Virtual Australia (VOZ) will become Australia’s television trading currency from December 29.
The audience measurement system, first announced in July of 2018, enables trading on national, all-screen Total TV audiences for the first time.
VOZ brings together OzTAM’s metro TV data, regional TAM’s regional TV data, and OzTAM’s BVOD viewing into one de-duplicated database, measuring all free-to-air and subscription TV networks.
Produced and delivered by Nielsen, VOZ will provide cross-platform reach and frequency numbers across broadcast TV and BVOD, revealing for the first time the incremental audience watching only on BVOD.
It also introduces a currency for BVOD viewing, including co-viewing on connected TVs.
It will measure all TV sets in homes, internet-connected or not, bringing together broadcast viewing of over 20,000 people every day from a representative panel of TV homes across Australia, plus over 16 million connected devices.
From an industry perspective, the introduction of VOZ enables networks, advertisers and marketers to plan, trade and post-analyse advertising campaigns by individual metropolitan and regional markets, and nationally.
The OzTAM Media Federation of Australia (MFA) Steering Committee media agency members include Omnicom Media Group's Kristiaan Kroon and Jo Barnes; IPG Mediabrands' Lucy Formosa-Morgan; Group M's Melissa Hey and Claire Butterworth; Dentsu's Melanie McDonald; and Publicis Groupe's Anthony Ellis.
TV network annual rate negotiations for calendar year 2025, which start from the fourth quarter of 2024, will be based on VOZ Total TV data for the first time.
OzTAM will now conduct an extensive industry education and training program to ensure a smooth transition to VOZ as trading currency.
OzTAM CEO Karen Halligan said this significant milestone would not have been possible without extensive industry collaboration and the common desire for positive change from the networks, Regional TAM, the MFA, Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), Nielsen and third-party software suppliers.
"We would like to sincerely thank everyone for their efforts to realise VOZ as trading currency," she said.
“It’s an extraordinary achievement that VOZ has been conceived, developed and built in Australia, delivering the clearest picture of viewing on all screen types ever. Australia is the only country in the world that has a product like VOZ, with fully integrated broadcast TV and granular BVOD measurement for both content and campaign performance.
"I would also like to congratulate the entire OzTAM team who have worked relentlessly and passionately on the development of VOZ.
Halligan said VOZ as official currency also sets a "great platform" for the launch of the VOZ Streaming solution for enhanced, multi-network programmatic BVOD trading next year.
"OzTAM not only continues to move the industry forward, but we also now have the world’s best Total TV audience measurement system," she said.
MFA CEO Sophie Madden said VOZ represents a quantum shift in total TV audience data capability and is a remarkable achievement.
"Overcoming the complexity and technical challenges to bring this to market has been no small feat, made possible through the substantial investment by broadcasters, third party software suppliers, and MFA members collaborating on an industry solution for all clients," she said.
"Industry education and training is the next crucial step to ensure a successful rollout and we will continue to partner with OzTAM until this goal is met.”
IMAA CEO Sam Buchanan said the IMAA welcomes the launch of VOZ as currency in the market and the advancements that VOZ will provide, including the growth in BVOD viewing.
"We would like to congratulate OzTAM on its collaborative industry approach in bringing VOZ to fruition," he said.
AANA CEO Josh Faulks said it is no surprise advertisers, in a tough economic climate, are looking for more accurate audience measurement to ensure marketing investment is delivering results.
"Congratulations to OzTAM on their herculean effort in bringing the industry together to achieve a step change in audience measurement for TV through VOZ," he said.
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