Julie Ford
Julie Ford has been named executive director of the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC).
DAAC was formed in 2012 by a coalition of eight industry trade organizations, with the mandate to bring the U.S. Digital Advertising Alliance’s successful AdChoices consumer privacy program to Canada. In 2013, DAAC rolled out YourAdChoices.ca, a website where Canadians can choose to opt out of online behavioural advertising.
Since its founding, DAAC has been run by a board of directors and volunteers from its founding associations. Ford, who was previously vice-president of operations for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, participated as a board member, as well as treasurer and head of operations.
She told Marketing that with AdChoices gaining momentum, the board decided it was time to hire a full-time manager. As executive director, she will be responsible for communicating with AdChoices’ 51 enrolled companies, reaching out to potential new members, and consumer education. She’ll also work on building up the organization’s internal infrastructure.
“I’m going to make a proactive bid at getting people involved in the program, and then speak with the existing participants and see how they have rolled out the program internally and what pain points they ran into,” she said.
She said DAAC is still very focused on the AdChoices program, and the board has not discussed launching any new initiatives or working on privacy advocacy more directly.
“The goal is really to make this a global program,” she said. AdChoices is currently available in 32 countries and 24 languages.
In the U.S., the Digital Advertising Alliance has been involved in advocacy and standards organizations such as the Worldwide Web Consortium. DAAC operates separately and is not involved in that work.
Before joining the IAB in 2011, Ford led the digital media team at Henderson Bas Kohn in Toronto.
