Albertsons offers CPG advertisers verified customer data
Albertsons Companies Inc. continues extending the reach of its retail media network.
The grocery giant’s Albertsons Media Collective retail media network is now collaborating with global advertising technology platform The Trade Desk. The two companies intend to bring verified-buyer audience and measurement solutions to The Trade Desk platform, helping advertisers better understand the connection between ad campaigns and customer sales.
Albertsons will be the first grocer in the U.S. to enable audience and measurement solutions across the open internet through The Trade Desk. With more than 2,275 stores across the U.S., Albertsons Media Collective will provide advertisers such as PepsiCo, Unilever, and GroupM (with media agency Mindshare) with insights and metrics across audience data to help them optimize their campaigns.
This new partnership is designed to make it easier for brands to reach a targeted audience across the open internet and other digital channels, such as connected TV. Via the partnership, participating CPG brands will be able to deploy new tools such as Unified ID 2.0.
Initially launched in November 2021 and developed in partnership with CitrusAd and Merkle, Albertsons Media Collective delivers digitally native, shopper-centric, branded content to the grocer’s shoppers. Media opportunities on the platform include advertising placements on Albertsons-owned properties such as its homepage, department, category, sub-category, email, search, app, and pharmacy, as well as on Albertsons’ off-site targeted ad placements.
Earlier this month, Albertsons Media Collective began collaborating with marketplace advertising platform Pacvue. CPG advertisers and their agencies can now leverage Pacvue to create, execute and manage sponsored product advertising campaigns on the Albertsons network, supported by the CitrusAd open API which connects Pacvue to various Albertsons banners’ e-commerce sites.
Grocery retailers open customers to targeted ads
Albertsons is one of several major grocery players that is directly partnering with CPG advertisers to deliver targeted ads to consumers as they make purchase decisions. Kroger’s media advertising business, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), collaborates with multi-platform media company Meredith Corp. to offer an integrated media service that provides brand advertisers with closed-loop sales data from Kroger to leverage in campaigns across Meredith’s portfolio of food and lifestyle properties, including Allrecipes, Real Simple, EatingWell, People, Better Homes & Gardens, and Southern Living.
And Walmart recently rolled out a demand-side platform for suppliers and their media and ad agencies in time for the 2021 holiday season. Initially announced during the introduction of the Walmart Connect media platform in January 2021, the Walmart demand-side platform (DSP) is a collaborative effort with independent demand-side platform The Trade Desk.
Meanwhile, Target launched its Roundel ad network in 2019 as a tool for CPG brands to create personalized digital ad campaigns aimed at Target customers. Roundel helps advertisers connect directly with Target's customers through personalized, relevant marketing messages across Target's owned platforms and hundreds of select off-platform channels.
“Albertsons Media Collective and The Trade Desk are redefining what it means for advertisers to reach the right audience and measure their marketing campaigns,” said Kristi Argyilan, senior VP of retail media, Albertsons. “Our shared philosophy on solving the issues on identity, transparency and inefficiencies that currently exist within the advertising ecosystem will create opportunities for brands to embrace the power of the open internet that drives precision and relevance.”
“Retail media represents an incredible opportunity for brands that want to connect their marketing spend to sales,” said Jed Dederick, chief client officer, The Trade Desk. “As consumer habits continue to change and the identity landscape evolves, our clients are looking for future-proofed, data-driven ways to run impactful campaigns. Partnering with Albertsons Media Collective gives us the ability to provide advertisers what they want, which is targeting that reaches the right consumer and closed-loop measurement to inform media decisioning and optimizations across the whole open internet.”
As the retail media arm for Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Companies, Albertsons Media Collective can reach consumers in more than 2,278 locations across 35 states. Albertsons operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with 24 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market.