advertising in Asia: Board member, Tawana Murphy Burnett from Meta, also shared more about another multi-language regional research piece seeking to understand the profile of consumers and how important representation in advertising is to them. Specifics include how they identified in regards to religion, body type, sexuality and disabilities to help our Member companies have more clarity, as a creator economy, on how to connect with real audiences in this region. These reports will be available in April.
3. The IAB Academy – a curated response to a critical digital transformation challenge: Deepika Nikhilender, GroupM APAC and Sumit Khanna, LinkedIn announced the creation of the IAB SEA+India Academy to address one of the largest challenges the industry faces – finding personnel with the right skill sets. The IAB SEA+India Academy will provide access to credible certifications with no barrier to participation to facilitate upskilling and reskilling for anyone. All Member companies will have the opportunity to share their training programs for consideration as part of the Academy, the only caveat is they must be free of charge/provided at no cost.
Our Regional Councils are a powerful part of the IAB SEA+India as they’re communities of senior leaders collaborating towards shared goals. There are six regional council meetings per year each lasting 1.5 hours, at which members discuss and debate, and get to understand each other’s challenges. Leveraging Tiffin Time (where Council Members are randomly paired into break out rooms to get to know each other better), Industry Discussions (where a Council Member leads a discussion on an important industry topic and publishes a write-up of this on our website) and sub- groups (where Council Members nominate to be part of a group creating original content published as White Papers on our website) Regional Councils are communities that inspire connection. In 2022, our Council Members gave their experience a 4.9/5.