IAB Europe’s Interact 2018 showcases a unique mix of speakers looking to disrupt and reinvent digital advertising – an industry that contributes to €526 bn annually to the EU economy

Business growth in the European Union depends on digital advertising, which contributes €526 billion annually to the EU economy and drives 90% of all growth in advertising spend.¹ However, the digital ecosystem faces unprecedented and immediate disruption in the form of new technologies, new competitors, international turbulence and sweeping regulatory change. Its future has never been harder to predict.

At this critical juncture, IAB Europe releases the first agenda of its Interact 2018 conference: Disrupt. Adapt. Reinvent, bringing together a unique mix of speakers to explore the future of digital in Europe.

Held in Milan on 23-24 May, the two-day conference will feature contributions from all stakeholders with a say in the future of the digital ecosystem, from advertisers to publishers, to ad tech businesses, politicians and regulators. We’ll examine the forces disrupting digital, how businesses can adapt to thrive, and how we can reinvent the digital ecosystem to provide a firm foundation for business growth in the future:

• IAB Europe and IHS Markit will exclusively reveal the results of the 2017 AdEx Benchmark Report at Interact 2018 this year - the definitive guide to the state of the European digital advertising market.
• The EU’s most senior Data Protection Supervisor, Giovanni Buttarelli will answer questions from IAB Europe’s chairman Constantine Kamaras on the future for data and digital advertising
• Evgeny Morozov, the outspoken author of The Net Delusion - the Dark Side of Internet Freedom, who was named one of the 28 most influential people who will shape Europe in 2018 will ask what happens when digital giants ditch digital advertising
• Franck Sineau, Global Media Department Director at Richemont will show how the world’s leading luxury goods company is committed to digital platforms, how it uses data, and how it will evolve its approach as the digital landscape transforms.
• Global advertiser brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Diageo will debate what they expect to see next in digital advertising.
• European publishers including Schibsted, The Telegraph and Axel Springer will debate evolving business models that open up to whole new revenue streams.
• Randall Rothenberg, CEO IAB will detail IAB’s groundbreaking research into the new world of Direct Brands – and the implications for media, advertising, and marketing.
• Privacy champions from MediaMath, AppNexus, Quantcast and OneTrust will discuss the global uptake of the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework that enables publishers, advertisers, and technology companies comply with the GDPR.
• Tech pioneers from Exchange Wire, Index Exchange and ProgRox will examine the prospects for re-engineering the digital advertising supply chain.
• Leading experts will assess whether artificial intelligence, virtual reality, digital outdoor (DOOH), digital audio and other emerging technologies are genuinely hot or not.
• IAB Europe experts will provide training on GDPR compliance.

Furthermore, world-class digital expertise will be celebrated at Interact 2018’s Gala Dinner on 23 May with the MIXX Awards Europe and the IAB Europe Research Awards ceremony championing the best digital advertising campaigns and digital advertising research projects of the past year.

Townsend Feehan, CEO of IAB Europe said: "I'm looking forward to welcoming global digital business leaders and marketers to Interact this year. With the backdrop of a volatile political climate and new policy and regulation, it promises to be an unmissable opportunity to meet peers, hear from industry leaders - some with controversial views - and to debate the latest issues affecting the industry today."

The industry is being continually disrupted  – which means that leaders will need to reinvent their business strategies to adapt to the transformation of the digital landscape. Join us at Interact 2018 to explore the tactics that will secure success in the next era of digital. IAB Europe members and National IAB members can take advantage of the extended Early Bird offer until 13 April.

Visit the website for the latest updates on speakers, conference programme and book your conference pass here.

For bespoke sponsorship packages at Interact 2018, please contact Alison Fennah.

• Source: The Economic contribution of Digital Advertising in Europe - 2017 (https://datadrivenadvertising.eu/wp-content/uploas/2017/09/DigitalAdvertisingEconomicContribution_FINAL.pdf)

Contact:

Colombe Michaud, Communications Director, IAB Europe

michaud@iabeurope.eu

+32495193830

About IAB Europe

IAB Europe is the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising ecosystem. Its mission is to promote the development of this innovative sector and ensure its sustainability by shaping the regulatory environment, demonstrating the value digital advertising brings to Europe’s economy, to consumers and to the market, and developing and facilitating the uptake of harmonised business practices that take account of changing user expectations and enable digital brand advertising to scale in Europe.