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Why on earth would a brand whose product can’t be boxed up and shipped out advertise on a retail media network, you ask? Let me count the ways. But first, what is non-endemic advertising, and why is it effective?
Non-endemic advertising is precisely what it sounds like: brands that are not endemic to a retailer’s site and cannot be purchased on that site advertising on that site anyway.
As data privacy continues to become the norm across the open web, the data housed within retail media networks has become immensely valuable. Now that the cookie has crumbled, the walled gardens stand to gain. It’s not uncommon for retailers to have over a decade of shopping behavior data for a certain household or individual that reveals far more about their habits than what they search for. In short, the access your brand gets to tap into is the rich, anonymized retail customer data, which can be a game-changer when it comes to seeking out new, incremental audiences.
I’m not saying this can replace search. Don’t get me wrong: Showing results for a user-initiated query and harvesting that existing demand is a no-brainer. Do that and be there. But for that type of search to be effective, you need a catalyst—a broken down car, a mole-infested lawn or a clogged drain. Your brand can be way more proactive than that.
How does non-endemic advertising work?
Through their networks, retail media sites have the ability to package up their first-party data audiences based on a whole host of traits that are very attractive to non-endemic brands, such as the habits, attitudes, behaviors, hobbies and geography of these shoppers. The networks can then slice and dice these audiences and offer them up to advertisers in various formats like managed and self-service options. Advertisers can get in front of these specifically tailored audiences to drive them back to their own websites or personalized landing pages.
Imagine targeting those viewers of The Great British Bake Off with food delivery, specialty ingredients or a cookbook based on what baking equipment they’ve recently purchased. Maybe they recently got married, bought a house or had a baby. Registries tell us a lot, not just what people need, but their geography, price sensitivity, predilections and potential service needs. The same can be said for tentpole events like Black Friday, back-to-school and retailer-specific sales like Amazon Prime Day, Target Deal Days or Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty.
