Origin Ventures

Origin Adds Demographic Filtering and Incremental Reach Reporting

Origin, the cross-media measurement initiative led by ISBA, announced two new features during its beta trial: demographic filtering and incremental reach reporting. Demographic filtering enables advertisers to measure campaign reach and frequency for specific demographic groups defined by sex and/or age. Incremental reach reporting lets buyers select an anchor channel and view the incremental reach delivered by other channels within a campaign. Both features are immediately available to the 32 brands and 14 agencies participating in the beta. Origin has been in development since 2019 as the UK’s implementation of the World Federation of Advertisers' cross-media measurement principles. The beta trials have already put live campaign data, measuring deduplicated reach and frequency across YouTube, Meta, and linear TV, with a full market rollout anticipated after the second quarter. Lloyds Banking Group’s Sam Hunt described the features as increasing audience granularity and enabling deeper interrogation of campaign components.

Origin Cross-Media Measurement Enters Build Phase

ISBA announced that Origin, its cross-media measurement project, has moved into a two-year built phase with plans for final testing by late 2023 and a live launch in 2024. The initiative aims to deliver deduplicated total reach and frequency across TV and digital screens, with future capabilities such as frequency optimization and outcome measurement to follow after launch. Origin has secured £11 million in funding supporting over 40 organisations, including 40 brand advertisers, six media agency groups, and eight media owners/platforms. Accenture will manage the build phase and cloud infrastructure, while Kantar will build the panel and design the Virtual ID model. Origin intends to create data interfaces with media partners to enhance accessibility. The program aligns with the WFA framework, and phase three will involve onboarding broadcasters. Questions remain about long-term funding, including an ISBA ad levy consultation launched earlier this year. The project aspires to be a global prototype for accountable cross-media measurement.

Origin On Fighting CTV’s Chronic Frequency Problem (And The ‘Dinosaurs Of Madison Avenue’)

Origin is building technology to address a chronic problem in connected TV: viewers losing attention during ad breaks. The company inserts short, native animated primer videos (about 15 seconds) before ads within CTV ad pods to steer attention back to the screen. Origin describes its product as half animation studio, half technology, producing the primer content and the injection mechanism, and it offers Origin Slate to fill unsold inventory with branded native content rather than traditional promos or 'we'll be right back' placeholders. Advertiser clients include Toyota, Pacifico Beer, Macy’s, Old Navy, Athleta and PetCo. The founders, Fred Godfrey (CEO and co-founder) and Stephen Strong, launched Origin after working on Newsy, the Scripps-owned news network that streams on Pluto TV, Xumo and The Roku Channel. The interview covers broad CTV trends—data, measurement, targeting—and the ongoing debate over ad experience, frequency, and the broader shift in how TV is bought and consumed.