Dive Brief:

• Albertsons Media Collective announced Friday a partnership with e-commerce technology company Rokt that broadens its reach of advertising partners and ad capabilities.
• The tie-up enables brands with products and services not sold online by Albertsons to engage with the grocer’s retail media network and connect with its e-commerce customers through targeted ads. 
• Albertsons continues to be a leader in the retail media space as the grocer links up with third-party technology companies that bring cutting-edge capabilities to the grocer’s retail media network.

Dive Insight:

This latest step from Albertsons is unique as it extends its advertiser reach beyond services and products offered in-store as well as further solidifies the grocer as a leading competitor in the quickly growing grocery retail media space. 

Albertsons’ partnership with Rokt allows the grocer to expand its retail media network to include “non-endemic” brands whose products or services are not sold online directly by Albertsons. According to Rokt, these types of ads are most effective during the point of transaction as there is a greater chance they will respond to “new, highly relevant offers.”

The grocer will also leverage Rokt Ads to push out brand messages across the e-commerce company’s network of digital merchants, such as Ticketmaster, Uber, Grubhub and AMC Theatres to reach shoppers who will likely engage, the press release said. This move extends Albertsons’ advertising capabilities throughout consumers’ transaction journey on its own digital channels as well as across Rokt’s merchant network. 

Eleven of Albertsons' banners are part of the partnership, including Safeway, ACME Markets, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s Supermarkets, Carrs and Star Market. 

Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president of retail media at Albertsons Media Collective, said in a statement that the partnership complements Albertsons Media Collective: “By leveraging Rokt’s technology across our portfolio of brands and across the transaction journey, we will be able to drive customer loyalty and deliver an enhanced shopping experience.” 

Rokt’s network stretches across hundreds of leading e-commerce businesses and allows retailers to tailor the customer experience while controlling the ads and promotions sent to their shoppers, according to the announcement. 

So far this year, Albertsons has equipped its retail media arm with generative artificial intelligence, intelligent process automation and demand- and supply-side advertising capabilities through a string of partnerships.