When you imagine retail media's place in the marketing funnel, do you look down? If you do, you could be missing out on the benefits of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) across your entire sales funnel. As marketers, we're already sold on the benefits of KMR performance: massive consumer data sets, granular attribution and analytics, and a future beyond third-party cookies.
However, the economic uncertainty of recent years has led some of us to focus too much on sales conversion at the expense of brand building and loyalty. Dividing these goals into separate media channels with competing budgets leaves value on the table and hurts overall results. Fortunately, NMRs are able to increase brand awareness, build customer loyalty, and showcase our brands' creativity when closing a sale, as retail media fills the funnel of sale .
There are no media channels in the top or bottom funnel
It's true: any media channel can increase brand awareness, and any media channel can deliver product or sales messages. In a client case study, it was found that consumers who watched advertisements broadcast on TV were 2.5 times more likely to purchase a product through display or sponsored search ads than those who watched ads alone. display ads or sponsored searches. The highest purchase rates were observed when customers were exposed to all three RTM ad types, so the influence of the typical “upper funnel” ad type was evident in determining purchase rates .
Another example: Social media platforms are typically at the top of the sales funnel: they have a wide reach, but not everyone who uses them has a buying mindset. However, the development of social commerce completely destroys this idea.
TikTok is currently putting a spotlight on social commerce, having recently launched the TikTok Store and partnered with Google to sell search ad inventory. Other platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and even Reddit have developed their own merchandising capabilities so users can identify cultural trends and purchase them instantly.
As social media takes over commerce, commerce takes over social media: Amazon, for example, increased its ad spending on TikTok by 30% in the first half of this year. Amazon is leveraging the strength of TikTok trends (“TikTok made me buy it”), and TikTok is leveraging Amazon’s influence in the US market. This is a perfect example of the combination of awareness and purchase we see in retail media.
So what does this mean for the rest of us? In our business strategies, we can use tactics to attract, educate and reward our audience at all stages of purchasing. For example, when setting up your NMR search strategy, mix general search terms like "pet food" with more specific terms like "best raw dog food" to allow new consumers to discover the brand while you're at it. by communicating product messages and offers like “Stella”. "Sale and Chewy" for buyers who know it but haven't sold it yet. Change your approach to prevent your audience from becoming bored with ad fatigue. And continue to invest in cutting-edge conversion methods to drive growth.
How Marketers Can Use Their Own Data
Promote your brand on some NMRs, collect lots of interesting live data... Now what? This data will only be useful if it is properly analyzed and used to improve your future approach. Learn more about your customer base so you can create more personalized messages for each segment of your audience, which will in turn attract new consumers of the same type.
For example, if you already know that some of your customers buy your products at Target, you can offer a deal at Target using QR codes or discount codes to attract new Target shoppers to your audience. See how the funnel is back?
You should also use customer data to create more lookalike audiences so your ads reach more people who are likely to become new customers, and always run retargeting campaigns to those who have already seen you but haven't yet made a purchase. These are all average tactics based on retail media data.
Retail media offers opportunities for creativity
NMR is not just about numbers and graphs; They increasingly give marketers the tools to create different ad formats to influence different audiences. For example, Walmart Connect prioritizes making its creative partnerships with VidMob, Whyte Spider and other services available to users of its self-serve advertising platform to improve the performance of their campaigns.
Mobile ad technology provider Kargo worked exclusively with Albertsons Media Collective to create shopping ads for Meta, while rich media creative agency PadSquad worked with Amazon Ads to create interactive elements such as product cards , haptic ad interactions and responsive Amazon, to provide order scanning technology. DSP platform. Marketers who take advantage of these opportunities to diversify their advertising see significant improvements in average cost per action (CPA) and increased reach.
The funnel fades as retail media ages
The retail media landscape, still in its infancy, has some challenges to overcome: fragmented platforms with different metrics and a lack of standardization. Fortunately, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC) have jointly released a set of standards guidelines that will help media buyers better know what works and where to invest their advertising dollars. Better data analysis leads to more effective use of data, increased awareness among new consumers, and attracts those who are undecided.
Better standardization will also create deeper and more trusted relationships between brands and retailers. Clare White, vice president of business strategy and marketing science at Albertsons Media Group, described RMN as a “collaborative garden” (as opposed to a walled garden), meaning that collaborative efforts equal results. shared.
Advertising used to be a people-centered business, and while the digital technologies that influence it today certainly make operations more efficient, thanks to new areas like retail, we have the opportunity to reach people at all stages of purchasing in a way that actually benefits them. . .
Talia Arnold is CEO of Exverus Media , twice named the fastest growing full-service media agency in the United States. Arnold's 18 years of experience in media planning, buying and analysis have led to long-term relationships with Fortune 500 companies, many of whom prefer Exverus over large agencies. Arnold regularly publishes original research and speaks at industry conferences. Thanks to his leadership and creativity, Exverus has been named Adweek Media Planner of the Year 6 times and Ad Age Small Agency of the Year: Media twice.
