Earlier this year, Best Buy partnered with CNET to expand advertisers’ reach among high-intent shoppers. This is a part of a larger trend where retail media networks (RMNs) team up with outside partners to expand their ad capabilities.

Publishers make valuable partners for RMNs due to their trusted reputation, access to first-party data, and off-site ad inventory.

Here are three ways publishers can help RMNs provide more value to advertisers.

1. Data enrichment

Some 60% of US brands and agencies say they will be at least somewhat more focused on ad placements with publishers’ first-party data in 2024, according to a November 2023 survey from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

• While retailers provide valuable data on what consumers purchase, publishers offer a different view based on the content consumers engage with.
• Publishers can monetize first-party data by packaging audience segments to help advertisers target consumers more accurately.
• The IAB Tech Lab’s seller-defined audiences (SDA) framework groups consumers by interest, offering a standardized taxonomy for publishers to package their audiences.
• However, only 12% of marketing professionals worldwide consider SDA as the most viable solution to the deprecation of third-party cookies, according to an August 2023 survey from ID5, suggesting the solution may not gain much traction within the industry.

2. Brand safety

Marketers will face a host of reputational risks this year, including high-risk digital ad environments, evolving AI technology, polarizing political discourse, and inadequate content moderation on social platforms, according to our Brand Safety report.

Publishers offer advertisers a brand-safe environment, alleviating concerns about ad placement.

• Some brands may worry about the impact of their ads running next to hard-hitting news stories, but according to a recent report from marketing agency Stagwell, the type of news story shown with an ad did not affect purchase intent or favorability toward the brand.
• News content had “minimal effect” on both Gen Z consumers and moms, despite being considered more sensitive demographics.

Plus, publishers are a highly trusted source among consumers, creating opportunities for RMNs to partner with them on product reviews or roundups.

3. Off-site inventory

RMNs can partner with publishers to expand off-site ad inventory.

• Nearly half (46%) of advertisers say they currently activate off-site retail media when working with a retailer, according to a December 2023 survey designed by TripleLift and executed in partnership with EMARKETER.
• Of that, over two-thirds (68%) agree that off-site is a necessary part of their retail media strategy.
• However, a third (33%) of retailers report a lack of available off-site ad inventory, per the survey.

Publishers can help RMNs provide advertisers with more cookieless inventory. Over half (54%) of US brand and agency ad buyers plan on increasing their spending on publisher direct advertising due to legislation and signal loss, per a February 2024 survey from the IAB.

This was originally featured in the Retail Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.