{"id":8756,"date":"2024-09-19T18:24:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T18:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tup.kxe.temporary.site\/retail-media-networks-evolve-with-new-in-store-measurement-standards-and-omnichannel-strategies\/"},"modified":"2024-09-19T18:24:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T18:24:53","slug":"retail-media-networks-evolve-with-new-in-store-measurement-standards-and-omnichannel-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdesign.ca\/en\/retail-media-networks-evolve-with-new-in-store-measurement-standards-and-omnichannel-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail media networks evolve with new in-store measurement standards and omnichannel strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Left to right: David Cohen, CEO IAB, Kaisy O\u2019Reilly, SVP, CMO, Stuart Weitzman and Jacquelyn Baker, Global CEO Omnicom Commerce Group discuss RMNs at IAB\u2019s Connected Commerce Summit: Retail Reimagined in New York. Photo: Chris Wood.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Retail media networks<\/a> (RMNs) are getting new in-store definitions and standards to help reach customers where they are, and where they shop.<\/p>\n

At IAB\u2019s Connected Commerce Summit: Retail Reimagined in New York this week, brands, retailers and tech partners met to discuss the evolution of RMNs, an evolution that is clearly taking place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the integration of advanced analytics, AI and most importantly, the importance of personalized consumer experiences, brands are increasingly leveraging these strategies at every touchpoint from initial awareness to final purchase, making retail media indispensable,\u201d said Jeffrey Bustos, IAB\u2019s VP, measurement addressability data, in a keynote.<\/p>\n

IAB unveiled \u201cIn-store Retail Media Definitions and Measurement Standards,\u201d a new tool for RMN standardization, at the summit. Last year, IAB introduced RMN guidelines<\/a> in collaboration with the Media Rating Council. With a report earlier this year<\/a>, IAB placed further emphasis on the opportunity for RMNs to drive sales in-store.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper: <\/em><\/strong>How in-store technology will bolster retail media networks<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Why we care.<\/strong> The potential for reaching customers through RMNs is real, which is why there\u2019s so much interest in them. Without common standards, each network remains its own walled garden. This makes it challenging for advertisers and agencies to increase the scale and spend on multiple RMNs at one time. If they could, ad spend would likely increase much more.<\/p>\n

In-store and omnichannel. <\/strong>Consumer behavior is driving both the advertiser benefits of RMN campaigns and the renewed focus of RMNs on improving in-store experience. Agencies and brands are taking note of customers\u2019 continued interest in visiting brick-and-mortar stores and making purchases there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These in-store experiences, however, aren\u2019t just offline refuges \u2014 they\u2019re part of an omnichannel journey. They are connected, through mobile and other digital channels, with the customer journey, which begins long before the customer enters the store.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper: <\/em><\/strong>How brands are taking the AI plunge and testing customer experiences<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think post-pandemic, retail is incredibly omnichannel now,\u201d said Jacquelyn Baker, Global CEO Omnicom Commerce Group. \u201cIt was omnichannel before, but ultimately I\u2019m surprised, coming out of pandemic \u2014 I knew expectations would accelerate, but I was surprised how much in-store experience didn\u2019t diminish and came back. There\u2019s stickiness to the total experience in the world we\u2019re living in now. Consumers go from physical to digital and physical and back again. It\u2019s interesting that the pendulum didn\u2019t shift in one direction or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn one hand everything has changed \u2014 consumers changed how they shop, consume content, and the type of content they consume,\u201d said Kaisy O\u2019Reilly, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer for shoe designer Stuart Weitzman. \u201cSuddenly consumers spent a lot more time on their mobile phones (after the pandemic began). It\u2019s more difficult for a brand builder\u2026in a world of distractions and dopamine hits, especially for a luxury brand. Nothing has changed for the role of marketers. It remains important that we root ourselves in how people feel when they experience our brands.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this always-on omnichannel environment, It\u2019s easier for consumers to jump in and out of the purchase funnel, so it\u2019s important for brands to always be entertaining and helpful when they have a customer\u2019s attention, O\u2019Reilly explained.<\/p>\n

Better service for advertisers. <\/strong>Advertisers need to be given the tools to execute successful RMN campaigns. CVS Media Exchange adopted IAB guidelines as it continues to evolve its network and in-store experiences. This year, CVS partnered with The Trade Desk to make self-service campaigning available to advertisers. CVS is also adding video screens to many of its over 9,000 U.S. locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy introducing self-service, we\u2019re empowering advertisers with the tools they need and bringing democratization to retail media,\u201d said Melissa Gallo, head of operations for CVS Media Exchange.<\/p>\n

Gallo added that to meet advertiser demands, CVS is working on delivering closed loop measurement and other reportings and dashboards to advertisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to measure and report out on retailer data has been historically held pretty close to the chest,\u201d Gallo said. Customer health data at CVS comes with more regulations than, for instance, purchases at a grocery store, adding further restrictions to data collaborations.<\/p>\n

Better measurement out of RMNs and across multiple RMNs will encourage brands to advertise more, especially brands that are already ramping up RMN advertising.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like for the most part we\u2019ve really leaned into RMNs as a company,\u201d said Pankita Desai, senior director, shopper marketing for Chobani. \u201cWe started with testing, however for us there\u2019s a shift in the way we\u2019re approaching RMNs and our budget. We have a really high budget from shopper marketing and less with brand marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Better reporting, especially on incrementality and effectiveness of ads, would help brand marketing make a case for spending across the full RMN ecosystem, Desai said. That\u2019s why Chobani\u2019s shopper marketing team, with its emphasis on low-funnel advertising, is more active in RMNs for the time being.<\/p>\n

Risks to alienating consumers.<\/strong> Those advertisers delivering\u00a0 commerce ads to consumers might be overconfident in the effectiveness of ads, video especially. And there\u2019s a risk in alienating customers, a study by IAB and market research consultancy Alter Agents found.<\/p>\n

Nearly all (96%) of 300 marketers surveyed said they found commerce video ads effective at driving purchases. Meanwhile, 71% of the 1,000 consumers survey said they feel annoyed or negative toward commerce video ads on a monthly basis. And one-third said they get annoyed weekly by these ads.<\/p>\n

Marketers need better alignment with consumer expectations when using RMNs for advertising. First, if they haven\u2019t already, advertisers need to broaden the focus of RMN campaigns on the entire journey, not just on the low part of the funnel.<\/p>\n

The study recommended better alignment in these areas of strategy:<\/p>\n