AOP Summit: Incoming chair Collins calls for collaboration

Collins, group director at Trader Media Group, will formally take over as co-chair of the AOP from Alison Reay, digital and multimedia director at Telegraph Media Group, at the AOP Summit to be held next Wednesday, October 7, at the Business Design Centre in London.

Speaking ahead of the event, Collins said he was looking forward to the industry "bringing to life" debate around the issues it faces over the coming 12 months.

Collins said: "The AOP needs to be ever more relevant and be able to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, the collaboration of like-minded groups and learning among its members.

"I think the summit next week is a great example of that. It's a real line in the sand where we are able to look at the next 12 months and debate as an industry how we might tackle certain issues."

The AOP released the headline results of its content and trend census survey yesterday; further details from the report will be released at next week's event.

The report highlighted paid content and a move to charging for mobile access as two key areas online publishers are currently exploring.

As well as highlighting keynotes from Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson and Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive EMEA Simon Francis, and panel sessions addressing paid content, mobile and maximising online advertising, Collins, who has previously worked for BSkyB and NatMags, had some advice for publishers looking to exploit the opportunities the internet presents.

He said: "Publishers who are going to be successful need to understand and have the ability to leverage their content and their brand, not just on their own site, but where the users are. Whether that's Twitter or Facebook now, or wherever the user may be in the future.

"What's important is that they make themselves relevant to the media or channel in which they are operating."

The AOP Summit takes place on October 7. Full details of the event can be found at the AOP website. Brand Republic will be reporting from the event throughout the day.