Online advertising Industry

Online advertisers face a host of challenges, ranging from data management to preventing piracy to ensuring consumer privacy.

Bloomberg BNA's Alexis Kramer posed questions to Dave Grimaldi, executive vice president of public policy at the Interactive Advertising Bureau, on the top issues facing the online advertising industry, what steps the IAB plans to take to address them in 2016 and his career path to his present position.

Bloomberg BNA:

What is your professional background? How long have you worked in the online advertising space?

Dave Grimaldi:

I’ve been in Washington D.C. and around politics for my entire career, both in and out of the federal government. Prior to IAB, I was at Pandora Media Inc., where I opened its Washington office and helped the company navigate a number of media, legal and political challenges. It’s an incredible company filled with some of the smartest people I’ll ever know.

Before that I was at the Federal Communications Commission, as chief of staff to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who was acting chairwoman for seven months in 2013. We tackled a number of merger reviews and other complex rulemakings, and it was fascinating to see the inner workings of a regulatory entity that is so crucial to the 21st century economy.

And, before the FCC, I was in the House of Representatives in a number of different positions, culminating in my role in Rep. Jim Clyburn’s Majority Whip office. It was during a stretch when Democrats controlled the House, Senate and White House, and we executed on an ambitious agenda that included Wall Street reform, healthcare and climate change legislation.

Bloomberg BNA:

What does the IAB do?

Grimaldi:

We are involved in a number of different industry-facing initiatives, and the organization is rapidly growing. IAB empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy, and is comprised of nearly 800 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing campaigns. Together, they account for 86 percent of online advertising in the U.S.

Working with our member companies, IAB develops technical standards and best practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing.

Bloomberg BNA:

What policy areas does the IAB focus on?

Grimaldi:

Consumer privacy is always going to be at the top of the list. If the online advertising industry has learned anything in the last decade, it’s that consumers put a premium on privacy, transparency and choice in the digital world. IAB’s member companies take that seriously.

The responsibility we have to consumers is what led to our leadership in developing the Digital Advertising Alliance, which exists to provide consumers meaningful notice and choice about interest-based advertising in real time. That mission, in addition to other IAB-led initiatives, informs our policy positioning in Washington, as we strive to ensure that lawmakers and federal regulators understand our industry and what it provides to the overall economy.

Turning to international policy, the IAB is active around the world via our interconnected offices in 45 countries. Because of the inherently global nature of Internet-based businesses, IAB is coordinating a comprehensive policy strategy with our foreign counterparts to more effectively advocate for the digital advertising industry in international policymaking arenas.

We are also pushing for the modernization of trade agreements to better serve the needs of the industry. IAB supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership and will continue advocating for its expeditious passage through Congress.

There are a host of other topics in which we stay active on behalf of our members. Patent reform is one of them, and as publishers we care deeply about First Amendment issues. Further, by virtue of our companies working with data in a very significant way, data breach and ECPA are front and center. We also work with the Food and Drug Administration on certain issues, and get involved in state legislative action as needed.

Bloomberg BNA:

What are the IAB’s recent initiatives?

Grimaldi:

We are very proud of two of new components of IAB that have recently blossomed—IAB’s Technology Lab and the Data Center of Excellence.

IAB’s Tech Lab is an independent, international, nonprofit research and development consortium charged with producing and helping companies implement global industry technical standards. It is comprised of digital publishers and ad technology firms, as well as marketers, agencies, and other companies with interests in the interactive marketing arena.

The Data Center of Excellence will help advertisers and marketers operationalize their data assets while maintaining quality, transparency, accountability, and consumer protection. It will fund industry research projects, provide benchmarks, create actionable insights on data management across platforms, host data-focused events, and develop industry best practices.