Can the Digital Media Industry Keep Up With Consumers, Privacy, and the Rise of AI?
What happens when consumer expectations outpace industry change? When AI grows faster than regulation can keep up? When retail media becomes commerce media… and no one can agree on the label?
In this episode, we sit down with Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia and one of the most trusted voices in the industry, to make sense of it all.
From the early days of pop-up ads to the complexities of data ethics, Gai’s seen it all—and she’s not afraid to call out the contradictions, confusion, and opportunities hiding in plain sight.
If you're navigating retail media, wrangling with measurement, or just trying to explain AI to your team—this one’s for you.
In this episode, we cover:
- The data dilemma: Why consumer trust and transparency are the new currency—and how brands can earn it.
- Retail vs commerce media: Are we talking about the same thing? Gai unpacks the ongoing identity crisis.
- Measurement reality check: The promise of closed-loop reporting vs. what’s actually being delivered.
- AI in action: How AI could power cohort-based targeting, aggregated reporting, and a new era of attribution.
- Why Australia needs to stay scrappy: Gai's take on local innovation and the global tech arms race.
- Inside the IAB engine room: 13 councils and working groups, 5 key themes, and an industry that never hits pause
Soundbites to listen out for:
The Need for Smarter Measurement in Media Advertising
People are lazy, we’ve seen it in digital over and over again. It will get very last click—the transaction piece at the end without a lot of smarts.
Why Retail Media Is Still the Name of the Game as It Evolves
The term retail media has been hot in the Australian market and just implies growth, but I'm imagining much like the US has shifted to commerce that we will start seeing that shift as well.
The Real Reason Why Retail Media Benchmarks Are Elusive
Getting a case study over the line is not an easy thing. If it's gone well, they want to keep that secret source. And if it hasn't gone well, they don't want to tell anyone about it.
The Disconnect Between Media Measurement and Retail Expectations
We’re teaching viewability 101 to retailers while trying to certify them for complex metrics.
The Potential of AI to Improve Accuracy and Privacy
First party data will always be incredibly powerful for both targeting and measurement, but there are increasing opportunities to use AI to actually feed into the idea of cohorts and aggregated reporting without losing that understanding of what's working.
Why Security Is First Step Toward Better Consumer Outcomes
Every big data breach sets the whole industry back by a million steps.
About our guest
Gai is the CEO of IAB Australia which is the peak advocacy, research & standards body representing digital media and advertising. Gai has worked in the media industry for 30 years and the digital ad industry since 1998. Prior to running the IAB Gai held senior data, strategy and research roles at Fairfax Media, Nielsen and ninemsn. Gai is a global leader in media strategy, effectiveness and measurement as well as building and managing teams that help close the divide between digital and traditional marketing.
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