Katrina Good is Commerce Media Director, Europe, at The Mars Company, and has a decade of expertise in retail technique and media planning.
We caught up with Good to get an insider’s view on simply how a lot commerce media has modified within the final two years.
Good additionally provides us the lowdown on what advertisers ought to look out for when utilizing self-serve retail media platforms, how they need to strategy off-site media, and what rising complexity means for these on the buy-side.
Econsultancy: Are you able to give us a way of how totally different commerce media is right this moment, in comparison with this time two years in the past?
Katrina Good: Briefly, it’s very totally different. And in comparison with 5 years in the past, the panorama has modified utterly.
Two years in the past, retailers had been nonetheless actually coping with the aftermath of Covid and altering shopper habits. For instance, many retailers have pulled again on issues reminiscent of level of sale and branding in shops and focus went again to the fundamentals. Though it was in its infancy again then, search was actually key, and self-serve wasn’t broadly out there at that stage. The main focus was on digital and on-site banners, which had been fairly primary by way of capabilities at most retailers.
When you think about the place we are actually, and the way a lot commerce media has grown previously two years, search is a lot larger, advertisers are actually actually accustomed to self-serve, and right this moment it’s all about how a lot retailers can develop and improve their self-serve capabilities.
For those who walked right into a Tesco retailer, the digitised expertise may be very totally different to the way it was two years in the past. There’s now a deal with digitising the in-store expertise, too.
There’s additionally a giant promise about off-site media and activating greater up the funnel to drive consciousness utilizing retail media channels, with budgets that had been beforehand reserved and caught in a silo for that decrease funnel activation. Or, alternatively, there’s now a gray space within the higher funnel. There’s numerous thrilling issues taking place, and the panorama may be very totally different.
E: Self-serve platforms – what are the watchouts for manufacturers?
KS: It’s important that manufacturers are treating ecommerce as a part of that full linked commerce alternative. Don’t deal with it as a silo. Be sure it’s built-in as a part of the plans. It’s a giant pitfall that we see on a regular basis for manufacturers, and it’s virtually like a on condition that they’ve ecommerce operating. However they may not know what it’s that’s taking place and the influence it will possibly have when it’s laddered as much as a bigger marketing campaign.
First, rigorously contemplate all of your fundamentals. Actually phase your branded and non-branded key phrases into separate campaigns and conduct key phrase analysis. What works on your market? What works on your class? Be certain that you’re naming issues constantly. Keep on high of the final housekeeping.
Second, perceive the basics. The right way to optimise and modify bids and budgets based mostly in the marketplace or particular classes.
Third, be constant, and in doing so, steadiness depth and frequency. Take into consideration how usually you’re going to be on the platform and optimising campaigns. For those who’re optimising extra ceaselessly, this implies much less delicate adjustments all through a marketing campaign. For those who’re doing it much less ceaselessly, this implies you’ll should expand adjustments. It’s actually about being constant together with your strategy.
Fourth, comply with the information. It’s very clear what you are able to do on these self-serve platforms. By taking a look at issues like naming conventions and sustaining consistency, you’ll be capable to construct up actually sturdy knowledge evaluation and reporting that may let you know what it’s best to and shouldn’t be doing. This can assist inform your technique shifting forwards.
E: Off-site media – how does the artistic strategy and the eventual ROAS examine to decrease funnel adverts?
KS: I feel it’s essential for advertisers to nonetheless hold issues actually easy. With any piece of media that you simply’re operating, take into consideration what that decision to motion is, what would you like the shopper to do, and who’s it that you simply’re reaching. There are such a lot of questions that will help you information that, nevertheless it boils all the way down to retaining issues easy.
It’s all about the place you wish to drive clients, which is often to the retailer website to buy, or to your direct-to-consumer website. It is advisable take into consideration the place it’s that you simply’re sending them, and the way you talk that by way of your artistic messaging.
