Oath officially positions media and tech brands in A/NZ market

Verizon media and ad tech subsidiary, Oath, has officially launched in Australia and New Zealand, a move the parent company says reflects the potential it sees in the local market.

The Oath A/NZ business is being led by managing director, Paul Sigaloff, and encompasses media brands such as Yahoo News, HuffPost, AOL, Yahoo Finance, TechCrunch, Yahoo Sports, Engadget, Makers and Yahoo Lifestyle, along with Internet platforms such as Tumblr and Yahoo Mail. It’s also the umbrella business for ad technology offerings including Oath Ad Platforms and Flurry.

The Oath umbrella brand was launched overseas a little over a year ago to mark the unification of the Verizon and AOL media and digital businesses, and followed Verizon’s acquisition of AOL in 2015 for US$4.4 billion.

Its official local launch comes following Oath’s acquisition of the Seven West Media business in March, which saw it take full control of the Yahoo7 joint venture. This also saw a number of executives leave the business, including CEO, Ed Harrison.

Sigaloff was previously the chief revenue officer for Yahoo7 and took over the Oath MD reins in April. He formerly held sales and commercial roles with Fairfax.

In a statement, Sigaloff said the A/NZ group is focused on creating “relevant and trustworthy content experiences” across the full suite of Oath brands. Oath has 160 staff locally and a spokesperson confirmed it's looking at investments across the board.

“Oath is more than a media brand, we are differentiated through our unique combination of culture and code,” he said. “We understand the changes in consumer behaviour and are investing in local content and consumer experiences that are reflective of modern-day consumption. This, in turn, will deliver premium experiences to Australian and New Zealand consumers.

“In addition, combining the reach of this content with the power of our technology and data stack creates a compelling proposition to advertisers in a climate of transparency and accountability.”

Sigaloff claimed market sentiment so far was positive. “The team and I are excited to be bringing this new proposition to life,” he added.

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