As the path to purchase becomes more fragmented, brands must be everywhere the customer is—and retail media partnerships are stepping up.

“There really isn't [one] common flow, and so you really have to make sure you're present in any place the consumer is thinking about your brand's products,” Eric Tarnowski, senior vice president, connected commerce at Kenvue, said during Advertising Week New York. “Every conversion point is a brand-building opportunity.”

• The true value of retail media is unlocked when on-site and off-site come together.
• “Our research shows that off-site is additive to performance,” said Matt Drzewicki, vice president, partner solutions at Target’s retail media network, Roundel. Brands that add two off-site elements to an on-site campaign achieve return on ad spend (ROAS) 1.5 times higher than without, he said. If brands add a third off-site element, it’s 2.5 times the ROAS.

One-stop-shop: Using Roundel’s first-party data and Pinterest’s broad audience base, Kenvue can create a full-funnel journey—all on one platform.

• “When we work with Pinterest, we’re trying to reach a really broad audience there, so it’s all about using the base offerings, making sure we have the right keyword tagging and right combination of organic activity,” said Tarnowski.
• As Kenvue moves down the funnel, it leverages Roundel data to target people they know are good candidates for conversion.
• “It’s still performance, but it’s using performance tactics in a slightly different place,” said Tarnowski.

Better together: The power of this partnership between Kenvue, Roundel, and Pinterest can be illustrated through its “make your own first aid kit” program.

• Kenvue and Target launched the program 17 years ago.
• What began as a low-funnel, in-store program now includes mid- and upper-funnel approaches, including a partnership with Pinterest to promote the program via video ads.
• “We created a 360-degree approach,” said Drzewicki. “And you think it couldn’t get any better after 17 years, but last year, we doubled the return on the program, and 50% of the shoppers who participated were new to the brand at Target.”

Tarnowski attributes this success to each party’s willingness to work together to achieve common goals.

“Everybody brings a specific set of capabilities of unique offerings and pieces to the equation, and we sit down at table and [figure out] how we put this all together in a way that works for everybody,” he said, noting these kinds of discussions are going to be key as retail media enters its next phase as a full-funnel tool.

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