How does retail media enhance product launches and seasonal promotions?

Imagine being able to reach your customers at every touchpoint, whether they're browsing online, walking through a store, watching videos or engaging with your brand on social media—this is the power of retail media.     Retail media enhances key marketing campaigns such as product launches and seasonal promotions by delivering timely and relevant across multiple channels, including ecommerce sites, display, audio, video and social media. This integrated approach not only boosts visibility but drives sales, increasing the overall impact of marketing campaigns. 

Following the transformative waves of search and social media that reshaped marketing, advertising’s latest frontier is retail media. Worldwide retail media spend is projected to reach $166 billion in 2025, an 18.5% increase from the previous year, according to eMarketer. 

This explosive growth is changing how brands connect with shoppers along their path to purchase, making it more timely and relevant. Here’s how: 

1. Relevancy: Retail media enables brands to engage shoppers who are most likely to be interested in their new product, based on purchase history, browsing behavior and other insights.   

2. Prominent placement: New products can be featured in premium placements, such as search results, banners and category pages, ensuring high visibility.   

3. High intent audience: On-site ads are shown on the retailer's website or app, reaching customers who are already shopping and ready to buy.   

4. Broader reach: Off-site advertising drives awareness and consideration by reaching potential customers outside the retailer's website or app, expanding the brand's reach and engaging a broader audience.   

5. Cross-category reach: Retailers can help brands connect with customers across categories, encouraging complementary purchases.   

6. Seasonal audience insights: Retailers know the products trending each season and can help brands position themselves effectively with knowledge from past seasons and other insights.    

7. Real-time performance tracking: Retail media networks offer real-time insights into campaign performance, enabling on-the-fly messaging optimization and budget allocation for maximum impact and efficiency. 

The key benefits for both new product launches and seasonal promotions include a seamless path to purchase, as ads are integrated into the shopping journey, allowing shoppers to quickly discover and buy promoted products. Additionally, by appearing on retailers' trusted platforms, brands can enhance their visibility and credibility among relevant audiences. In essence, retail media allows brands to delivering messaging with precision and relevance, making it a powerful tool for driving awareness, engagement and sales. 

Furthermore, retail media is not just about digital advertising; it also integrates seamlessly with broader shopper marketing strategies. This integration allows brands to create cohesive campaigns that guide consumers from awareness to purchase. For example, a brand might use digital ads to drive traffic to a retailer’s website, where shoppers can find additional promotions and product information. Once in-store, shoppers might encounter displays and promotions that reinforce the digital messaging, creating a unified shopping experience. 

The role of data in retail media

One of the most significant advantages of retail media is the opportunity to create and deliver personalized ad campaigns with first-party data. Brands understand that first-party data isn't something they have a right to own.  Rather, it's something you earn from shoppers in exchange for value.    For example, the difference between Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) and other retail media networks is the strength of our loyalty card program which has created a trusted value-exchange with consumers. The result is a longitudinal view of purchase behavior over time which enables brands to gain deep insights into consumer preferences and shopping habits. This allows brands to tailor their marketing strategies more effectively, ensuring that their messages resonate with the right audience at the right time. Brands can optimize their ad spend, improve customer engagement and drive higher conversion rates.     In fact, activating first-party data in a media strategy is more effective and efficient than third-party data, including 3.9X higher household penetration, 5.1X higher sales per household and 40% higher lifetime value households when using KPM campaigns.  

Spreading love with an off-site campaign

KPM is committed to making it easy for brands to activate data-fueled messages and connect with shoppers. Here is an example of how KPM has enabled brand marketers to achieve measurable and successful business outcomes.    Who: Sumo Citrus    What: The seedless, easy-to-peel, uniquely sweet mandarins known as Sumo Citrus are only available from January through April. AC Brands set out to let shoppers know they were available.     How: KPM helped AC Brands identify existing and lapsed tangerine buyers, along with citrus-buying households. AC Brands opted for an off-site display campaign to raise awareness with a scalable audience. Creative featured the Sumo Citrus brand as “the world’s most loved fruit,” with links to shop online. Participating products saw a more than 8% sales uplift as a direct result of display ads, including an uplift in household penetration of more than 10%.  

Retail media: The key to customer success

Investing in retail media is no longer optional for brands looking to succeed in today's dynamic retail environment. With retail media networks, brands can enhance their product launches, optimize their seasonal promotions and ultimately drive higher sales. Whether through personalized shopper marketing or strategic ad placements, retail media offers a comprehensive solution to meet the evolving needs of consumers. 

Retail media is not just a trend; it is a fundamental shift in how brands connect with consumers. By utilizing the unique capabilities of retail media networks, brands can create more effective and engaging advertising campaigns that drive real results. As the retail media landscape continues to evolve, staying ahead of these trends will be crucial for brands looking to maintain a competitive edge. 

Contact us today to start creating meaningful moments with retail media that deliver measurable brand impact.