The creative bonus of retail media
Retail media is playing an increasingly important role in the marketing mix. Thanks to rich first-party data and contextual relevance, it offers brands unique opportunities to reach and activate consumers. During Nima Marketing Day, Johan Goedhart (Senior Consultant, Blauw Brand & Campaign at Blauw Research) and Max de Jong (Senior Manager Media Performance & Consumer Insights at Albert Heijn) share their insights obtained testing 50 creative assets using the SPRINT platform on what makes creative content effective within the retail domain. MarketingTribune spoke with the speakers in advance about their approach and findings.
According to De Jong, retail media has become indispensable. “Retail media is gaining a more prominent place in the mix, as you can reach consumers at various points in the customer journey with both brand-oriented and conversion-driven messages,” he says. “Known for its effective conversion campaigns, it can also be used as a branding tool, combined with highly relevant, real audiences. Its effectiveness, measurability, and scalability are key reasons retail media is becoming more important in the marketing mix, especially now that privacy regulations complicate traditional targeting.”
Insight into effectiveness
Together with Blauw Brand & Campaign, Albert Heijn Retail Media Services used Blauw’s Agile Research Platform SPRINT to investigate how creative assets truly work within retail media. Using AI, eye-tracking, and contextual measurements, around fifty creatives were analyzed. “Market research is essential to understand what works – and why,” says Goedhart. “By testing campaigns for attention, brand impact, and behavior, we can make well-founded decisions about creative choices and placements. This prevents wasted media investment.”
Technology as an accelerator
Technology plays a key role in this. “AI analyzes large volumes of visual data and identifies characteristics of effective creatives. Eye-tracking shows where attention actually goes,” says Goedhart. “Together, these techniques provide an objective view of how creatives function in a realistic store context.”
Balance between brand and promotion
Albert Heijn combines insights from data, AI analyses, and contextual consumer behavior with knowledge of the shopping moment. “We test creatives for impact and optimize them where necessary. We ensure a balance between brand image and promotional power,” says De Jong. “This leads to campaigns that are not only seen but also spur action and contribute to brand building.”
Practical tools
What do they hope visitors will take away? “Concrete tools to make creatives more effective – based on data and proven principles,” conclude De Jong and Goedhart. “From choosing the right visual elements to optimizing brand recognition. The goal: campaigns that not only stand out but also contribute to both brand and sales growth.”
Ready to take your retail media to the next level?
Join the presentation (in Dutch) at NIMA Marketing Day at June, 12 in Utrecht.