IAB Audio Council ramps up work and elects Southern Cross Austereo’s Chris Derrick as chair
The IAB Australia Audio Council has elected Chris Derrick, head of digital strategy for Southern Cross Austereo, to the position of co-chair, taking up from Rick Gleave who was Council co-chair for the past two years. Derrick brings to the role 18 years of experience spearheading digital strategy and is uniquely positioned to bring insights and experience from both the radio and digital industries as the Audio Council moves forward.
Says Derrick: “It’s a privilege to be elected co-chair of the IAB’s Audio Council and to work with a highly talented group of multi-disciplined people in the audio space. The growth of streaming, both of radio stations and on-demand, and the explosion of podcasting is increasing the ranges of content available to consumers.”
Audio consumption on digital devices is growing, with over 13 million Australians streaming music and radio every month according to Nielsen Digital Ratings Monthly. Commercialisation of these audiences is also on the increase with the IAB in the U.S. reporting that digital audio advertising was worth $1.1b in 2016.
The Council is working on a number of education pieces including guidance on best use of creative across different audio offerings. It will be releasing a glossary of commonly used terms and metrics in the coming weeks, in line with a number of IAB Australia Councils that are also releasing glossaries to help set standards in terminology and establish a base understanding to move the industry forward.
The IAB Australia Audio Council was established formally in 2015 after a need from a range of pure-play streaming players and radio broadcasters to have an industry voice to drive standards and education in a fast growing area of the digital market. Rick Gleave, director of business development and partnerships for Pandora has been the Council co-chair since the establishment of the Council and has overseen the Council grow to have representation from 13 media organisations as well as close collaboration with Commercial Radio Australia.
Says Gai Le Roy, director of research, IAB: “We would like to thank Rick for his commitment to the audio advertising space and the role of the IAB over the last two years as co-chair of the Audio Council. His leadership in the Council has seen a number of important key industry education pieces including the Council’s recent trade study,” she said, referencing the Audio Council’s “Audio Advertising: State of the Nation” report, published in February.
Members of the IAB Australia Audio Council are:
Chris Derrick (Co-Chair) – Southern Cross Austereo
Gai Le Roy (Co-Chair) – IAB
Geraint Davies – ARN
Gillian Ramsay – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Joan Warner – Commercial Radio Australia
Ralph van Dijk – Eardrum
Justin Hoile – Facebook
Kate Beddoe – Google
Venessa Hunt – Group M
Richard Palmer – Macquarie Media
Michael Duncan – Nova
Rick Gleave – Pandora
Shaun Alexander – Soundcloud
Andrea Ingham – Spotify
Sandra Wee – The Trade Desk