Achi news desk-
Retail media has long been a key component of Scott’s media mix, according to Morgan Millard, director of omnichannel strategy and planning for Scotts Miracle-Gro. But as Google’s third-party cookie results continue, the company is relying more on its retail partners, such as The Home Depot’s Orange Apron Media (formerly Retail Media+) to leverage their first-party data.
“I would say it represents about 40% of our total enterprise media budget. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year because we can only get the closed-loop importance and attribution,” Millard said, without specifying a dollar amount.
Back in March, Digiday sat down with Millard and Taryn Dominie, managing director of partner at Orange Apron Media, at The Home Depot’s first InFronts to learn more about the partnership. At the event, Home Depot announced rebranding and new advertising products, drawing the interest of advertisers like Millard, who are increasingly looking for brand-building opportunities in the retail media space.
Scotts was an early adopter of retail media, partnering with Home Depot in the testing phase of its retail media network before it officially launched in 2020. In its retail media spend strategy, Scotts has refined conversion tactics such as search and retail on the media site, but has since included more brand awareness, such as streaming ads, per Millard.
“It’s exciting to hear that Home Depot is going to be offering in-store retail media opportunities,” he said. “Other retail media networks are doing the same. It really is kind of the next evolution of retail media.”
Notably, it has become more difficult for marketers to stand out in a crowded digital marketplace, making off-site advertising, such as streaming ads through Home Depot’s new partnership with streaming service Univision, and the recently launched in-store signage, increasingly important. In fact, one of Home Depot’s key differentiators is its off-site offering, according to agency executives.
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“As we build capabilities, [we’re] really focus on building an upper funnel as well as a middle and lower funnel, so we can find that customer and connect with them in the right place at the right time throughout the entire journey,” Dominie said.
At the InFronts, Ted Decker, chairman, president and CEO of The Home Depot, said the company is in a position to capture more marketing dollars rather than trade dollars, or dedicated spending to supply chain partners.
It could be a strategic play if things continue to go the way advertising experts suspect they will.
“Television and related retail media are the fastest growing and hottest segments within overall media growth. It’s a sign of the arrival of this channel, and the maturity of this channel,” said Chris Shewmake, deputy communications and media strategy at advertising agency Cactus. Which means that as retail marketing grows up, maturing in capabilities beyond sales and conversions to brand awareness and building, retail media networks will compete for dollars from a broader budgeting spectrum.
The Home Depot has already positioned itself as the leading competitor in the retail media space thanks to its unique audience data and off-site capabilities, according to agency executives. But the retailer isn’t resting on its laurels just yet. The home improvement company is apparently starting to combine a clean room partnership with Scotts, per Millard.
“For us, going away cookies means we need to lean on our retail partners more than ever as it relates to leveraging their first party data,” he said. “We’ve even gone down the path of: What does a cleanroom partnership look like to share some of that data and get those insights?” Per Millard, Scotts is currently negotiating with Home Depot. He did not give further details.
According to eMarketer, retail media is expected to account for one-fifth of global digital ad spending this year, reaching more than $140 billion. By offering everything from conversion channels to brand building options, The Home Depot appears to be positioning itself to garner its fair share of advertising dollars.
“As the leading home improvement retailer, where we want to position ourselves is in the specialty retail media network space because we’re different from other retailers out there,” Dominie said. “Ideally in a vision state, we want to help connect those dots so they can understand how everything comes together to drive their business goals.”
