If precision planning is the pulse of what we do at Threefold, the data involved in planning campaigns is the beating heart. It's not just the shopper data we plug into targeted campaigns, but the campaign and channel performance results, too.
Talking about data is great, and we've witnessed and participated in many such conversations in 2023. However, we must ensure there is a true willingness to not just talk about data but to share it during the post-campaign analysis phase.
At Threefold, we have created and operated Retail Media Networks (RMNs) for the past 15 years and have been part of the global retail media evolution. We have learned a lot, especially related to the need to continuously evaluate and optimize from each retail campaign to the next.
We’ve put data and measurement at the heart of our retailer partnerships, building a bank of more than 10.5K retail media evaluations within Plan-Apps, our proprietary media planning and measurement software suite. Using Plan-Apps, we have measured data across 130 retail media channels, 22 retailer partnerships and 832 CPGs, giving us a broad understanding across the media ecosystem and retailer categories.
Post-campaign data and results transparency benefit all: CPGs, retailers and the RMN. Sharing campaign data – even if the results are unexpected or fail to meet KPIs – is necessary for standardization and to maintain trust with brand advertisers. Transparency informs decision-making for the next planning period and inevitably improves performance the next time we approach the channel, brief, product or category.
Moving toward standardization
Through this performance data, we can learn more quickly, optimize CPG campaigns to relevant KPIs and ensure we have the right media mix for individual campaign briefs. Over the past year, the retail media industry has made a lot of noise about the standardization of campaign measurement across RMNs, especially related to the proposed guidelines from The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC) from September. In addition, Albertsons Media Collective (AMC) has committed to sharing its measurement methodology to encourage collaboration and set out its Best Practice Framework for RMN data.
These cross-industry conversations are a necessary step in the right direction, but the question of implementation lingers. Are RMNs going to be truly transparent when it comes to campaign failures? They need to be.
Sometimes campaigns don’t run smoothly or may not deliver the intended results. The Threefold approach in this instance is to share the full picture with our clients. A failure is OK if we put that learning to good use.
3 things to know:
Transparency of these results at Threefold feeds the overall Plan-Apps system, and from this, we can discover patterns or understandings of why something is happening.
Then, we share our findings with the CPGs and our retailer partner so that we can avoid similar results moving forward.
This way of working has improved relationships with clients and improved campaign output.
As we as an industry push forward toward more overall transparency in data reporting, we must ensure that transparency is real and not just in cases of positive results. Greater transparency of failure is needed, as it’s one route to improvement, and unwillingness to be totally transparent with the market ultimately means the standardization of the industry will remain out of reach.
About Faye McKeown
Faye McKeown is a client manager in the Threefold North America team, where she supports CPGs in planning retailer campaigns and US business development opportunities. Faye has been part of the SMG agency team for four years and previously worked on The Very Group account and on Morrisons Media Group. Faye has worked in the retail industry for over 12 years. Want to chat about how Threefold can supercharge your retail media strategy? You can reach her at faye.mckeown@threefold.team.
About Threefold
Founded in 2008, Threefold is the world's leading Retail Media Network (RMN) specialist, headquartered in both London and New York. As part of the SMG agency network, which employs over 250 retail media experts, Threefold's primary mission is to unlock incremental CPG budgets, curate media campaigns that supercharge sales and elevate its retail partners into top-tier omnichannel media owners, spanning in-store, offsite and online.
Threefold's services include consultancy, evaluation, and a white-label in-house solution that has seen the agency build, run and operate over 10 Retail Media Networks to date. In the UK, Threefold runs and operates Walgreens' Boots Media Group and Morrisons Media Group, and additional live partners include major retailers like The Co-op, Signet Group and The Very Group.
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