Publicis Execs Outline Retail Media Trends as Citrus Ad and Epsilon Offer Unified Platform

Retailers are looking for ways to monetize the boom in traffic they are seeing to their sites with the pandemic adoption of ecommerce. Currently, 80% of advertisers use at least one retail media network alongside Amazon, claims recent McKinsey research—and it's a whole new revenue stream retailers had not previously counted upon. According to research by Zenith, owned by Publicis Groupe, growth in retailer media advertising surged from 24% in 2019 to 53% in 2020—and 47% in 2021, totaling $77 billion. The agency claims that, by 2024, retailer media ad spend is expected to reach $143 billion. This growth in demand led to the acquisition nine months ago of Citrus Ad, which was integrated into data giant Epsilon. Through the transaction, Publicis Groupe aimed for a deeper connection within the retail media world to link customer ecommerce sites with advertising, backed by data-led consumer insights for brands. The combination of the two companies means clients will now have access to the technology under a single platform. Where before the service only afforded them the ability to launch on-site campaigns, there will now be additional tools and services available to brands and retail clients. These include companies such as Ocado, Macy’s, Argos, Lowe’s, Tesco and Kohl's. Thibault Hennion, international director of operations for Epsilon, describes the integration and design and addition of new features as “a collaborative effort between the retailers working with the business, a process that continues “progressively." Why the growth in demand “We’ve simplified and made the platform very modular,” added Adam Skinner, chief technology officer for Citrus Ad, with the aim of meeting the different needs of individual retailers and cater to brands in the process. This has meant the creation of an insights tool that allows users to track their campaigns. You can actually see the results that are coming back from it immediately, as opposed to an in-store activation campaign where it's very circumstantial.Adam Skinner, CTO for Citrus Ad Part of this growth in demand, explained Skinner, is due to retail media offering a “measurable and transparent” opportunity for advertisers that is also brand safe and fully under the control of the retailer. “You can actually see the results that are coming back from it immediately, as opposed to an in-store activation campaign where it's very circumstantial,” he continued. “That's why we're seeing a lot of brands siphon their spend out of other channels and into the digital retail media.” He continues that with “brick and mortar” retail returning following the pandemic restrictions, that retail media is now able to link both physical and online presences for retail brands. Hennion also cites the ability to tap into “enhanced customer understanding through the data provided by retailers through direct engagement with consumers," an ability that will grow in demand as the post-cookie world moves closer and brands must find new ways to understand and reach their target markets. Retailers 'aspire' to be content platforms The pair also admit retailers continue to harbor aspirations to be content platforms, which drives audiences to view their sites outside of simply the desire to shop—a trend they expect to continue and be supported through the insights provided by Citrus Ad and Epsilon combined. This feature allows brands to load content directly onto sites using the Citrus Ad platform, to be hosted on the desired retail website. “During the pandemic, retailers—particularly in the grocery sector—started changing their messaging around at home cooking and at home meals, so you were starting to see a lot of this towards recipes being placed on sites,” offers Skinner as one example of shared brand content which would inspire customers to buy ingredients through the partner ecommerce site, driving sales as a result. “Where we're going with brand pages in the future is to continue to build that functionality out, but it's more in line with branded sites,” he continued. In a statement around the launch of the extended product, Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, said the company was “pushing the boundaries of retail media platforms, empowering brands to connect with real people across the full customer journey—and make investment decisions that are informed by real-time measurement and validated by transactions.” He added: “The launch of our unified platform is a critical milestone in helping brands take back control of their customer relationships.” Sam’s Club Says Its Revamped Ad Business Isn’t Just Another Retail Media Network