Opportunity knocks for new ISBA boss Mark Given

The revolving doors at the top of trade associations usually fail to make much impact. There are exceptions: James Murphy’s tenure as chairman of the UK Advertising Association in the post-Brexit, pre-lockdown era did provide industry leadership, assisted by a capable CEO in Stephen Woodford. Tom Goddard, a former chairman of Ocean Outdoor, has established the World Out of Home Organization as a credible player in a notoriously fragmented industry.

Mark Given (above), who has held a bewildering number of titles at Sainsbury’s, has now taken over from Pete Markey as head of the advertisers’ association ISBA and there is much for him to do. For a start trust has largely broken down between advertisers and agencies – advertisers think they’ve been ripped off for years, agencies think advertisers know nothing about ads – and nobody, but nobody likes the all-conquering tech giants who, essentially, have bought the ad business. Advertisers just seem to hand over their money in the full knowledge that much of it is wasted.

Given could, if he wished, take the lead in some of these matters, not least by insisting that the social media platforms go some way towards cleaning up their act, rather than just saying they’re going to. Advertisers could tell their media agencies (who don’t seem to have an independent thought – or backbone – between them) to insist on proof that the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon are actually delivering.

It’s a lot to ask of someone in a part-time job but there is an opportunity here for Given and his trade association to actually make an impact.