VOZ and VOZ Streaming: The Future of TV and Streaming Measurement
'We changed the way we engage with the marketplace': OzTAM CEO on getting the industry on board with VOZ Streaming
"We knew there was resistance to the change of VOZ because systems weren’t ready and people weren’t confident. There were a number of different obstacles,” Karen Halligan, CEO of OzTAM, told Nine CMO Liana Dubois on the Talking Media podcast.
Getting everyone on board
OzTAM announced that VOZ will become Australia’s trading currency on December 29, 2024, following its introduction in January. TV network annual rate negotiations for CY25, which start in Q4 this year, will be based on VOZ Total TV data.
Halligan explained that the OzTAM team spoke to the agencies resisting the change and listened to their concerns, particularly about the new system’s readiness.
“We asked them what they would need for this to be a success and how could we get them on board. I think my consultancy days helped. It was a bit of good old basic change management,” she added, referring to her time at KPMG.
Halligan noted that the feedback has been great and applauded the efforts made by the MFA, its member agencies and leaders – Sophie Madden and Linda Wong, for their support through training and change management workshops.
“I was thrilled earlier this year when we had the photo shoot with the MFA, the IMAA and quotes from Josh Faulks from the AANA and our partners that influence the success of this supporting the change.”
Actions speak louder than words
Halligan said contracts for VOZ Streaming were sent out to people and agencies looking to get involved in the first trial before Christmas.
“We had one contract back in less than 48 hours remote from one of the Holdcos in their enthusiasm to get involved in VOZ Streaming.
“They say actions speak louder than words. We’ve got another signed this morning from another Holdco, so that suggests what we’ve been doing is working and the interest is definitely there.”
The future of measurement
As a self-professed television enthusiast, Dubois asked if it was a watershed moment in moving past legacy measurement structures with television into the future.
“I really agree with that,” Halligan said. “Even if I just crystallise the fact that we’ve been working with an open market third-party software supplier where all of our data goes into multiple partners and agencies get to choose how they use our data and how they evaluate for better decisions.
“It means that we can now run reach frequency across linear and BVOD together. Before we could do that, but we had to upload files manually.”
Halligan noted that OzTAM is in one of the few countries that have collaborated with multiple partners in the distribution of this data, unlike the USA which defaults to Nielsen and the UK with Kantar.
“Here in Australia, we’ve got a different approach. That means agencies can pick the best way to receive the data and the information in real-time with partners that suit their needs, and they can make better buying decisions quickly.”
Advice to marketers
Dubois asked Halligan what her advice was to marketers or people in media looking to diversify their skill set and embrace the change.
Halligan directed them to the education assets and training modules on the VOZ website for self-education.
“Our role as OzTAM is to serve the industry. So if people have any questions, if you want presentations, we have been trying to cover as much ground as possible, road-showing out to the market and talking to as many people as we can.”
The discussion also saw Dubois and Halligan talk about the impact and application of having greater granular data on the creative process and where AI is in the VOZ and VOZ Streaming discussion.
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