Dive Brief:

• Walmart Connect, the U.S. advertising division of the big-box store, is enhancing its connected TV (CTV) capabilities through a new partnership with Innovid, a press release announced.
• The deal integrates Innovid’s Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) solution with Walmart DSP, a demand-side platform built on technology from The Trade Desk. DCO relies on artificial intelligence to better tailor CTV messages to be more engaging and interactive in real time.
• Innovid will also help with ad delivery services through Walmart DSP to ensure a high-quality video experience. The tools are immediately available to Innovid customers that are using Walmart DSP.

Dive Insight:

Walmart is ramping up its CTV ambitions as it continues to scale the Walmart Connect business and associated ad-tech offerings, including a DSP powered by The Trade Desk. The deal with Innovid offers another sign that maturing retail media networks are eyeing premium offsite channels like video as they diversify beyond sponsored search and display advertising on their own websites and apps.

Publicis Media’s Spark Foundry is already taking advantage of the new alliance. The media agency in a statement cited data-driven personalization and more precise audience targeting as some of the benefits of Walmart Connect and Innovid’s pact, which integrates the latter’s DCO tool into Walmart DSP.

Walmart Connect has gained momentum as the pending deprecation of cookies puts a higher premium on first-party data. Walmart’s global ad sales were up nearly 30% in 2022, generating $2.7 billion in revenue, according to a recent earnings statement. Growth was largely driven by Walmart Connect and FlipKart Ads, an India-based unit.

Walmart Connect has focused on partnerships with media platforms and ad-tech firms to round out and scale its services. In the TV arena, it’s piloting shoppable ads with CTV giant Roku. The retailer is also working with TikTok and Snapchat to extend its reach further into social media apps preferred by young audiences.

Retail media has continued to attract spending from categories like consumer packaged goods despite an uncertain economic environment. The channel is forecast to grow 25.8% this year in the U.S. to reach $51.36 billion in revenue, according to eMarketer data cited in the Innovid release.

While Walmart has a few irons in the fire, rivals are also betting bigger on CTV to capture more marketing dollars. Best Buy earlier this month teamed with Roku to help advertisers improve their CTV campaigns using the consumer electronics store’s first-party shopper data. Last fall, Kroger added CTV and video ad inventory into its private programmatic advertising marketplace.