Albertsons Enhances CTV Ad Measurement, Inventory & Shoppability
Albertsons Cos.’ retail media arm, Albertsons Media Collective, has debuted a TV solution that provides a “modern currency” for targeting, measuring and optimizing campaigns across streaming, digital video and soon linear TV, according to a statement from the retailer.
The solution, dubbed Collective TV, provides three “flexible service channels” for advertisers or publishers:
Premium Offering Channel. This helps brands execute omnichannel video campaigns using modern currency and measurement with cross-platform TV measurement company iSpot, and access to premier video and connected TV (CTV) inventory (e.g., YouTube, Hulu, ABC, Netflix and Roku), with Google marketing platform Display & Video 360 (DV360). According to Comscore, DV360 provides access to 92% of CTV households in the U.S.
Additional CTV inventory is available through TV and video advertising technology platform FreeWheel, while personalized and localized dynamic content solutions across this premium offering is enabled through Clinch.
Through DV360, advertisers can create shoppable YouTube video ads and serve them across multiple inventory providers.
The launch of Collective TV comes on the heels of Albertsons Media Collective's partnership with Google and LiveRamp, which markets to streaming audiences with DV360's Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation (PAIR) protocol. PAIR connects the retailer’s audiences with premium content, while LiveRamp's platform enhances security and privacy for publisher and marketer data collaboration.
Currency vs. Measurement?
AdExchanger defined the difference between currency and measurement as such: “Measurement is any set of metrics that determine how an ad performs, such as reach, frequency and sales. Currency is the financial unit of value for buying and selling TV ads based on measurement data.”
DIY CTV Channel. This offers build-it-yourself capabilities. Brands or agencies that work with The Trade Desk can access 80% of all premium CTV inventory, which includes Albertsons Media Collective’s first-party audience data and item-level closed-loop measurement for on- and offline sales. Additional capabilities include weather and location data integration and marketing mix modeling integration. Linear audience reach extension will be available later this year via iSpot.
“CTV represents some of the most premium inventory for advertisers,” said Ben Sylvan, vice president of data partnerships, The Trade Desk. “Albertsons’ purchase-based data represents an opportunity for media buyers to bring that incredibly valuable data to inform their media buys on the big screen and focus on the most valuable buyers. This represents a major change that will improve the consumer experience.”
- Collective Syndication Channel. This allows publishers and streaming services that want to leverage Collective TV, including Paramount, to offer extra value for their advertisers, such as access to first-party audiences and enhanced measurement.
Collective TV was designed to give advertisers an easier way to use video through a “holistic, omnichannel approach” across Albertsons Media Collective’s off-site inventory via social platforms and CTV publishers, per the release. It also offers flexible attribution windows via The Trade Desk and tracks common KPIs.
“In 2023, we spearheaded the framework for standardization to enable consistent measurement across retail media,” said Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president of retail media for Albertsons Media Collective. “Now we’re reimagining video measurement and optimization across all channels through our co-op garden approach and first-party data, all with an eye toward simplifying the complexity in this space our clients are having to navigate.”
According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) 2024 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, digital video ad revenues are expected to reach $63 billion in 2024. Despite this rapid growth, the pathways for running CTV campaigns alone are varied and complex. Agencies, networks, streaming publishers, identity solutions and ad tech platforms have built silos for planning, executing and measuring CTV campaigns.
“Advertisers need a smarter, more effective way to execute CTV and video campaigns,” Argyilan added. “With Collective TV, we’re removing the silos between publishers, demand-side platforms and identity solutions by offering an outcome-driven TV solution that is flexible, scalable and measurable.”