Project OAR rolls out technologies and showcases Dynamic Ad Insertion at CES

Project OAR Rolls Out Technologies in Market as Media Companies Gear Up to Showcase Dynamic Ad Insertion at CES

NEW YORK CITY — Project OAR, the consortium working to recommend standard protocols for TV programmers and platforms to easily manage, sell and deliver more relevant advertising experiences within linear and on-demand formats on smart TVs, today announced a series of updates that put it on track to complete the first critical stages of its mission.

Ad Engine Integration: The consortium, which is comprised of America’s top television networks and operators, working with American smart TV company VIZIO, agreed on much of the technological specifications. The consortium also announced that it has begun implementing the technical integrations with TV’s major ad delivery and enablement engines FreeWheel, Google Ad Manager, Xandr and INVIDI.

Technology Deployments in Hardware: Founding member VIZIO has started pushing software and firmware updates to a footprint of over 13 million smart TVs across the U.S. that enable frame-accurate dynamic ad insertion. “We have effectively rolled out the hardest parts of dynamic advertising into the TV sets, and now members can work on building infrastructure for deploying, managing and selling dynamic ads,” says Zeev Neumeier, SVP of Technology at smart TV data company Inscape, who is leading the building and development of the standard in collaboration with engineers and executives from the consortium members.

Measurement Specifications: Likewise, the Project OAR measurement subgroup, composed of large agencies and TV programmers, has completed the technical specifications for measurement of dynamic inventory. “The trick is not how we measure addressable inventory but how the addition of new measurement specifications can help to unify dynamic inventory with traditional linear ad exposures,” says Helen Katz, SVP, Director of Global Insights and Analytics for Publicis Groupe.

“We are pleased that the progress we’ve made to advance the technical and measurement specifications; it speaks to the commitment everyone has to innovate experiences on behalf of brands and consumers,” says Laura Nelson, SVP, Advertising Solutions & Performance Advertising at Disney Advertising Sales.

“Transforming an industry requires a collective effort from all stakeholders, and we are excited to share progress on the consortium’s efforts over the past year. Our hope is that this lays the groundwork for a year where addressability across all platforms begins to standardize, unlocking new opportunities for advertisers and better viewing experiences for consumers,” says Dan Aversano, Senior Vice President of Ad Innovation and Programmatic Solutions, WarnerMedia Ad Sales.