Catalina helps grocers, CPG brands gauge sales lift from Volta ads

Catalina has partnered with electric vehicle (EV) charging network Volta size up the incremental sales boost at the store level for retailers and brands that run media campaigns on Volta’s advertising platforms.

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Catalina said Tuesday that Volta’s EV charging stations, equipped with large digital display screens, are located steps from popular grocery, retail and entertainment venues, premium placements that influence consumer shopping lists with eye-catching content presented in an “uncluttered” parking lot environment. Stations are found near businesses such as Ahold Delhaize USA supermarekts and Walgreens drugstores, both part of Catalina’s retailer network, as well as near Amazon Fresh, Tanger Outlets and Six Flags locations.

The digital marketing and media firm noted that its detailed view into how the Volta Media Network raises shopper spending unlocks a key understanding of digital out-of-home’s impact, arming advertisers with data that informs effective media strategies.    Currently, Volta’s network creates more than 900 million monthly impressions via 4,600 digital ad screens in 39 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) across 26 states.

“With their focus on sustainability and ability to communicate with shoppers literally steps away from the point of purchase, Volta brings a unique inventory source to Catalina’s place-based media offering, and we’ve already begun to see clients like Dole lean in,” Tiffany Southwell, vice president of out-of-home media at Catalina, said in a statement. “It’s exciting to see Volta embracing the innovative idea of out-of-home as a performance-marketing vehicle by leveraging our measurement services to prove the efficacy of their media.”

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Besides Ahold Delhaize USA’s Giant Food and Stop & Shop, supermarket chains deploying Volta EV stations in their store parking lots include Albertsons Cos.’ Safeway and Vons banners.

“Catalina’s deep understanding of measurement for out-of-home media allows us to prove measurable incremental sales for our clients,” according to Brandt Hastings, interim CEO and chief revenue officer at San Francisco-based Volta. “Their ability to quickly measure a campaign against the sales metrics that matter empowers clients to think about our media in the same way they think about digital advertising and to confidently shift budgets accordingly.”

Catalina said a recent campaign that it executed with Dole Fresh Foods underscore the effectiveness of its real-time shopper intelligence platform. In the initiative, Dole sought to drive incremental sales lift and bolster category share during a key selling season. Marketing creative showcasing multiple Dole products was deployed on Volta Media screens near entrances of specific grocery locations. Catalina's measurement capabilities revealed that the campaign delivered an 8% sales lift and increased category share by 8.5%.

Related:Stop & Shop to add 50 electric vehicle charging stations at stores

“We are impressed by what they and Volta deliver together,” commented Kellee Miller, director of shopper marketing at Dole Food Co., based in Westlake Village, Calif. “The concise and point-blank delivery of data to spotlight sales conversions and buyer response further simplified the out-of-home metrics and underscored the value Volta Media provides.”