Unlocking retail media on TV: A practical guide for marketers

Opinion
For brands, the combination of retail media and streaming allows them to move across the funnel to reach consumers earlier.
Once synonymous with in-store displays and digital shelf placements, retail media is fast becoming a mainstream marketing tool that many are tapping into and it is driving huge revenue opportunities for retailers. In the UK alone, the IAB predicts spend will surpass £1bn this year — excluding Amazon.
One area where retail media is growing rapidly is in streaming. It shouldn’t be surprising. Not only does streaming offer a mechanism for retailers and their brand partners to expand their reach — at scale — off site, they can tap into vast first-party data that streaming platforms and TV operating systems already hold, expanding their reach significantly.
For brands, the combination of retail media and streaming also presents an opportunity to move across the funnel, so they can reach consumers earlier through brand-building or target short-term sales, all through one partner.
In short, retail media on streaming platforms is scalable, shoppable and measurable.
Streaming TV deserves a seat at the retail media table
Retail media has long been a channel focused on proximity to the point of purchase and therefore performance-based marketing campaigns.
Traditional TV, meanwhile, was always the preserve of brand-building and reach, and streaming initially followed a similar trend.
However, as targeting capabilities within streaming have improved, it’s now possible to reach individual accounts with relevant messaging. Shoppable ads will only make it more compelling to advertisers, bringing the store to the streaming audience.
Streaming has firmly become a staple in consumers’ homes, with over 20m UK households having access to at least one paid service. As more free or partially ad-funded services come online, the potential reach will only grow.
For example, according to Kantar’s latest data, 69% of new Netflix UK subscriptions were to its ad-supported tier. Across all UK streaming services with a paid model, one in three new subscribers opted for the ad tier, up from one in 10 the previous year.
This presents a huge opportunity for retailers to not just connect with new and engaged audiences but to offer entirely new solutions to brand partners.
TV ads reach already engaged consumers and, with interactive formats like shoppable ads, the remote in everyone’s hand becomes a shoppable unit, allowing customers to buy straight from their screens.
It’s a frictionless experience that turns attention into action, closing the loop between inspiration and transaction, and reducing the sales funnel down to just one click.
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How to activate retail media on streaming services
Define clear objectives: Brand-building is very different from performance marketing and the objectives need to reflect that differentiation. The answer to what the objective is will be critical to establishing the creative, delivery mechanism, call to action and reporting KPIs.
If the goal is to drive consumers into the store to purchase a brand partner’s product, the objective needs to reflect that, as it will guide the rest of the campaign, such as the level of targeting to consumers close to the shop, highlighting to them in the creative where to go.
By comparison, if the objective is to increase immediate direct sales online, add provisions that make the ad shoppable. In many cases, this could be a QR code that viewers can use on their phones.
But the power of streaming means that, in certain situations, even that point of friction can be reduced by enabling purchasing via the remote itself when viewers are already signed in to the environment and have their payment details set up. It enables large-scale reach and results in one go.
Use first-party data pools: The combination of first-party data that streaming platforms and TV operating systems provide and the customer insight the retailer has is a powerful tool to connect the right consumer with the right product. And at an unmatched scale.
Segmentation by age, location, interests, viewing habits and even shopping intent is possible. By having actionable data on how an ad is driving sales, retailers can focus on the most relevant audience or products that are delivering conversion.
It means that retailers are no longer broadcasting their campaigns; they are connecting with viewers.
Optimise in real time: Optimisation has been possible in digital marketing for a long time, but streaming enables live iteration while still reaching large audiences on the big screen in the living room.
It includes refining the creative, adjusting segmentation and identifying the most effective messaging while the campaign is live.
This instant accessibility of measurement at scale, and across brand and performance ads, means marketers could significantly increase return on investment through retail media on streaming in a way that is simply unmatched.
From the sofa to the aisles
Retail media is no longer confined to the aisles. It has firmly moved into the lounge.
By embracing the combined power of streaming and retail media, marketers can create richer experiences that inform, inspire and convert — all in a single environment.
The lines between brand and performance, online and offline, are blurring. The future of retail media is interactive, data-driven and televised.
Mike Shaw is director, EMEA ad sales, at Roku