GroupM is aiming to tackle the issue of disparate retail media measurement standards by signing a deal with media specialist Incremental in a move designed to offer clients advanced AI-driven planning, optimisation, and analytics intelligence across both retail and non-retail media networks.
Integrated into Open Media Studio – the end-to-end media delivery platform built by WPP’s global “ethical” data division Choreograph – the service will be available to GroupM teams as part of WPP Open to holistically plan and manage retail media alongside other digital media for incremental sales impact.
While retail media remains the fastest growing segment of digital, forecast to grow 17.5% in 2024, according to GroupM’s This Year Next Year 2024 Midyear Advertising Forecast, measurement has remained fragmented, with retail media networks operating on disparate attribution methodologies.
Through this partnership, it is claimed that GroupM clients will be able to compare, plan, and optimise the effectiveness of their campaigns across disciplines.
GroupM global head of commerce Samantha Bukowski said: “Planning and measuring retail media comes with more complexity than other digital channels. By bringing Incremental’s best-in-class retail media capabilities into Open Media Studio, our clients can maximize their retail investments with consistent measurement methodologies, rooted in true incrementality.
“Our partnership allows advertisers to plan holistically with the required specificity for retail, while also considering their total investments across channels.”
The combination of these capabilities is designed to provide GroupM clients with unique commerce media capabilities. It will initially launch in the US market, before being rolled out globally.
The three main features are:
AI-driven retail media planning: It is claimed that advertisers will be able to plan and allocate budget holistically, based on predicted incremental retail sales and circumventing non-standardised retail attribution. They can plan and forecast media performance across different retail networks, while placing retail alongside non-retail media for a fully integrated approach, says GroupM.
Retail media optimisation: By integrating real-time sales data directly from advertisers’ seats with retail media networks into Open Media Studio’s suite of capabilities, GroupM reckons advertisers will get AI-powered optimisation of in-flight campaigns to drive incremental sales, not just media attributed return on ad spend.
Retail media analytics: By putting Incremental and Choreograph’s neutral retail media measurement capabilities directly into Open Media Studio’s reporting and measurement suite, GroupM maintains that advertisers will gain access to daily incremental data, providing valuable signals on where and how to optimise their retail media investments.
Incremental chief executive David Pollet concluded: “GroupM is pioneering the future of integrated commerce by bringing together retail media intelligence, data, and technology to break down channel silos.
“Our partnership challenges the industry to move beyond last-touch metrics toward a standardised measure of multi-channel effectiveness.”
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