OMG has partnered with Foxtel Media to leverage the data captured through more than one million Foxtel set-top boxes installed in Australia.
This comes after mixed reviews from media agencies leaders about Foxtel Media’s new audience measurement system with the Kantar Media measurement service, announced earlier this month at the Foxtel Upfront.
The holding company has embraced the opportunity to benefit from the new return path data service. This will see the viewing data captured by Foxtel set-top boxes installed in Australia provide a granular understanding of Pay-TV consumption and subscriber behaviour.
This understanding will be instrumental in the development of new audience measurement methodologies that enable trading on target segments, critically powered by an independent, world-leading research business.
Kristiaan Kroon, chief investment officer of Omnicom Media Group Australia, said audience insights will provide a new level of granular data for clients from its one million set top boxes and more than three million users of streaming products like BINGE and Kayo Sports. He noted that it complements OMG’s recent launch of the ADgile Catalyst product, as OMG leads the market on advanced CTV analytics.
Kroon said that there is a clear need for products as the Australian CTV market becomes increasingly complex for advertisers to access the likes of Foxtel, YouTube, TV Networks, SBS, Vevo, Netflix, LG, Samsung and soon Amazon Prime
“Alternative audience measurement is inevitable and, in our view, complementary to established audience measurement through a composite approach that unlocks deeper insights and value for OMG clients,” he said.
Kroon added that Australia is heading down the same path as America a few years ago with multiple measurement products and alternative currencies driving innovation and opportunity. He added: “We will be using our US grown capability and experience to enable Australian use cases and frameworks, starting with Foxtel Group products and platforms, to give a clear market advantage to our clients in the rapidly evolving CTV universe.”
The new service is set to roll out in 2024 providing quarter hour format for ingestion into agency systems and two years of comparison data back to January 2022.
Lucy Formosa Morgan, managing director of Magna, shared her thoughts with Mediaweek earlier this month, alongside Taz Papoulias, head of media of Murmur Group, Claire Fenner, national CEO of Atomic 212°, and Danny Molyneaux, chief strategy office of Claxon.
Formosa Morgan said that while the new measurement system with Kantar will “absolutely disrupt the market” the industry needs to ensure they are on the front foot when setting the standards and criteria for what will ultimately change the currency and trading video.
“It’s going to be noisy while we work through the different measurement providers, but we need to lean in to change, to test, to learn and continue evolving,” she added.
Papoulias said: “As a media leader who focuses on the best outcome for my client, which often involves a lack of granular data across many mediums (outside online), I can see the upside and I am going to reserve my official opinion once it has been rolled out.
“When the big boys make the big moves it’s very hard to promote change with their media power but we are all entitled to our opinion. Lets watch this space.”
Meanwhile, Fenner said she thinks anything that offers another data point to reference is a good thing when relying on surveyed data. She said: “Another data set is not the end of the world and not a new challenge for media agencies.
“If the data is as robust as I anticipate, or hope for, it should provide an even better support and justification for the inclusion of Foxtel’s platforms on media plans,” she added.
Molyneaux added that the move will ruffle feathers and create confusion in the industry as it looks set to diversify Total TV measurement. He said: “As Foxtel Media introduces this advanced measurement service, it may trigger a competitive race among media agencies to harness similar technologies and datasets.”
Mark Frain, CEO of Foxtel Media said a critical tenet of television advertising is having a robust and independently verified audience measurement system. He noted that it should be brought together with the best available data to maximise value and opportunity for clients.
“We know the industry is open to and excited about change, as demonstrated by the many positive conversations we have had with clients and agencies since our Upfront announcements. The roll out of this Kantar Media measurement service on set top box viewing will help evolve how we trade inventory, powering us go beyond demographics and collaboratively align across total video segments.”
“You’ve got to acknowledge where this is heading, we’re on a journey to trade all of our inventory as impressions, giving customers exactly what they want, a common denominator across the video platforms that they spend on,” he added.