Phil Smith, ISBA’s director general, and Bobi Carley, head of TV and video at ISBA, talked to the House of Lords’ Communications Committee this week (Tuesday April 23) for its session on ‘Public service broadcasting in the age of video on demand’.
Among the topics the ISBA duo gave evidence on were ISBA’s position and its membership, the challenges of media regulation, the growth of adspend despite disruption in the marketplace, the importance of a trusted TV environment for advertisers and the need to build trust with consumers and develop a level regulatory playing field.
Advertising spending is strong, Phil Smith told the Committee. He noted it is growing around 6% annually in total and is driven by digital advertising in search and display, in particular.
He added that Facebook and Google were capturing most of that growth, and highlighted there has been a change in the type of advertiser as SMEs have embraced the opportunity. In addition, many traditionally big sectors are also spending less, including some retailers.
Smith explained that the industry expects rapid disruptive change to continue alongside technological and behavioural changes. Advertisers would continue to make their advertising more relevant to their audience, which will mean a further focus on personal data and information.
You can see video footage of the Communications Committee session here.