Digital advertising’s most prominent trade group is making room for more than just the agencies and tech providers that have long made up its membership.

And it’s doing so by adding a place for the brands themselves. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) this week announced a new tier for brand membership with the goal of improving the organization’s perspective on the ad industry. On top of being offered membership, leaders of these brands can also serve on the association’s board, with a co-CEO of the contact lens company Hubble being the first to join.

“Brand leaders will now join executives from publishers, platforms, data and technology companies who serve on our board of directors,” IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg said in a news release. “I am excited to welcome this key group of innovators who are redefining how brands engage with their customers to join our efforts to grow the interactive media and marketing industry.”

IAB said it came to the decision as a result of its recent efforts to engage with brands, which included the release of a study on how direct-to-consumer brands interact with consumers. “During this process, it became clear to IAB leadership that brand leaders represent an important voice which is needed at the table when considering industry priorities and planning strategically for the future,” the association said in the release.

Beyond the new board position, the association plans to bring brand leadership into its centers of excellence, which focus on issues such as mobile marketing, digital video, and data. This will give brands a role in helping to set some of the robust standards that IAB is known for creating.

“Expanding IAB’s membership to add brand executives to their existing cohort of leaders from digital, media, advertising, and creative companies will give IAB full visibility of the entire digital marketing ecosystem,” the press release said.

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