Kroger gives CPG advertisers more sales visibility

To help spur its advertising business, The Kroger Co. is giving consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands more insight into their promotional vehicles across the supermarket giant’s physical store and digital properties.

Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), the retailer’s self-service advertising platform, yesterday launched a new sales attribution capability that enables CPG brands to view in-store and online sales results from their ad campaigns with Kroger.

Using data science from KPM and Microsoft’s PromoteIQ technology, which powers the platform, the sales attribution tool helps marketers better understand campaign performance and maximize media investment against actual return on ad spend, according to Kroger. The KPM platform includes sponsored product listings and banner display ads on Kroger websites and mobile apps.

Cincinnati-based Kroger said it applies only 100%-verified transactions from in-store and online customers.

“Kroger has created a seamless commerce experience for shopping in-store or online for pickup or delivery,” stated Cara Pratt, vice president of commercial and product strategy for Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51°, the company’s data analytics arm. “Brands advertise on Kroger Precision Marketing because we can influence moments when shoppers are searching and discovering products, and do so in an authentic way. We're committed to providing brands a fully transparent view of sales performance, rather than just the typical novelty metrics of digital media.”

Related:Kroger’s 84.51° launches omnichannel analytics tool for CPGs

KPM was launched by 84.51° in October 2017, and Kroger said the unit has been a “strong performer.” Last year, the company noted, hundreds of Kroger suppliers ran thousands of campaigns and achieved “industry-leading” return-on-ad-spends.

"Together, Kroger Precision Marketing and Microsoft PromoteIQ are elevating the expectations marketers can and should have for retail media,” according to Alex Sherman, co-founder and CEO of Microsoft PromoteIQ. “The ability to connect on-site media activity to in-store purchases helps marketers understand in a granular way how their marketing efforts with Kroger Precision Marketing are driving tangible business outcomes.”

Seeing advertising as a key alternative revenue stream, Kroger has continued to bolster its capabilities for CPG marketers. In May 2018, for example, KPM launched Boosted Products in Search, a tool that allows CPGs to reach digitally savvy shoppers with “hyper-relevant” products in search results across Kroger digital properties, as well as view performance in real time. And then last July, Kroger’s 84.51° subsidiary introduced Stratum, which gives CPG brands an omnichannel snapshot of customer behavior via data captured from brick-and-mortar and digital transactions.

Related:Kroger puts its data science prowess to work for brands

“In a media industry with lots of ambiguity, Kroger Precision Marketing stands out by showing the true incremental impact of advertising, matching ad exposures to verified sales,” Pratt added. “Our results are getting noticed by brand marketers and agencies alike, who are excited about our media assets that allow them to create a connection with customers throughout their path to purchase.”