IAB and Ipsos confirm Iris measurement platform launch date
Digital audience measurement platform Ipsos Iris will be launched in early March after a 12 month delay, finally securing official endorsement by Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia’s board and measurement council.
Ipsos Iris is set to provide “accurate data” about the number of people who visit the content of digital publishers and platforms, along with the frequency of visits and time spent by tracking digital audience behaviour across desktop/laptop, smartphone, and tablets, according to a release from the IAB. It uses a hybrid methodology that combines metered data from a high quality, nationally representative, single-source passive panel with site-centric census measurement via media owner tagging.
Ipsos was appointed by IAB in late 2021, replacing Nielsen after ten years of it providing measurement services. It was initially scheduled to begin in Q2 2022.
The appointment of Ipsos as the preferred supplier was the culmination of a review which formed the basis for the standards and specifications of a tender in May 2021. A total of 16 organisations responded to the tender which IAB Australia then whittled down to 4 for closer review and “rigorous testing”.
IAB CEO, Gai Le Roy, said: “Ipsos iris will provide the market with a level playing field in terms of comparison of audience size and characteristics, offering greater confidence to advertisers for media planning decisions and where to invest their budgets. It will also provide a pathway to cross-platform and cross-media measurement solutions for the industry into the future.”
Ipsos Iris is “fully privacy compliant” and “cross-media ready“, although it will continue to evolve with a roadmap of enhancements during 2023 and beyond.
It said to be adaptable to changing requirements as the industry develops in future years. The first step will be CTV audience currency integration from a data partnership with OzTAM to provide total (unduplicated) digital audience currency data for CTV, smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Ipsos Iris has been the digital audience currency in the UK since January 2021, and recently had its contract extended until 2027.
Ipsos ANZ CEO, Simon Wake, said: “Built from the ground-up in collaboration with the IAB, Ipsos Iris is a robust, transparent, and inclusive standardised currency, which leads the world in independent audience measurement. Ipsos Iris will provide a level playing field for comparison of audience reach and characteristics and is an independent source of truth for the media industry.
“Ipsos iris in Australia draws upon the innovations of the UK model, that is fully privacy compliant and that will continue to evolve with enhancements. Ipsos will continue to work with the IAB to develop new metrics to provide additional ways for media owners to demonstrate the unique attributes of their properties and help commercialisation of their content.”
Craig Johnson, head of insights, audience intelligence at Seven, added: “A wide range of media organisations and their measurement experts have worked with Ipsos to design and refine a digital audience measurement currency that will provide the Australian industry with trusted, comparable, and inclusive market data. At Seven West Media we are looking forward to the launch of Ipsos Iris in March and excited about the upcoming integration of the OzTAM connected TV data, giving the most comprehensive view of the digital video market to date. “
Matt Rowley, CEO of Pedestrian Group and IAB Australia board director commented: “It is vital for the industry to have an independent measure of digital audiences and behaviour that provides agencies and marketers confidence in how they plan their media investments. The IAB executive, board and members have worked closely with Ipsos to develop a media currency that serves this purpose. I am looking forward to having industry endorsed digital ratings data back in market from March 2023.”
The IAB Measurement Council comprises 14 media owners, agency, and MFA representatives.
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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