ISBA has today announced the official launch of phase 3 of Origin. This is a significant step to help the UK’s advertising industry understand and plan media campaigns in a digital-first age, by moving the UK cross media measurement project from concept to build stage.
To date, the focus for Origin has been to design and test the idea of the platform which included the creation of a prototype, the completion of a proof of concept and tests that it could successfully measure advertising campaigns across TV and digital media outlets. The objectives of phase 3 are to develop and test a minimum viable product of the Origin service and finalise strategic arrangements among the project members.
Origin has secured £11m of funding for the next phase of the project, ‘phase 3’, from over 40 different organisations. This includes contributions from more than 25 brand advertisers, six media agency groups, responsible for over 80% of the UK’s annual media billings, eight media owners and platforms. This stakeholder base will increase across the year as selected new partners are onboarded into the programme.
The two-year programme to build the platform will start this year. ISBA has selected Accenture to manage this phase and build the cloud-based technology infrastructure for Origin. The new platform will be integrated with the media ecosystem, including industry data agencies and digital advertising platforms, each with their specific systems and methods. Origin will establish data interfaces with each of these partners, so that advertisers and agencies can measure advertising across online and broadcast media in a standardised, data-driven way to drive relevance and growth for their brands.
Kantar, awarded the contract to build the panel, is making significant progress including the necessary panel exchanges with global data providers. In addition, Kantar have been appointed to design the Virtual ID model which will be a key component for assigning demographics and reach to online impressions.
ISBA will be focusing on the onboarding of selected media owners and advertisers ahead of phase 4 and on the expansion of the stakeholder base. This will include continued conversations with the broadcaster community and reflects Origin's commitment to inclusivity and openness.
The project would then enter phase 4 in 2023 for final testing followed by go live in 2024.
Peter Duffy, CEO, Moneysupermarket Group plc and ISBA President commented “Advertisers have been calling for true cross media measurement for a long time. The launch of phase 3 of the Origin roadmap is a significant step in seeing this essential capability becoming a reality. ISBA members are fully behind this next stage and look forward to working with the rest of the industry on this vital project.”
Phil Smith, Director General, ISBA commented “We're delighted to see Origin's ambition to be a global prototype for accountable cross media measurement come closer to realisation. This is a top priority for advertisers globally and Origin continues to be led by the WFA's Framework and North Star, with a solution that brings together common, global components and local market requirements.”
Dan Farrell, managing director, Accenture Industry X, commented, “Using Origin, the UK advertising industry will be able to measure the engagement of their viewers, readers and users across media for the first time in the digital age. We are thrilled to bring this new platform to life together with ISBA.”
Manish Bhatia, Chief Product Officer at Kantar’s Media Division commented “Kantar is pleased to be supporting ISBA to deliver the next phase of Project Origin. As we build the panel and data exchanges, our expanded remit to deliver the Virtual ID model will ensure an end-to-end solution to meet ISBA’s requirements. We’re excited about the progress being made to enable cross-media campaign measurement for advertisers and the benefits the new service will deliver.”