The news: Walmart integrated more than 3,300 audience segments into Vibe’s self-serve platform to help advertisers target its shoppers on connected TV (CTV), per Adweek. Advertisers buying inventory through Vibe can direct media to Walmart’s recent shoppers and those who are likely to make imminent purchases.

They will also be able to estimate household reach and commingle their proprietary data with Walmart’s. While advertisers won’t have access to Walmart Connect’s closed-loop measurement, the retail giant plans to bring additional capabilities to Vibe, an executive told Adweek.

In August, Walmart completed its acquisition of Vibe, which caters primarily to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by waiving the need for special contracts to use its platform. The Vibe buy is part of Walmart’s larger effort to use its retail media data to power TV advertising.

Why this matters: Walmart’s audience segments give advertisers of all sizes the ability to target shoppers through CTV ads. That data offers an intimate view into consumer behaviors, and its commerce-focused nature is conducive to powering ad placements intended to drive lower-funnel objectives like sales. Plus, Walmart’s enormous retail range—spanning grocery, apparel, electronics, and more—means that advertisers across numerous categories are likely to find audience segments that are relevant to their marketing goals.

SMBs are in a position to benefit because Vibe lowers the cost barriers to CTV advertising. The number of smaller US TV advertisers (who spend less than $50 million per year) is growing by roughly 38% per year, according to a MediaRadar estimate shared with EMARKETER, and SMBs need to meet potential ad saturation with a sharpened focus on running creative that can result in concrete ROI.

Recommendations for advertisers: Approach Vibe as an opportunity to extend reach through CTV, but don’t settle for driving awareness.

• Identify overlaps in proprietary customer data and Walmart’s audience segments to avoid targeting consumers who can be reached elsewhere and for less money.
• Jump on Vibe’s inventory quickly to reach holiday shoppers, but use this occasion to test out-of-the-box creative to differentiate from similarly themed ads.
• Measure general ROI by tracking fluctuations in lower-funnel objectives, such as conversions, sales, and store visits. Attribution should become easier when Walmart introduces more measurement capabilities.

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