SAN JUAN, PR – Retail media networks’ rich seams of shopper data don’t just help retail operators – they can also help advertisers cut through today’s digital noise.
But now the technology exists to apply that approach to the biggest screen in the home, the connected TV set.
That is creating new opportunities for brands to get granular with big-screen advertising, according to Achal Lathia, senior product manager, Albertsons Media Collective, in this video interview with Beet.TV.
How retail media fuels CTV
“One of the key benefits of leveraging Albertsons Media Collective’s rich first-party data stems from the fact that we have a deeper level of understanding of our shopper data based upon their purchase behavior,” Lathia said.
Lathia said brands can use those insights to serve viewers with tailored, relevant ads. Albertsons’ own retail media ad targeting is enabled through a partnership with LiveRamp, using that company’s privacy-centric identity technology, Lathia added.
Retail media ad spending in the US is projected to surpass $62 billion in 2025, showing a year-over-year increase of more than $10 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.2% from 2024 through 2028, according to an Emarketer report, published in January. The report specifically notes that retail media search ad spending is expected to reach nearly $40 billion, while display ad spending is projected to approach $23 billion.
From awareness to conversion
CTV is a flexible medium that can be used for various marketing strategies. But it’s often described as a top-of-funnel channel for driving awareness among consumers.
“CTV backed with retail media networks first-party rich data sets can really help brands reach out to larger and wider audience groups on one of the biggest television screens, while making sure they are maintaining relevancy at the key moments and getting their key customer engagement,” Lathia said.
“You are able to reach this big ocean of people who may not have been very familiar with your product or your branding. This is the way that you are now able to … create more demand generation, which will really help fuel your overall awareness tactic.”
Mid-funnel tactics
But Lathia also described how CTV, when used with retail media’s rich targeting capabilities, can also be deployed for mid-funnel conversion tactics.
“Retargeting helps re-engage customers who have been loyal brand followers, but somewhere within, they haven’t converted yet,” he explained.
“By showing them relevant and more personalized messaging as well as promo ads, the goal is to make sure that you are trying to bring them down the funnel within the omni-channel campaign strategy to make sure that they are now leaning towards more brand recall.”
In June, Albertsons launched Collective TV, a platform designed to merge retail media and television advertising, leveraging the company’s first-party data. The initiative aims to provide advertisers with targeted, measurable campaigns across streaming, digital video, and linear TV.
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