It's been a busy old month with marketing to children online becoming an increasingly hot topic. How do you reach the very young online? And how do you do so in a responsible and effective manner? Our news story on Marketing to children provides some of the answers.

If you want to delve further into the depths of regulating childrens' advertising online, why not come along to our evening event this Wed (12 March) that presents the statement: Brands should not be able to advertise to children online. Agree? Disagree? This is your chance to get vocal.

On top of all of this and the other big developments in mobile, display, search and video found below, we're also trialling different formats of Click-thru to get to the point quicker. Let us know what you think.

IAB UK

www.iabuk.net

News stories from the IAB website

• Marketing to childen online
  While 16 to 34 year-olds may get the lion's share of UK marketing budgets, this article looks at the topical and challenging subject of advertising to children online.
  
• Soft drink brands aim for 'resonance' in driving engagement
  IAB study finds online ad spend achieves three times more return on investment for soft drinks than average online budget allocations would suggest.
  
• Campaign delivery: are you confused?
  Discrepancy, under delivery tolerance, late copy policy and standards - confused? The IAB is here to help

Other top industry stories

Mobile

• e-consultancy has compiled a summary of the latest mobile advertising spend forecasts from top analysts
  (e-consultancy, 7 March)
  
• Microsoft signs deal with handset manufacturer Nokia to bring its Silverlight rich media platform to millions of mobile phones  
  (BBC, 4 March)

Search

• If your business is growing at such a rate that it's limiting your search marketing efforts, it might be time to outsource
  (SearchEngineWatch, 3 March)

Web technology

• Microsoft is to develop Internet Explorer 8 so that it follows web standards by default and will retain a controversial mode switching proposal
  (The Register, 4 March)

Online video

• A report by Screen Digest states that iPlayer will be a key driver for web TV
  (Guardian, 6 Feb)

Web 2.0 / social media

• BBC launches interactive homepage and e-consultancy has offered an analysis
  (e-consultancy, 27 Feb)
  
• How does good reputation on social sites affect sales? The BBC investigates using eBay as an example
  (BBC, 18 Feb)
  
• Online communities are leaving advertisers with a headache - but helping PR to thrive through links and recommendations
  (Guardian, 3 March)

Internet marketing

• The miraculous power of "free" revealed in a simple experiment that speaks volumes for research
  (Rory Sutherland's Blog, 6 Feb)

IAB events

• IAB Spring Debate: Brand should not be allowed to advertise to children online
  12 March
  
• Internet Marketing Workshop: Search - using search intelligently to get noticed
  2 April
  
• Results of the IAB/PwC online adspend study, full year 2007
  10 April
  
• Half day conference: Engage for shopping
  15 April
  
• Internet Marketing Seminar: Ask the expert
  16 April
  

External events

• Search Marketing Conference
  Tuesday 11 March, 2008 | Business Design Centre, London 
  
• MediaGuardian Changing Media Summit 2008
  Wednesday March 18 | Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, London