U.K. retailer Tesco wants advertisers to see it as equal to any traditional media partner

"The retail media business had existed for a while, but a couple of years ago, Tesco took a strategic decision to really invest in it for three reasons. One, retail media, when done really well, can be a growth driver for brands, accelerating their sales and business performance within the Tesco ecosystem. Two, customers should get more relevant, personalized, helpful messaging from brands that matter to them. And three, from a media revenue perspective, it's a new income stream for the Tesco Group."

"Oct. 9 was our fifth upfront and the makeup of who attended has changed quite significantly. This year we had really good turnout from senior agency execs, from non-endemic clients, as well as our core clients. I think it's a recognition that not just us, but retail media across the board, is playing a much broader role in advertisers' marketing plans than it did before, particularly in the context of media fragmentation. All of those traditional ways of building brands and running advertising are changing,"

Tesco Media operates a retail media network powered by an ongoing partnership with Dunnhumby and Tesco's Clubcard data. Tesco made a strategic decision to invest in retail media to drive brand growth, deliver more relevant and personalized messaging to customers, and create a new media revenue stream for the Tesco Group. Tesco hosted its fifth upfront to position Tesco Media alongside traditional media owners and to engage senior agency executives, non-endemic clients, and core clients. Retail media is increasingly integrated into advertisers' marketing plans as media fragmentation changes traditional brand-building and advertising approaches. Measurement and shopper data remain central priorities.

Read at Digiday