Kroger launches private targeted marketing platform
The Kroger Co. is building upon the first-party targeted advertising services it offers CPG brand advertisers.
Kroger’s media advertising business, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), based on its 84.51° data analytics subsidiary, is launching a new private programmatic advertising marketplace. Known as the Kroger Private Marketplace, the service allows advertising agencies and CPG brands to target consumers by applying Kroger audience data to programmatic campaigns within their preferred ad-buying platform.
Advertisers that utilize the Kroger Private Marketplace, advertisers will have self-service access to targeting solutions and audience science to reach relevant households. They will also have access to retail performance metrics such as sales lift, new buyers, and household penetration; as well as quality controls, including verification and brand safety tagging.
The Kroger Private Marketplace also allows advertisers to optimize performance against actual retail sales. Advertisers tailor their audiences to match campaign objectives using proprietary targeting capabilities provided by Kroger Precision Marketing. The platform pre-optimizes audiences to achieve specific business outcomes, such as reaching relevant households that will deliver the strongest sales impact.
Kroger has been gradually building up its capability to offer advertisers targeted access to its customer base. In August 2020, KPM partnered with multi-platform media company Meredith Corp. to offer a new integrated media service. The service 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.
KPM also uses data analytics to deliver relevant advertising that benefits both brands and customers by leveraging first-party data, combined with customer profiles, to make localized advertising more effective through channels including its proprietary app, Pinterest, or Roku connected TV.
According to internal 2021 data from 84.51°, Kroger Private Marketplace activations have resulted in household penetration gains from new and lapsed households, with at least three times more sales than the average consumer.
“We built the Kroger Private Marketplace to be flexible for agencies – while protecting the privacy of our shoppers,” said Cara Pratt, senior VP, Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51°. “You design the audience, choose the measurement criteria, set the safety standards, and activate in your tech stack. We’re setting the bar for the future of programmatic media. We’re still in the early days of seeing e-commerce disrupt shopping habits. This is an important time for brands to leverage retail insights to influence new shopping behaviors. Kroger’s private marketplace reaches relevant households and empowers teams to optimize campaign performance against actual business outcomes.”
“Brands are looking for ways to tap first-party retail data and reduce ad waste,” said Helen Lin, chief digital officer, Publicis Groupe, the first advertising holding company to participate in the alpha tests for Kroger Private Marketplace. “The Kroger Private Marketplace uses retail sales data to unlock new optimization levers for programmatic buyers – while still giving them the flexibility to manage the campaign in our existing tech stack.”