This year our Media/Digital Committee comprises Fiona Field, Garret O’Beirne and Emma O’Doherty (Chair) and we are focused on delivering IAPI’s main areas of focus - commerciality, diversity and training - with four planned work streams:

The future of media accountability

As our media channels become more reliant on and serviced by technology, there are real challenges in how agencies work is assessed and verified for clients. Programmatic delivery of digital (in display, search, social) has been the first test of that, highlighting an ever-increasing gulf between old and new worlds in terms of metrics and methods for media auditing.  

Whilst some initial work has been done by IAPI in 2016-2017 on digital auditing, it served to highlight the need to bring clients a better vision for accountability in a programmatic world.

We therefore plan to create an industry working group (media agency members) to help us with:

  • Local industry engagement on media accountability future
  • EACA progression and application of tri-party initiative (clients, auditors, agencies)
  • Learnings and best practice from global markets

Media auditor meetings

For our annual Media Consultant meetings we have identified four topics, all with the aim of fostering better communication with auditors, highlighting current agency concerns, and agreeing (where possible) better client outcomes. These include:

  • Pitching – what’s up with the chemistry session?  These are increasing significantly in scope and are placing a further burden on agencies competing in these pitches.
  • Agency fees – pricing services, where’s the future?
  • GDPR impact on data handling.
  • Media auditing (outputs from industry working group)

Training

As well as recruiting the right talent into the industry, alongside our Talent Recruitment Committee, we have identified a key media agency gap at mid-level leadership (Senior Account Manager-Account Director). Our programme aims to assist talent at this level to understand their role, how to keep their passion, be inspired and exert their influence; as well as capabilities in managing up/managing down in organisations. Keep an eye on IAPI’s training and events programme across the year for more information.  

Media socials

As a separate strand, but related to our training programme, our ambition is to offer mid-level media talent more opportunities to network with each other and get behind the scenes of the media world in a more social environment. 

We will be seeking help from a small working group to assist us in devising and creating two exciting events later in 2018.

The Media/Digital Committee is open to hearing suggestions and areas for consideration by IAPI in 2018 and look forward to working with you all to bring support to our member agencies.

We’d also welcome volunteers to work with any of the working groups that are established – please contact the IAPI Executive or any member of the Media/Digital committee - fiona.field@mediaworks.ieemma.odoherty@mindshareworld.com; or garret.obeirne@omnicommediagroup.com

Media/Digital Committee
Media/Digital Committee
Emma O'Doherty
Emma O'Doherty
Chief Client Officer, Mindshare
Garret O'Beirne
Garret O'Beirne
Head of EMEA Business Partnerships, Facebook
Fiona Field
Fiona Field
MD, OMD Ireland