Data firm Milieu Insight and SpotX look to tackle OTT measurement issues

Singapore-based market research platform Milieu Insight has partnered with video advertising platform SpotX to launch a campaign uplift solution for over-the-top (OTT) advertisers. The new solution will measure the impact of OTT ad campaigns on brand metrics such as awareness, consideration and purchase intent for advertisers across Southeast Asia. According to SpotX, the partnership would enable it to provide "rich and actionable insight" into the impact of OTT advertising campaigns through Milieu's mobile panel-based data analytics platform. 

The campaign uplift measurement solution will leverage Millieu’s mobile app, as well as an innovative mobile-targeting approach to build control and exposed groups to OTT advertising campaigns. This enables greater precision when it comes to measuring uplift among consumers who were exposed to video ads on OTT platforms. 

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Nigel Kwan, VP of marketing, APAC at SpotX, said the offering will be targeted at advertisers who are focused on mobile activations. This comes as a "sizeable amount of ad spend" is shifting to mobile advertising, and cookie-based targeting and activation is becoming more challenging. Kwan added that he hopes the partnership will attract and justify increased advertising spend to OTT and premium video in the region. The solution is already live, and has ran a number of pilot campaigns in Thailand and Indonesia. 

This partnership comes as both companies look to tackle the measurement issues when it comes to advertising on OTT platforms. In previous conversations with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, digital players have raise the question of an accurate measurement metric when it comes to OTT advertising. Havas Group's chairman and CEO, India and Southeast Asia, Vishnu Mohan, said the core metrics of reach, recency and frequency still apply and should be used in benchmarking the medium against other platforms such as linear TV and online video. Meanwhile, Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific's chief investment officer Paul Shepherd said another layer of complexity that OTT is navigating in the measurement space is whether OTT should follow TV or digital. He added that while OTT's measurement framework is improving, it still has some way to go.

Gavin Buxton, SpotX Asia's managing director, also said that a key issue for advertisers investing in OTT is measurement and ensuring their brand dollars are being spent on video platforms that provide a verifiable lift in brand metrics. Hence, its partnership with Milieu Insights will enable advertisers to get a better understanding of a campaign’s success in the world of OTT advertising. "We think this will drive increased brand budgets to this market," he added.  

Stephen Tracy (pictured), Milieu Insights' COO, said the two companies have "enormous synergies", and are excited to bring this new offering in Asia where OTT usage and advertising is booming. "OTT is a rapidly growing sector that requires fresh and modern solutions to quantifying advertising impact," he added. The OTT video market is expected to surpass US$200 billion by 2024, with 90% of that value fueled by subscription and advertising revenue. 

In October last year, Milieu Insight raised US$2.4 million to expand its operations across Southeast Asian countries. To date, the start-up has built a community of more than one million survey takers across Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with expansion plans for more countries planned for 2021.

This is not SpotX's first attempt to deepen its footprint across SEA markets with partnerships. Earlier in June, music streaming platform JOOX collaborated with SpotX to work on its primary supply-side platform, which powers its video monetisation across all screens and streams in Southeast Asia, supporting the growth of its programmatic advertising business. JOOX is a digital streaming music platform with presence in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar, and is owned by Tencent.

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