Albertsons Media Collective debuts Collective TV

Albertsons Media Collective, the retail media arm for Albertsons debuted Collective TV, a solution that unlocks the combined value of retail media and TV, per the retailer. Collective TV provides advertisers with a modern currency for targeting, measuring and optimizing campaigns across streaming, digital video and soon linear TV.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s 2024 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, digital video ad revenues are expected to reach $63 billion in 2024. Despite this fast-paced growth, the pathways for running connected TV campaigns alone are varied and complex. Agencies, networks, streaming publishers, identity solutions and ad tech platforms have built silos for planning, executing and measuring CTV campaigns, the company said.

“Advertisers need a smarter, more effective way to execute CTV and video campaigns. With Collective TV, we’re removing the silos between publishers, demand-side platforms, and identity solutions by offering an outcome-driven TV solution that is flexible, scalable and measurable,” said Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president of Retail Media for Albertsons Media Collective. “With Collective TV, we’re taking the wonder out of TV advertising.”

[Read more: Albertsons Media Collective partners with Rokt to extend retail media ecosystem]

Collective TV provides three flexible service channels for advertisers or publishers.

Premium Offering Channel: Enables brands to execute omnichannel video campaigns using modern currency and measurement with iSpot, and access to premier video and CTV inventory with Display & Video 360, including YouTube. Display & Video 360 provides access to 92% of CTV households in the U.S., according to Comscore.

Additional CTV inventory is available through FreeWheel, and personalized and localized dynamic content optimization across this premium channel offering is enabled through Clinch. 

As part of working with Display & Video 360, advertisers can create engaging, shoppable YouTube video ads with Collective TV, reducing production costs and speed to market. Collective TV’s shoppable ads can be delivered across multiple inventory providers, maximizing reach and impact for advertisers, while maintaining streamlined campaign management within a single buying tech stack.

The launch of Collective TV comes on the heels of Albertsons Media Collective's partnership with Google and LiveRamp to market to streaming audiences with Display & Video 360's Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation protocol. As an early adopter of PAIR, Albertsons Media Collective connects Albertsons’ informed shopper audiences with premium content, while leveraging LiveRamp's platform to enhance security and privacy for publisher and marketer data collaboration.

DIY CTV Channel offers build-it-yourself capabilities that are designed for brands that want to roll up their sleeves, the company said. Brands or agencies that work with The Trade Desk can access 80% of all premium CTV inventory, which includes Albertsons Media Collective’s first-party audience data and item-level closed-loop measurement for on and offline sales in a privacy conscious manner. Additional capabilities include weather and location data integration and marketing mix modeling integration. Linear audience reach extension will be available later this year via iSpot.

[Read more: Albertsons Media Collective debuts framework to improve retail media transparency]

“CTV represents some of the most premium inventory for advertisers,” said Ben Sylvan, vice president of Data Partnerships at The Trade Desk. “Albertsons’ purchase-based data represents an opportunity for media buyers to bring that incredibly valuable data to inform their media buys on the big screen and focus on the most valuable buyers. This represents a major change that will improve the consumer experience and continue to support the streaming content we all love, and we look forward to media buyers reimagining what’s possible in their CTV media plans.”

Collective TV offers brand safety along with privacy conscious ad experiences to instill confidence in advertisers that video and CTV ads are being served in the right way to their known shoppers in the places they watch TV, the company said. Collective TV offers advertisers an easier way to use video through a holistic, omnichannel approach across Albertsons Media Collective’s off-site inventory via social platforms and CTV publishers. Collective TV offers flexible attribution windows via The Trade Desk and tracks common KPIs that support awareness, consideration and conversion.

“In 2023, we spearheaded the framework for standardization to enable consistent measurement across retail media. Now we’re reimagining video measurement and optimization across all channels through our co-op garden approach and first-party data, all with an eye toward simplifying the complexity in this space our clients are having to navigate,” Argyilan said.

In related news, Clinch, a leader in dynamic ad serving and personalization and creator of Flight Control, the Omnichannel Campaign Activation Platform, shared that the company will be the omnichannel ad server and DCO partner powering Albertsons Media Collective's expansion into Connected TV.

"A Brand's ad strategy shines brightest when premium CTV viewership connects to Albertsons Cos.' shopper behavior. It completely redefines what it means to create a relevant viewing experience," said Evan Hovorka, vice president of product innovation at Albertsons Media Collective. "When you layer in Clinch's dynamic creative and the ability to serve everywhere, especially across premium CTV inventory, you reach the holy grail of data-driven personalization at scale".

Campbell's Snacks, a division of the Campbell Soup Company, was the first of several CPG clients opting to extend their media buys with The Collective's CTV offering. The brand's pilot campaign supported their brand partnership with Major League Soccer as the official snack sponsor with dynamic ads that were curated to drive sales of select snack brands across participating Albertsons Cos. stores including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME Markets and Shaw's Supermarkets.

"We are excited to support The Collective's innovative expansion into a new media channel," said Charel MacIntosh, head of business development and strategic partnerships at Clinch. "They have already seen great success with their retail media network and CTV only adds to their value of offering a holistic omnichannel solution for their clients."