Peapod Digital Labs brings media network for Ahold Delhaize USA Brands in-house

Peapod Digital Labs, the e-commerce engine for Ahold Delhaize USA, plans to grow its media network AD Retail Media to an in-house digital media agency and grow its retail media team, the company said Wednesday.

Utilizing Ahold Delhaize USA brands’ market presence and customer connections, AD Retail Media will connect consumer packaged goods (CPG) partners with the grocer’s East Coast omnichannel customer base.

The brands of Ahold Delhaize USA operate more than 2,000 stores, process more than 23 million transactions per week, have nearly 24 million active loyalty card users and total more than $51 billion in annual sales, Peapod Digital Labs said.

“Retail media is already a sizable percentage of total advertising spend–with forecasts showing it will continue to grow significantly,” said JJ Fleeman, president of Peapod Digital Labs, in a statement. “By bringing AD Retail Media in-house, we will create a connected go-to-market offering for CPGs, grounded in new capabilities, simplicity and value generation. As the space continues to grow, we’re proud to invest in retail media to continue to propel our companies–and our CPG partners–forward.”

Peapod Digital Labs through AD Retail Media will launch an on-site and off-site platform; more targeted ads; and proprietary data to create more targeted ads and improve returns on ad spend; and one dashboard to measure campaign results made on-site and across the web, Peapod Digital Labs said.

Publicis Groupe’s CitrusAd, Epsilon and Publicis Sapient will support the stand-up and scaling of the new team.

“This is a great example of Publicis Groupe’s “Power of One” retail media strategy, with Epsilon, CitrusAd and Publicis Sapient all involved helping AD Retail media transform with new talent, expertise and capabilities,” said Thibault Hennion, managing director of international operations at Epsilon, in a statement.

AD Retail Media will transition to CitrusAd, which is powered by Epsilon, becoming the first major retailer to launch a unified onsite/offsite platform with Epsilon, Peapod Digital Labs said.

“The integration with Peapod Digital Labs will allow us to work efficiently together to achieve the goals of driving sales growth, reaching more customers with relevant content, and investing in customer value proposition,” said David Haase, CEO of CitrusAd Americas.

AD Retail Media will also partner with LiveRamp Safe Haven as a data collaboration solution.

“Data collaboration has become an absolute necessity for CPG brands seeking a competitive edge. By leveraging Safe Haven technology, AD Retail Media will empower CPGs partners to transform both their business outcomes and customers’ experiences,” said Warren Jenson, president of LiveRamp, in a statement.

Quotient will continue to serve as AD Retail Media’s digital coupon provider.

“These new partnerships are the beginning of many new capabilities that AD Retail Media will bring to market in 2023 and beyond,” said Fleeman. “Through the enhanced network, we expect our partners will be able to create more relevant, measurable, real-time campaigns that produce greater ROI both for the CPG and the customer.”