AI Can Drive Relevance Amid Growing Pains In Retail Media: Digitas’ Lanzi

Retail media is exploding, forecast by Advertiser Perceptions to grow 30% in 2024 to reach a fifth of US advertising.

However, with rapid expansion comes significant challenges. In this video interview with Beet.TV editorial director Lisa Granatstein, Amy Lanzi, CEO of Digitas North America, identifies the primary issue as the retail sector’s nascence in the media capability space.

“Media is now a new capability,” she says. “Some of them, they have to catch up with the traditional media players in terms of the standards, how do you measure it, brand safety, all of those things that we know to be true,” she says.

Lanzi says AI-driven ads could help suggest complementary products or optimize content on product display pages in real-time, ensuring a personalized shopping experience.

She admits some of that has already been in place with major platforms. But she is keen to see smarter personalisation.

Looking ahead, Lanzi anticipates an even more tailored approach to consumer engagement, driven by AI. “The north star around relevancy… not only do you know who I am, but you know something about me that makes this really personalized to me,” she predicts.

Achieving such a level of customization at scale requires leveraging AI tools and technologies to understand and respond to individual consumer behaviors and preferences.

As the industry gears up for the holiday season, Lanzi foresees a trend of convergence. Retailers and traditional media players are expected to collaborate more closely, allowing brands to adopt a full-funnel approach and track the efficacy of their holiday campaigns. “We’ll see the theme of convergence… I’ll be able to be more precise in the full funnel approach to a retailer to be able to invest with them,” she says.

Furthermore, Lanzi predicts that retailers will embrace a sponsorship mindset, potentially incorporating movie properties or festive events into their offerings, thus enriching the consumer experience both through connected TV and on the physical shelf.

Lanzi also anticipates advancements in the integration of commerce and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). “How do you move someone from like to love to loyalty? How do you know them from the first purchase and then get them to repeat?” she posits. This holiday season is poised to be a pivotal period for retailers to refine their CRM strategies, aiming to foster direct relationships and drive consumer loyalty.

You’re watching “Why Relevance Rules in Ecommerce,” a Beet.TV Leadership Series presented by Rokt. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.