As consumers shifted their shopping habits to accommodate peak stay-at-home pandemic lifestyles, retailers saw an opportunity to leverage their data and audiences to build a new revenue stream. This is the premise behind retail media networks (RMNs).
Measurement
Retail media networks allow retailers to monetize their customer data by offering targeted advertising opportunities for brands. This provides a new revenue stream for retailers and helps them differentiate themselves in the crowded e-commerce landscape. In addition to generating advertising revenue, RMNs provide valuable insights and reporting for brand partners. This information allows them to understand their customers better and tailor advertising campaigns based on real-world shopping behavior and purchase history. Additionally, RMNs provide a more accurate and reliable data source than third-party cookies. As a result, brands that partner with RMNs can connect with in-market shoppers at every stage of the conversion journey, and they can do so without sacrificing privacy.
Additionally, they can take advantage of closed-loop measurement, which enables them to track the performance of their ads on a retailer’s site or app. A retail media network solution will offer brands a variety of ad formats and channels. They should also provide the ability to scale and support off-site programmatic advertising to drive more traffic and conversions. In fact, according to a recent survey from Inmar, more than half of marketers want to see RMNs add digital in-store and other out-of-home (DOOH) advertising options to their offerings. These off-site ad formats offer the potential to create contextual storytelling and leave a lasting impression on consumers.
Targeted Ads
You can get your product or service from interested people using targeted ads. The internet knows much about its users, including their age, social status, spending habits, browsing history, and long-term interests. Targeted advertising can take many forms, but four of the most popular are contextual, behavioral, geotargeting, and retargeting. Contextual targeting focuses on keywords in your content and places ads alongside that content. Behavioral targeting uses user data to connect potential customers with relevant products and services, such as offering fitness supplements to people searching for that topic online. Geotargeting is a common way to place ads in specific geographic areas, which can be helpful for local stores and service businesses with fixed working hours. Retargeting uses user data to bring ads to consumers who have visited a business’s website, which can help build brand awareness and drive conversions. Adding targeted advertising to your marketing strategy is simple. You only need a demand-side platform (DSP) that lets you create an audience and choose your preferred targeting options. You can then use this to build and launch campaigns and measure performance across various channels.
Contextual Ads
While retargeting based on past behaviors is effective, contextual advertising takes it a step further. It is a proven model that protects privacy, serves relevant experiences, and can drive traffic to your website. This is an excellent method for businesses that may need access to valuable first-party data or want to increase the relevancy of their ads without collecting new data. Contextual targeting uses keywords and topics to determine a visitor’s interests and then match those to the content they view. This ensures that an interested audience sees your product. For example, someone visiting a technology publisher will likely see an ad for tech products like touchscreen cameras, innovative home alarm systems, and high-end computers. If they visit Epicurious, they will be served an ad for kitchen gadgets and cooking advice. Contextual advertising is also a valuable tool for promoting new and exciting features that are not available on current versions of your software. This can be an effective way to bring in new customers and keep your existing base engaged. The right ad can create an immediate desire to learn more and take action. This is one of the reasons why contextual retargeting performs better than other types of targeted ads, according to Wishpond. A recent study found that CTRs for contextual retargeting are up to 10x higher than those of a standard display ad.
Attribution
With on-site programmatic ad buying diminishing and consumers moving to more off-site platforms, retail media networks have become one of the most promising ways to drive new traffic and monetize existing site visitors. But retail media networks require a lot of data collection and targeting, which can raise privacy concerns for some consumers. To address this, retailers and brands must be transparent with consumers about how their data is used and ensure they comply with applicable privacy regulations. For retailers, a retail media network (RMN) is an advertising technology platform that sells ad inventory across the retailer’s website and e-commerce platforms to brand partners. Unlike traditional media properties, RMNs have access to a treasure trove of first-party purchase data that translates into powerful, addressable marketing opportunities for CPG and CRO brands looking to reach shoppers in the most relevant way possible. Connecting shopper behavioral data to sales makes ad campaigns more effective at driving attribution. Additionally, by using trusted influencer content linked to real-world product placements, it’s possible to increase the relevancy of ad creative, driving greater conversions and re-engagement.
