Hi there, and welcome back to Unfold, the retail media newsletter from the retail media experts at Threefold.
We’ve just wrapped another week, though it was a short one following Labor Day. There are still a few weeks of summer left, but the air is already getting cooler, the days are starting to get shorter and the fall circuit of retail events is quickly approaching. It’s going to be a busy few months for us at Threefold and SMG, and we couldn’t be more excited for everything we have in store!
Now, we’ll pass the mic once again to Justin Sparks, VP of Business Development, to bring us this week’s retail media myth. Take it away Justin!
I wanted to share a few musings on creative in the retail media space. There’s a belief in our industry that creativity in retail media isn’t really important, especially not as important as in other areas of advertising and marketing. It stems from the belief that product image, price and call to action (CTA) are enough to yield great results for brands. And, you know, those elements do get you quite far. However, creativity in retail media is becoming more important now than ever.
We live in a world so overwhelmed with advertising coupled and embedded with all forms of content — let alone with product and promotional imagery in all formats — both online and offline, from advertisements on social media to ads over the grocery store speakers and everywhere in between … well, you get the point. We have over-optimized to where nearly everything has turned into a shoppable touchpoint, and there’s a “buy-it-now” option practically everywhere you can put a button, it can be easy to fall into the trap of only focusing on the three elements mentioned above.
It’s harder than ever to catch consumers’ attention, and it’s even harder to keep it. As importantly, Retail Media Networks will need to prove they can impact branding metrics, as well as sales, if they’re going to continue to compete for national brand budgets in channels such as Programmatic, CTV and Social, which BCG forecasts will account for 60-70% of every new dollar in retail media by 2026.
Retailers have the data and real estate; it's time to improve their creative.
It is increasingly important for brands and their RMN partners to understand how to execute creative for the right environments that can not only convert demand, but build it. Everyone remembers the 4 P’s, right? Well, let’s not forget "Promotion." At Threefold, we believe strong creative in retail media campaigns is paramount for all three involved: the retailer, brand and consumer.
Each campaign touchpoint has numerous contributing factors that impact the type of copy, and sizing, and selecting the optimal product imagery, messaging, pricing, format, audience, etc. is key. While yes, that sounds like a lot of work, building it into your planning process and leaning into your partners can make your creative more pliable for various environments. The retailers that work with brands to improve their creative offering to influence all parts of the consumer journey, not just the point of purchase, will grow market share, sales and media investment.
It’s time for RMNs to take a serious look at how they approach creative if they want to win incremental dollars from brands.
About Threefold
Founded in 2008, Threefold is the world's leading Retail Media Network (RMN) specialist, headquartered in both New York and London. As part of the SMG agency network, which employs nearly 400 retail media experts, Threefold's primary mission is to unlock incremental brand and supplier budgets, curate media campaigns that supercharge sales and elevate its retail partners into top-tier omnichannel media owners, spanning in-store, off-site and online.
Threefold's services include the leading Retail Media Operating System Plan-Apps, consultancy and a white-label in-house solution that has seen the agency build, run and operate over 10 Retail Media Networks to date. In the UK, Threefold runs and operates Walgreens' Boots Media Group, ASDA’s LS Eleven Media Services, Co-op Media Network, Morrisons Media Group and retail media for The Very Group.
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