Paramount and Omnicom testing Nielsen measurement alternatives in buy-side platforms

Paramount and Omnicom Media Group are partnering to test buy-side systems’ ability to implement Nielsen alternative currencies into legacy workflows, the companies announced today. 

While advertisers have previously been able to strike deals for ad inventory on non-Nielsen currencies, agencies’ ability to integrate the likes of VideoAmp, iSpot.tv and Comscore into software such as Mediaocean, where agencies bill and report results to marketers, has been limited. As more systems are vetted for handling multiple currencies, advertisers will have an easier time using these new entrants as currency alongside Nielsen and at the same scale.

To that end, Paramount and OMG are testing a campaign guaranteed solely on VideoAmp data in Mediaocean.

“For the first time, we’re able to port our plan directly to the Mediaocean system so that our clients can see it there,” said Travis Scoles, senior VP of advanced advertising at Paramount. “Now, the end-to-end workflow for new currencies is the same workflow that we’ve always used—the standard buying and selling workflow with the standard systems involved.”

The campaign will run through this quarter and is guaranteed on advanced audiences, a significant differentiator from buys made by broad demographics because Scoles said it tests capabilities for the most complex big data build. Scoles also said that the test will open the door for similar integrations with datasets from other measurement providers, including Nielsen’s upcoming measurement solution, and for agencies to make deals with other media publishers.

“Validating the key operational pieces within Mediaocean to be transaction ready on new currencies, including custom audiences at scale, was key,” said Geoffrey Calabrese, chief investment officer at OMG North America, in a statement. “The Paramount team worked diligently on behalf of the entire industry to test and enable an end-to-end workflow with Mediaocean, and it has proven successful. Leveraging this outstanding work across partners and ingesting it into the unique workflows we have with them is the next step in this journey, and we’re eager to lean in on it.”

A successful test means that advertisers and sellers will be able to trade on advanced audiences using big data in the same way they’re used to doing business, rather than manually sharing plans and metrics, said Scoles. Ironing out the operational aspects of using new currencies “allows us to reshape the conversation to not include any of the how,” he said. “We can focus our conversations then on the benefits and new measurement’s capabilities and the results this is driving for advertisers.”

The process for designing systems to be more flexible with the data they use is coming to a close, Scoles said. Moving forward, innovation will be able to occur faster and perhaps open the door for additional players to join the ever-growing measurement mix.