2025 will be the year of “true co-branded storytelling” for retail media creative formats, according to Brian Monahan, global client president, head of retail media solutions at Dentsu.
“Retail media network advertisers will realize that after price and segmentation, the biggest lever impacting return on ad spend is creative,” he wrote in a blog post.
But producing co-branded content that reflects both the advertiser and the retail media network (RMN) is challenging because it requires merging messaging and goals.
- 27% of advertisers running off-site retail media ads say that building creative formats that reflect both retailer and advertiser branding is a challenge, according to a December 2023 “Retail Media Perceptions Survey” from TripleLift and EMARKETER.
- 16% say off-site creative experiences do not meet the quality of on-site creative experiences.
- 34% of advertisers find the lack of creative or reporting standards across retailers challenging.
AI could be a useful tool in creating co-branded content without investing in additional talent or resources.
- “From its ability to help write creative scripts to optimizing content, AI is going to completely evolve the way we consume content,” said David MacDonald, EVP, head of retail and commerce experience at Razorfish. “AI’s ability to generate personalized content that can adapt in real time, based on location, search history, platform behavior, and more, has the potential to be an incredibly useful tool when creating co-branded content.”
- 36% of US and UK content and creative professionals believe streamlining workflows for faster content creation and distribution would enhance content ROI, while 35% believe personalizing content for different audience segments would do the same, according to October 2024 data from Canto and Ascend2.
When it’s successful, co-branded creative can effectively drive consumer engagement and business outcomes.
- “Co-branded content is essential for retail media success,” said MacDonald. “It allows brands to tap into each other’s audiences, broadening their customer bases while still delivering hyper-relevant content.”
- This leads to increased consumer trust and a boost in sales, he said. Plus, it can offset some creative costs for brands and networks.
Retailers like Best Buy and Walmart are harnessing their in-house creative capabilities to help advertisers create more engaging retail media content.
- Last year, Walmart Connect expanded its creative ad formats to include more on-site and in-store placements, seasonal programs, and single-supplier-led store events.
- The network also announced brands would gain access to Creative Builder, a self-serve tool for building and optimizing ad creative.
- Meanwhile, Best Buy has created Best Buy Studios, a 70,000-square-foot space for the company and its partners, including Best Buy Ads, to develop custom promotional content.
The bottom line: With vast networks of customer data, RMNs have the unique opportunity to work with advertisers to create engaging, data-driven content that reflects both brand identities.
- 87% of brands and agencies worldwide are using first-party data to inform ad creative production, according to July 2024 data from Digiday.
- Nearly two-thirds (64%) of brands and agencies worldwide say compelling messaging and storytelling are the most effective creative tactics, followed by brand consistency (63%) and relevant, personalized content (57%), per the same survey data.
- But given the current challenges in retail media measurement, RMNs should develop tools to prove co-branded creative is worth the investment.
This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.