Michael Lebowitz, Big Spaceship CEO & Founder, Named New Chair of IAB Agency Advisory Board

Seven New Members Also Join Elite Industry Group, Formed to Bolster Dialogue Between Publishers and Creatives and Other Agency Voices

IAB MIXX Conference & Expo 2011
NEW YORK – Michael Lebowitz, Founder and CEO of Big Spaceship, is the new chairman of the IAB Agency Advisory Board, a consultative body formed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to focus close attention on the frontiers of creativity and brand marketing, and to improve the vital relationships between publishers and creative, media, and public relations agencies. Lebowitz succeeds Brad Brinegar, Chairman and CEO of McKinney, who has helmed the esteemed group of agency leaders since its establishment in 2009. The IAB also announced today that seven other advertising thought leaders have accepted invitations to become new members of this distinguished assembly of industry advisors. The announcements were made at the IAB MIXX Conference & Expo in New York City.

Over the course of the past two years, the IAB AAB has come together on a quarterly basis to drive new ways of thinking about how to make the web as creative and compelling a medium as possible for brand marketers in the interactive era of paid, owned and earned media. The AAB has contributed such tangible results for the industry as helping shape IAB work on the Rising Stars program, which introduced cutting-edge display ad formats built to inspire creativity in digital brand advertising, and on digital ad measurement standards.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Michael Lebowitz as the new chair of this influential company of interactive thought leaders, and we salute Brad Brinegar for his leadership over the past two years harnessing this incredible resource for the industry and for our members,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “Michael’s breadth of knowledge and practice in creating award-winning, cutting-edge digital experiences will help agencies and interactive media work fruitfully together to drive client benefit and mutual growth. Since the IAB Agency Advisory Board’s inception, this group of dynamic senior voices has become a partner in our conspiracy to reinvent advertising and marketing.”

“Big Spaceship has always embraced cross-disciplinary efforts that result in innovative, actionable solutions, which is why I’m particularly honored to serve as chair of the IAB Agency Advisory Board,” said Lebowitz. “The level of collaboration that this board represents is a strong acknowledgment that nobody can flourish in the digital arena today when working in a vacuum. I’m looking forward to driving substantive initiatives with the IAB to support our collaborative efforts.”

“When I started talking with the IAB about the formation of the Agency Advisory Board, we knew that our ultimate goal was to ensure that interactive publishers were working as effectively as possible with agencies like ours,” said Brinegar. “And once we got all of these creative trailblazers to the table together, we had an incredible opportunity to exchange our ideas and best practices and to encourage more brand marketing in interactive media.”

The seven additions to the roster boast equally compelling credentials:

Current members feature luminaries in the interactive advertising world:

For more information about the IAB Agency Advisory Board, please visit: http://www.iab.net/agencyadvisoryboard

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.