Vivienne Bechtold, Proctor & Gamble director of i-Knowledge, on Monday
takes the helm of FAST (Future of
Advertising Stakeholders), an interactive ad industry organization that
aims to further the adoption of digital advertising.
Bechtold succeeds Rich LeFurgy, chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau
and general partner at WaldenVC. It’s not surprising that a Procter &
Gamble exec should take a leadership role, since the organization was
started at a P&G-sponsored event in 1998.
The new chairperson wants to widen the scope of FAST to encompass all
aspects of interactive marketing, rather than focusing on media-based
advertising. To that end, more industry representation will be added to the
FAST steering team, presumably people with direct marketing backgrounds.
“A key for the long-term success of interactive marketing will be its
integration into the mainstream marketing mix,” says Bechtold.
“The members of FAST have the ability to look at the marketing environment
holistically and develop solutions that will work for everyone, but first
and foremost, for our consumers.”
Bechtold in 1997 was the co-founder of the P&G interactive team. She is now
director of the i-Knowledge group within P&G’s newly-formed Global
i-Ventures organization, which directs the company’s overall Internet
strategy.
The current FAST steering team includes representatives from American Association of Advertising
Agencies, Association of National
Advertisers, Advertising Research
Foundation, Excite@Home, Grey Interactive, Internet Advertising Bureau, IBM, Procter &
Gamble, Phase2Media, Modem Media.Poppe Tyson, Starcom IP and Visa.
The organization focuses on four key areas: consumer acceptance,
advertising models, measurement, and online media. FAST has more than 600
individual members, comprised of advertisers, advertising agencies, online
media companies, and technology enablers.