The story: The growth of commerce media networks has taken center stage at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Known for hosting the world’s most prestigious advertising awards, the festival is now witnessing a diversification beyond traditional retail giants. Brands like Chase and United, who have recently launched ad networks, join established networks in leveraging Cannes to pitch their ad networks to advertisers and foster industry relationships. Strategies include QR codes, themed branding, and of course, the cabanas, all in hopes of capturing advertiser attention.
Craig Elimeliah, Chief Creative Officer at Code and Theory, emphasized the allure of commerce media networks’ rich first-party data, which is especially valuable as AI grows, with many “hungry to train [our] models.” However, marketers remain cautious due to ongoing challenges with measurement, attribution, and data transparency. Concerns around consolidation also persist, making advertisers wary of spending their ad dollars on these new ventures.
While it remains to be seen if new commerce media networks will secure a more permanent spot in the media mix, this year’s festival attendees are aiming to do just that.
The takeaway: This year’s presence of commerce media networks at Cannes Lions underscores the growing opportunities and significance of commerce media. As first-party data becomes increasingly valuable, partnering with these networks offers the potential for highly targeted and efficient advertising. Their collective drive to innovate and improve advertising experiences presents a promising avenue for advertisers who want to blaze a trail all their own.
In a recent press release, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) announced Aquila, a new system intent on operationalizing and executing a cross-media measurement (CMM) solution in the U.S.
Digiday+ Research’s first-quarter survey results are in. Insights include:
28% of brand and retailers cited lack of budget as the biggest obstacle to further adoption for brands, while agency pros cited cost of media (41%) and lack of resources and content demands (23%).
Kevel x Inc.'s Annual List of Best Workplaces for 2024
Kevel has been honored on Inc.’s annual Best Workplaces list for a 5th time. Prominently featured on Inc.com, the list is the result of a comprehensive measurement of American companies that have excelled in creating exceptional workplaces and company cultures, whether operating in a physical or a virtual facility.
Read our full press release here to learn more, or view the full list of Best Workplaces in 2024.
WATCH → The Path to Purchase Institute chats with Head of Co-op Media Network for Co-op, Dean Harris on the retailer’s unique market position in the U.K., plans for the future, and more.
READ → Digiday’s Ronan Shields gathered insights from attendees of the IAB Tech Lab’s two-day summit in NYC, which focused on challenges for the years ahead, shortcomings from years’ past, and more.
LISTEN → This week, commerce specialist, Senior Editor James Hercher, dives into all the recent retail media entrants, including United Airlines, Costco, PayPal, Expedia, Chase, and more. (Listen time: 43:04).
