Most big supermarket chains have been expanding their retail media offer of late as they vie to boost this growing revenue channel.
The grocer’s vast audience, the frequency of visits and the level data collected on customers make it an advertiser’s dream.
Nick Ashley, the managing director of Tesco Media and Insight Platform at Dunnhumby, says: “Retail media gives brands the opportunity to focus at scale on the customers that matter most to them and to target highly specific audiences.
“With advanced measurement at its heart, advertisers can be more sophisticated in their spending while seeing the true impact of their activity.”
Grocery Gazette rounds up what the UK supermarkets are doing in retail media.
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Tesco
Tesco worked with long-term partner Dunhumby to launch a media and insights platform in 2021, opening up the wealth of customer data it collects through its Clubcard loyalty scheme to brands and agencies.
The combination of over 20 million active Tesco Clubcard users and Dunnhumby’s analytical expertise is said to create a ‘powerful’ digital capability, and drives a more interactive, two-way relationships with consumers.
The retailer last year launched new onsite and in-store media channels.
On the website it added new sponsored placements on Tesco.com and updated app inventory, revitalised special offers pages and improved brand zones, giving CPG brands more options to educate customers, stand out earlier in the customer journey and reduce friction.
In store, it has launched media ads on its Scan As You Shop devices, which it claims is an industry first, and has been growing its screen network in stores.
Since launch, over 450 of the UK’s leading brands have worked with Tesco Media & Insight Platform. The retailer said advertisers are seeing an return on ad spend of £6.60 with Tesco Media, compared to £3.80 on other channels.
It has also partnered with a range of media owners including ITVX, Pinterest and The Trade Desk to allow brands to reach Tesco customers via new channels.
Tesco also works with tech specialists InfoSum and LiveRamp to ensure that all data is safe, secure, and used to offer a more relevant shopping experience.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s revealed this month that it is expanding its in-store network of screens to advertise to customers in physical stores.
The initiative, in partnership with Nectar 360 and Clear Channel, is placing its own channel ‘Sainsbury’s Live’ in front of customers, where the supermarket can tailor campaigns on display with location, weather, events and competitions.
The retailer said the expansion would mean its screen network surpasses that of Tesco.
The external network will include 420 screens, while up to 400 75″ screens will be launching internally across stores nationwide.
Outside of stores, Sainsbury’s has widened the reach of its advertising proposition.
Nectar360 has signed a deal with Channel 4’s commercial arm 4Sales that enables Nectar’s advertisers to better target and measure addressable campaigns running on Channel 4’s VOD service All 4.
Lidl
Lidl’s owner Schwarz Group entered into a partnership with advertising technology firm The Trade Desk in July to help boost its retail media business.
The partnership with the German discounter looks to reach consumers and measure the success of advertiser’s campaigns through Lidl’s website.
According to The Trade Desk, advertisers and brands will be able to measure the influence of digital ads on direct sales and therefore optimise campaigns in close to real time.
Morrisons
Morrisons launched an internal advertising agency last September, the Morrisons Media Group, with the aim of helping supplier brands deliver bespoke campaigns to the grocer’s extensive customer base.
Morrisons has been accused of using ‘excessive force’ at one of its abattoirs, after undercover filming allegedly revealed workers routinely abusing pigs.
The new agency will aim to give brands access to new customer cohorts via a range of owned channels, including in-store and online media, alongside third party media campaigns.
Delivered in partnership withmarketing specialist SMG, the service offers brands the chance to create targeted, personalised campaigns, with access to of Morrison’s extensive commercial network, which includes Amazon and rapid delivery partners such as Gopuff.
The Co-op
Earlier this month, The Co-op teamed up with data platform LiveRamp to boost its online brand advertising to shoppers and boost its retail media business.
Brands using Co-op retail media are now able to “reduce their media waste” by using the budget for targeted adverts on shoppers that are more likely to engage with them.
LiveRamp already has several clients in the grocery space – including Walmart, Carrefour, Danone, Kimberly-Clark and Boots.
The Co-op also said last year it had delivered close to 2,000 campaigns and worked with 450 brands.
Ocado
Ocado Retail also partnered with The Trade Desk in March to enable advertisers to connect their ad campaigns and customer sales across the open internet, as well as channels such as connected TV and digital out-of-home.
Ocado is the first grocer in the UK to give direct access to consented shopper data and insights, allowing marketers to optimise their audiences and attribute campaigns through The Trade Desk.
