Retail Media is for all Advertisers, Not Just Endemic Brands

By Robert Webster, VP of Innovation & Strategy at CvE, a Goodway Group Company 

Retail Media Networks (RNMs) continue to be top of mind for the industry, both at the forefront of retailers' commercial plans, and indeed, brand marketing and data ambitions. Yet many non-endemic brands are missing out on opportunities because they do not sell their products through retailers' sites. To labor the point slightly, CPGs (FMCGs in the UK) are booking extensively with RMNs, but other large advertisers such as insurance companies, banks, travel firms and more are not – yet they should, in most cases.

Clearly, not all RMN options suit all advertisers. Sponsored online search ads have to be relevant to the search term which will count out a lot of advertisers. Yet other opportunities, from onsite media placements to offsite opportunities, suit a much wider range of advertisers.

The reason being is primarily the impressive audience asset that retail media networks offer. By understanding what their customers are purchasing, brands can gain deeper insights into demographics and audience intent. For example, insurance is an obvious area for consideration, as those who are buying pet food may need to buy pet insurance, and those buying sunscreen or a swimsuit may want travel insurance for an upcoming vacation. The limit to how the data can apply to many advertisers is only limited to planning talent and data modeling.

Data modeling in retail media is growing rapidly. While Amazon is the market leader for large advertisers, the simple principle of being an advertiser can compare their CRM audience with the available audiences of the retailer. A hotel company could, for example, compare their customers’ buying habits and use that as a source of a lookalike audience. Clean rooms are an important but still underused part of RMNs that facilitate that opportunity.

Additionally, RMNs are uniquely suited to a world without cookies. When done well, this means closed-loop measurement for endemic brands but also using clean rooms for non-endemic brands. It is easy to see how this works for brands that sell through the retailer as the closed-loop data is available to the retailer to analyze on behalf of the brand. For non-endemic brands, the gap again can be filled by clean rooms, with this use case being a significant part of the category’s growth.

For progressive advertisers who seek powerful data options and hope to unlock efficiency and growth, it’s time to look at retail media networks.