The IAB Canada Sets Blistering Pace in Q1
Launches Three New Councils, Adds 15 New Members, Will Release 5th CMOST Study

TORONTO, ON, May 5, 2005- Not resting on efforts that helped online advertising dollars in Canada increase over 68 percent since 2002, the IAB Canada today announced a host of organizational updates and industry initiatives designed to move the interactive channel from high gear straight into overdrive for 2005.

A new Advertiser Council led by Sarah Jue, Manager, Advertising and Interactive Properties with RBC Financial Group, will receive input from IAB member-advertisers and seek to gain insights into remaining barriers to online advertising. The new Research Council headed up by Maura Hanley, SVP Direct & Interactive, MBS, will be tasked with determining the direction and questions to be answered by future CMOST and other IAB-developed research studies. Meanwhile, a new Marketing Council led by Robert Levy, Managing Director, Brandspark International will update and formulate external and internal marketing efforts heralding both the benefits of adding online to the media mix, as well as the role the IAB plays in helping member organizations reap the benefits of channel growth.

In addition to the new Councils, a number of working groups have been activated under the well-established Publisher Council. These working groups include the Canadian Universal Ad Package (CUAP 2.0) Standards Committee, with representatives from Corus Entertainment, The Globe & Mail, Canoe, Media Contacts and Fjord Interactive actively engaged in updating the CUAP 1.0 for Rich Media standards. The official IAB CUAP 2.0 policy statement and specification document is anticipated by July 1, 2005.

A new Ad/Tech Operations committee is also in full swing, having approved the Global Online Ad Measurement Guidelines released earlier this year by IAB branches in Europe and the U.S. Members of the Ad/Tech committee include 24/7 Canada, Canoe, St. Joseph's Media and the Weather Network.

A new Audio/Video committee, whose members include Yahoo.ca, CBC.ca and Standard Interactive, is busy scoping growth in audio and video streaming, gathering projections on audio and video ad spend and anticipating standards that will need to be developed for these areas as well.

Finally, led by IAB members including MSN/Sympatico, AOL.ca and Yellow Pages Group and building on the hugely successful 2004 IAB Interactive to the Max (IMAX) event and Cross-Canada Agency Roadshow (in partnership with Marketing Magazine's Working Knowledge Seminar Series) -- the IAB Events committee has already begun planning a day-long IMAX 2.0 conference for Fall 2005. In 2004, the IMAX event and Roadshow drew an audience of over 1,200 industry professionals. In 2005 it will reach out to Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Toronto markets, with more agencies added to the slate as well.

The IAB has also experienced a rapid growth in memberships over the past six months. Fifteen new members including Alliance Atlantis, CHUM Interactive, eBay, Petro-Canada, Workopolis and the Yellow Pages Group, means, as the national voice of the interactive marketing and advertising industry, the IAB actively engages over 80 Canadian publisher, agency and advertiser organizations.

The story doesn't end there, with four Canadian Media Optimization Studies (CMOST) under its belt, the IAB is set to release a fifth study, involving Unilever before the end of May.

Commenting on the IAB's ramped-up activity, Brent Lowe-Bernie, IAB Chairman remarked: "IAB Board and Council members have worked very hard to speed up the pace of initiatives that will impact sales into the online channel both immediately and over the long term. It's great to see the fruits of our labour realized. But, there is much, much more we can do and will. Stand by!"

For more information contact:
Brent Bernie
President comScore Media Metrix comScore Canada Inc.

For more information contact:

President, IAB Canada
iabcanada.com

The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada is the national voice of the Canadian interactive marketing and advertising industry, and is a not-for-profit association representing a membership composed of publishers, agencies, advertisers and interactive service associates.

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