The holiday shopping frenzy is officially in full swing now that Thanksgiving weekend has ushered in Cyber Week dealmaking, and brands are pulling out all the stops to capture consumer attention during the most lucrative retail season of the year. But amidst the traditional marketing blitzes and seasonal promotions, a new force is opening doors to partnerships that wouldn’t have been imaginable even a few years ago — and quietly reshaping the retail landscape in the process: commerce media.
Commerce media, which leverages retailers’ first-party data and digital platforms to deliver targeted advertising, is creating exciting new opportunities for brands to connect with shoppers and amplify growth. But perhaps its most unexpected impact this holiday season is its ability to forge partnerships between seemingly disparate brands, unlocking new avenues and opportunities to foster customer engagement.
Think Outside the (Gift) Box
Imagine a scenario where a streaming service like Netflix partners with a gourmet food delivery company like Blue Apron to offer a bundled holiday promotion. Or picture a fitness apparel brand like Lululemon teaming up with a mindfulness app like Calm to provide a holistic wellness package targeting the self-care consumer. These are the kinds of unexpected brand alignments that commerce media is enabling, allowing companies to tap into complementary audiences and create unique win-win value propositions for brands that might not have interacted otherwise.
Why these partnerships work:
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- Shared audiences: Commerce media platforms leverage retailers’ rich customer data to identify overlapping audiences between brands. This allows companies to target consumers who are likely to be interested in both their products and the products of their partner brand.
- Complementary offerings: By partnering with brands that offer complementary products or services, companies can create bundled offerings or cross-promotional campaigns that provide greater value to consumers.
- Enhanced customer experience: These unexpected partnerships can surprise and delight shoppers, creating a more engaging and memorable holiday shopping experience.
- Hyper-relevance at scale: With access to detailed first-party data, brands can reach consumers with precise messaging, ensuring that partnerships feel natural rather than forced. A collaboration between a skincare brand and a wellness retreat can deliver tailored ads to self-care enthusiasts without feeling disjointed.
- Holistic customer view: By understanding and addressing the full spectrum of their customers’ needs, brands can craft partnerships that offer value across multiple aspects of shoppers’ lives. This customer-centric approach ensures the partnership resonates deeply and fosters greater loyalty.
- Expanding discovery: These partnerships expose brands to new audiences, driving customer acquisition. When commerce media integrates product discovery into transactional moments — like post-purchase offers — it seamlessly introduces complementary products or services to engaged shoppers.
Examples in action:
- A streaming service partners with a travel booking platform to offer downloadable shows and movies tailored for travelers, enhancing the journey experience while creating a seamless connection between entertainment and travel planning.
- A headphone brand partners with a fitness app to curate exclusive workout playlists and offer discounts on premium subscriptions when purchasing the brand’s headphones.
- A pet food brand teams with a streaming service to launch a channel dedicated to soothing content for pets, with integrated promotions for calming treats and accessories.
- A bookstore partners with a meal delivery service to bundle literary-inspired dinner kits with books that match a specific theme or era.
The Role of AI
Advancements in AI are driving new ways to leverage first-party data to power commerce media. AI-driven algorithms, robust analytics and seamless integration with ecommerce platforms ensure that brands can deliver relevant, timely offers to the right audiences. Leading platforms enable brands to unlock the power of the transaction moment, leveraging machine learning to optimize offers and drive incremental revenue.
Growth Beyond the Holidays
While the holiday season provides a clear ROI boost, the potential of commerce media extends far beyond this period. By cultivating new brand partnerships that unlock customer value, companies can turn holiday shoppers into year-round customers, building loyalty and unlocking long-term growth.
The Future of Commerce Media
Commerce media is proving to be more than a revenue driver — it’s a bridge between brands, enabling unexpected alignments that benefit businesses and consumers alike. As we embrace this transformative approach to marketing, brands that lean into creative, data-driven collaborations will not only thrive this holiday season but also define the future of retail.
By embracing the power of commerce media and thinking outside the box, brands can forge unexpected partnerships that drive growth, enhance customer engagement and create a more memorable holiday season for shoppers.
Laura Cosgrove is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in ecommerce technology. Currently serving as VP of Retail Strategic Partnerships at Rokt, Cosgrove has held various roles within the company, including Senior Director and Director of Enterprise Accounts. She has helped propel Rokt’s partnerships forward over the last five years, building key relationships with brands such as Ulta, Wayfair, and Macy’s. Cosgrove holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University of Technology Sydney and completed the CORe program at Harvard Business School Online in 2020.
