Agencies trading in linear and digital video have been pushing for a universal standard of measurement for years. According to IAB Australia, almost 50% of agencies are constantly looking for more information around TV and cross-screen measurement.

While there are already quite a few cross-screen measurement solutions out in the market, most use proprietary datasets that don’t have the scale and granularity of OzTAM’s data. VOZ may be hailed as the new gold standard in total TV measurement and reporting, but the uncertainty around its true capability and availability is keeping TV and digital teams further apart.

Arguably, the industry can continue to function as it does, but I see it going in two different directions:

TV wins (for now) while digital formats grow, but remain siloed

Linear TV isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s forecasted to be a $3b+ market in Australia for the foreseeable future, and broadcasters know this. While digital ad revenue grows year-on-year, broadcasters aren’t too fazed as their own BVOD and CTV channels offset decreasing audiences on traditional TV. However, BVOD and connected TV are still largely seen as extenders of reach and supplemental to traditional TV viewing, and are activated as such.

Digital wins and TV becomes increasingly programmatic

According to eMarkerter, digital video ad spend grew by 13% in 2020, while TV investments decreased by 16%. Last year’s volatile landscape forced some marketers to focus on a data-driven, cost-efficient approach to advertising, but it also opened up new opportunities for OTT and CTV. 2020 was a rocky year for the industry, but it definitely solidified an OTT approach in a marketers arsenal to reach TV audiences.

CTV adds a new layer of granularity that its predecessor couldn’t provide. However, new technologies in the form of Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) data from TV data players like Samba TV, Samsung Ads and LG’s Live Plus are giving linear some powerful new tools to help give brands a clearer picture of who they are reaching.

There is a third scenario, in which TV and digital will not only coexist, but depend on each other for long-term success.

Everyone wins, TV and digital are fully unified

In an ideal world, traditional TV catches up to the digital world by retaining what it is known for: scale, with a leaned-in audience. But that proven reach and brand building power is combined with best of digital: advanced targeting, frequency control and attribution.

While planning tools to help marketers seamlessly plan their TV and digital video buys across channels already exist, the lack of a standard currency to measure campaigns across screens still leaves a huge gap in the market, keeping TV buyers and digital traders in their respective lanes to activate and measure.

Once we get to a point where we can seamlessly manage an advert across the total TV universe from end-to-end and utilise the data to go above and beyond basic transaction exchange, then everyone will win – broadcasters, brands and consumers.

Which brings me back to VOZ: Is it worth the wait? Definitely, but with caveats. Developing a solution like VOZ could take years and numerous iterations. It could transform the industry, but it’s no small feat.

So while we wait for the opportunity VOZ undoubtedly brings, marketers should continue exploring different datasets.

Amobee wants both TV and digital to succeed together. We’ve built a platform that can combine TV viewership data with digital identity maps around the world, along with proprietary audience scoring and forecasting capabilities.

That means buyers and brands need not wait to build a holistic view of an audience across both demand and supply. More powerful results are possible today for those that know where to look.

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Don’t miss Andy Cocker at this year’s Future of TV Advertising Forum, Thursday, 25 February. He’ll be outlining ‘What connected TV means for Australia’s marketers and media owners’. Find out more at the Future of TV Sydney website.

Amobee is a global advertising technology company reinventing advertising for the converging world. We provide end-to-end campaign planning, management and optimisation across TV, digital and social media. Learn more at amobee.com