John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has expanded its retail media offering with global data and technology firm Epsilon to allow brand partners to advertise on offsite media channels.
Before JLP’s retail media brand partners could only run ads against the John Lewis and Waitrose websites, but this expansion will give them access to connected TV inventory and online video and display spots on other publishers’ websites.
The advertisers will also benefit from JLP’s first-party data, which means that they’ll have access to smarter targeting. Tim Frankcom, president of Europe and APAC at Epsilon, said in a statement that ‘it is all too easy to rely on retail media partners that lean heavily on third-party data’, but that this often results in ‘fragmented targeting and a disjointed customer experience.’
Frankcom went on to say that JLP’s first-party data will give brands access to ‘real identity’ instead of ‘guesswork’.
At MAD//Fest this week, S4 Capital’s founder, Sir Martin Sorrell, similarly stressed the importance of first-party data for media agencies and platforms.
JLP’s offering will initially be a managed service but the retailer has said that it plans to give advertisers more control over their campaigns through a self-service platform in the future.
In a LinkedIn post, JLP’s retail media lead, Jemma Haley, called the expansion ‘a huge step forward in advancing [JLP’s] retail media portfolio’. She also commented in a statement that the offering will help JLP ‘build a detailed understanding of audiences across vastly different purchase journeys, from immediate necessities to more considered items.’
‘This will enable our brand partners to target smarter audiences powered by first-party data, helping our customers discover more relevant and tailored brands,’ she said.
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