Co-op is aiming to carve out a slice of the predicted £21bn retail media market by signing a major deal with LiveRamp as part of plans to attract more advertisers to its paid digital channels and beyond.
While Co-op does not have the established media network of the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Boots, it is claimed that by using LiveRamp’s data collaboration platform, the retailer will be able to leverage its first-party member data to enhance the targeting sophistication of paid digital media.
Co-op insists this will benefit members with more relevant advertising across its grocery, insurance, and rapid food delivery businesses, although ultimately it is targeting brand owners to get them to spend more in Co-op media channels.
The company has a nationwide footprint, with more than 2,400 convenience stores across the UK, and an ecommerce business.
It recently overhauled its loyalty club, which it claims has since tripled weekly sign-ups and now has over 4.8 million active members, with first-party datasets forming the backbone of Co-op’s retail media offering.
The company is keen to point out that protecting Co-op members interests with due diligent data ethics and data privacy is key, with the LiveRamp data collaboration platform enabling privacy-conscious data collaboration without sharing sensitive personal information or directly identifiable personal information.
Co-op chief membership and customer officer Kenyatte Nelson, who was appointed in January, said: “At Co-op, we’re investing in our retail media business to ensure we’re connecting our members to the missions and categories they engage with and for our partner brands to have the insight they need to succeed in the omnichannel customer journey.
“With LiveRamp, we can manage everything in our own media sales house with easy activations and this new partnership will enable brands to deliver the best customer experience to Co-op members and customers, resulting in better campaign success.”
LiveRamp UK managing director Hugh Stevens added: “Co-op is a well-established and diverse business with massive potential to unlock in its first-party data.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with them as the business expands its retail media with privacy-focused data collaboration that everyone in the Co-op ecosystem will benefit from, helping brands to better understand their customers’ needs, market to them more effectively and truly understand the efficacy of their investment.”
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