IAB Creates Digital Video Division, Names Hulu’s Peter Naylor Chairman

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is ready to acknowledge the massive influence of online video in formal fashion. The organization has launched the Digital Video Center of Excellence division and offered Hulu’s SVP of ad sales Peter Naylor the office of chairman.

Based at the IAB’s New York headquarters, the new digital video division will be responsible for research, advertising case studies, technical standards, best-practice guidelines, and more in the realm of online video. According to Variety, specific research projects have already been proposed, like investigating video ad-frequency capping and consumer perceptions of advanced TVs.

“Digital video is only in its infancy, and yet the combination of sight, sound and motion has already taken the interactive marketplace by storm,” said Naylor to Variety. “The broader ecosystem needs a central organization that will be able to steer the digital-video movement on a pathway towards even more expansion, and inspire greater commitment from marketers to both the video medium, as well as cross-screen campaigns.”

Anna Bager, IAB’s previous head of mobile research, has been promoted to SVP of mobile and video, now overseeing both the Digital Video Center of Excellence and Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence divisions. Bager told Variety in order for the digital video industry to grow, “we need to coalesce around standards, conduct in-depth research, and examine what works and why in digital-video advertising — all of which are part of the plan for the Video Center.”

The IAB has been a forefront leader in digital video and advertising circles, hosting the Digital Content Newfronts conference in New York and producing informative reports and studies on the state of online video and content trends. With IAB’s new Video Center, we’re glad to see the organization giving digital video the dedicated attention it deserves.