LIFT IS NOW A PART OF MILE MARKER
As brands prepare for the holiday rush, marketing leaders and financial teams are looking closely at every dollar spent. In retail media networks, where ad spending is set to hit nearly $70 billion this year alone, brands want clear answers.
The big question is simple: Did an ad campaign actually drive new sales, or did the retailer just take credit for purchases people were going to make anyway? In a recent Digiday article by Kimeko McCoy, Mile Marker Chief Analytics Officer Anthony Costanzo shared how Walmart Connect is reaching out to brands with on-site lift studies, and what that means for transparent growth.
To win bigger ad budgets and compete with rivals like Amazon, Walmart Connect has started offering on-site brand lift studies directly to advertisers based on how much they spend. These studies help brands see if their ads build awareness and encourage shoppers to buy.
Anthony Costanzo pointed out that while retailers used to save test programs for only the biggest spenders, these direct tests are now reaching more accounts. Right now, at least four of our client accounts are taking part in Walmart’s lift studies, and there could be more.
“It’s not unusual for retailers to offer tests and other features directly to advertisers,” Anthony told Digiday, “but we’re starting to see this conversation trickle down to more and more accounts.”
While these lift studies offer helpful clues, advertisers still face real challenges. Participation can require high spend, results can take up to nine weeks to arrive, and brands cannot set up tests on their own.
Because retailers host the ads and measure the results themselves, they are essentially grading their own homework. This makes it hard for brands to get plain, unbiased proof across all their marketing channels.
Retail media networks are trying to make ad testing easier, which is a good sign for brands. But growth brands shouldn’t rely only on numbers reported by the platforms themselves. Combining retail tests with clear, cross-channel analytics helps make sure every ad dollar truly drives new business.
Read the full analysis: Read Kimeko McCoy’s full report on retail ad deals in the full Digiday article.
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