Disney, Kroger and PepsiCo test using retail data for connected TV ads

For Kroger, this expands efforts over the past year to make its data available for targeting on CTV via major supply-side platforms and Roku.

“When you pair our audience with Disney’s content, and then our collective commitment to measurement standards, really great things are going to happen,” said Cara Pratt, senior VP of Kroger Precision Marketing.

“The fact that KPM has this rich data set that we can infuse and integrate into right now with Hulu, where we’ve started the implementation, really enhances the outcomes we can drive for advertisers,” said Danielle Brown, senior VP of data enablement and category strategy for Disney Advertising.

Expansion possible

“We would love to talk further down the road about expanding this into more of our streaming ecosystem,” Brown said.

Disney is also considering such partnerships with other retail media networks, she said.

“This one made a lot of sense based on the efficacy that Kroger Performance Marketing has brought to the table in the past and the way that they go about privacy and compliance, which is obviously up to Disney standards as well.”

“As consumers spend more time with streaming TV, it is increasingly important for industry providers and advertisers to collaborate to bring innovative solutions like this to the marketplace,” said Carol Simpson, senior director of shopper marketing at PepsiCo in a statement.

After starting with a handful of beta advertisers, the program is expected to roll out broadly for CPG marketers in the second half of this year.

Lisa Valentino, executive VP-client solutions and addressable enablement of Disney Advertising, in the statement pointedly positioned the test as focusing on measurement that moves sales for advertisers directly as other networks focus more on Nielsen alternative currencies.

“While the industry is focused on identifying alternative currencies, Disney is doubling down on driving real-world results for brand clients each and every day,” said Valentino.

More: Nielsen's Media Rating Council TV accreditation restored 

Advertiser objectives vary

Pratt and Brown said advertisers appear interested in using the retail data application with Hulu in a variety of ways, including expanding reach to households that aren’t buyers now.

“So many brands are in different spaces, whether they’re growing share or losing share, have new innovation they’re looking to spark or drive net new households into a category,” Pratt said. That includes recognizing which brands have only “rented buyers” over the past few years with promotions as opposed to retaining them amid rising prices.

“This gives us the ability to bring all these signals in and deliver an audience strategy connected to Disney’s content that supports brand objectives,” Pratt said.

While many brands historically looked to streaming to reach audiences they miss with linear, Brown said the data is now helping them in “proving out those investments and starting to build media plans with streaming first.”

While not fully national, KPM covers a coast-to-coast market of 60 million U.S. households, or about half the country. Hulu reaches 41% of “TV accessible households,” or those with TVs or that stream TV content to mobile devices, according to a recent Advertising Research Federation report.

Participating advertisers will get return path data analyzing media exposure and sales, including household penetration and shopper segment analysis.

Related news: Retail media's measurement problem