With decrease funnel, you don’t actually need to consider the place you’re sending them as a result of finally, you’re more likely to be on that retailer’s web site. Relying on the place you might be by way of that funnel, you’re most likely driving them throughout comparable classes. It’s nearly driving them to that PDP web page or getting them to add to basket.
When it comes to the ROAS, I don’t suppose we’ve seen sufficient printed off-site retail media to check it to decrease funnel simply but. Nevertheless the precision of concentrating on clients by way of off-site retail media means you might be reaching a a lot bigger viewers and can be capable to see attributed gross sales and hopefully new-to-brand clients. You can begin to achieve clients that weren’t within the conversion and consideration panorama of a retailer web site or app, which utterly adjustments the chance.
E: How are advertisers coping with rising complexity?
KS: They’re having to rethink their technique. They’re beginning to realise that they have to be way more agile, they usually have to be open to testing new alternatives.
Sometimes, many advertisers will be actually caught of their methods and do what they all the time have completed traditionally (very usually talking). However they’re now understanding simply how fast and nimble they have to be. They should rethink these methods and pivot their advertising.
They’re additionally having to upskill their groups, which is a giant problem for advertisers at the moment with the elevated complexities of commerce media. They’re both having to herald particular expertise to assist maximise retail media or utilizing companion businesses to handle that for them. That is in tandem with having to work actually laborious internally to strive to determine who manages what, who’s talking to which retailer, and who’s at the moment operating which marketing campaign throughout which touchpoint to keep away from duplication and wastage (a problem they didn’t actually have a couple of years in the past).
E: Commerce media is increasing, with extra in-store alternatives, new verticals (reminiscent of in banking apps), and plenty extra off-site partnerships.
Is there a hazard of a possible backlash (or maybe simply ennui) from shoppers?
KS: I wouldn’t essentially say there’s any actual hazard of a backlash, however shoppers have gotten more and more digitally savvy and smarter. They’re extra aware in regards to the knowledge that they’re sharing with manufacturers, retailers, and third events. And within the course of, are starting to grasp its worth and anticipating extra in return.
When you concentrate on loyalty programmes, it’s usually been stated that it’s essential to make sure that you’re offering this worth to the shopper. For instance, retailers are actually ceaselessly providing 10% off, minimal, to these clients who signal as much as their e-newsletter. Consequently, clients are being increasingly cautious about who they’re sharing their knowledge with as their understanding of its price grows.
We haven’t hit the ceiling but by way of retail media, and I’m unsure the place we’ll get to. So long as all commerce media alternatives are there to boost that buyer journey and make it extra personalised for them, then it shouldn’t create a backlash for shoppers. Finally, it ought to improve their promoting journey by way of what they see and create a greater buyer expertise for them.
E: What’s subsequent for retail media and the way scalable is it at a retailer stage?
KS: We discuss retail media so much, however we positively haven’t seen it mature to the place it must but. Not solely have we not seen it throughout Europe, however even within the UK, which is essentially the most mature European market, though there are pockets of nice capabilities and some retail media networks main the best way, it’s not constant throughout retailers and markets. There’s a strategy to go by way of the extent of capabilities that we have to attain to achieve the potential it has.
I feel we’re going to see an actual push this 12 months from retail media networks specializing in their offsite propositions and partnerships. Particularly after Amazon launched its Prime Video adverts in February, retailers already had partnerships with linked TV and broadcasters however these partnerships haven’t actually been leveraged to the diploma that they may very well be. I feel we’ll actually see them pushing that out to advertisers and businesses this 12 months with a way more linked strategy between retailers, retail media networks, advertisers and their businesses. This can finally assist them drive the size they should maximise the retail media alternative and faucet into advertiser budgets which have beforehand not been out there to them.
We’re additionally going to see extra verticals of retail media launching as companies search for new methods to drive their backside line, with Chase being a latest instance of this. It’s a rise in what you would possibly name ‘non-retail particular’ retail media networks as such. It’s arguably a revolution of first occasion knowledge that may create new alternatives exterior retailers per se, regardless of persevering with to sit down inside that retail/commerce media bucket.
