The appointment is part of a drive to double the share of online advertising expenditure from 1% to 2% by autumn 2004.
Bour has responsibilities ranging from researching internet advertising effectiveness and examining audience measurement tools to online adspend benchmarking work with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and managing weekly research-based seminars.
Bour will manage the IAB's new three-year research programme under the direction of the IAB research working group, which draws together the heads of research from more than 20 online companies. It is run by Freeserve's Faye Weekes. This group steers the IAB research strategy and acts as a forum for IAB members to air their views.
Bour joins from Fox Kids Europe, where she was senior executive in charge of pan-European research, responsible for conducting qualitative and quantitative research in 56 countries.
She helped set up and develop the pan-European research department and was responsible for leading innovative projects such as a cross-territory study providing insights into children's lives, tastes and attitudes towards brands, media and other key topics.
Previously, Bour spent four-and-a-half years at The Walt Disney Company in various research positions at international level. Bour provided qualitative and quantitative analysis for all product categories, including television and the internet. She was also involved in global projects focusing on the company's brand management and strategic planning.
Danny Meadows-Klue, chief executive of the IAB, said: "Another milestone for the IAB as we welcome our first dedicated research manager. The research agenda is a wide-ranging role -- as well as the projects we commission ourselves, we partner with every major internet research player to maximise the scope of data available to marketers. Laurence will be a tremendous asset to the IAB and the online industry."
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