Retail Digital Media will give Pharma brands the opportunity to reach customers at the point in their journeys when they are most likely to buy.
US retail corporation CVS Pharmacy has introduced a media network to sell advertising directly to marketers, including those working on behalf of Pharma brands.
The CVS Media Exchange (cMx) will give Pharma advertisers access to online and offline channels, including in-store ads and banners on the CVS.com website, along with programmatic display, online video, social media and search.
One powerful tool that cMx will be putting in the hands of Pharma brands, for instance, is Retail Digital Media (RDM) – digital advertising on eRetailer sites which is proven to drive highly impressive rates of conversion.
Why is this an important development?
Most Pharma companies are not well-equipped to make the most of the golden opportunity to engage online shoppers at a time of significant new demand for OTC products.
CVS’s bold and smart move solves a problem for big Pharma brands by giving them the tools like RDM to reach and target people browsing CVS.com more effectively.
cMx aims to help marketers reach consumers at what we at eBusiness Institute would call their ‘optimum moment of receptivity’. In other words, at the point in the consumer journey when they are most likely to buy.
Pharma marketers will also be able to track the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns thanks to CVS’s in-store and online measurement system, which will factor in key value-added metrics like brand health, sales lift and growth of new buyers.
Ramping up RDM – a growing retail trend
You may remember a blog article we wrote last year on how Target is using its rebranded in-house media company, Roundel, to expand its RDM activities beyond the Target website.
Walmart recently launched on-demand performance dashboards for CPG advertisers[1]. And Walmart, along with players like CVS, are clearly attempting to get a foothold in a digital ad marketplace currently dominated by Amazon.
This shift by Target, CVS, Walmart and other big box-retailers reflects a wider trend to try to ramp up RDM activities.
Why is RDM such a crucial strategy to pursue?
RDM is, in effect, online point-of-sale activity that drives awareness, consideration and conversion.
Although there are a wide variety of optimised placements and tools, the simplest form of RDM is online banners.
RDM can be an incredibly effective way of grasping the attention of casual browsers and turning them into actual conversions.
It is also a fantastically informative source of customer behaviour, providing data on what customers are actually purchasing on an eRetailer website like CVS, Target or Walmart.
Therefore, an in-house media company like cMx can clearly demonstrate to brands why they will enjoy higher conversion rates when advertising on their respective platforms.
Customers on a website like CVS are already in a shopping mindset and looking to make a purchase. They will be far more receptive to an ad they see on the retailer’s site than to a similar ad on social media or on a search engine.
In conclusion – leveraging RDM to win at Online Retailing
To give CVS their due, the Pharma retail giant has shown clear commitment to Omnichannel and new ways of enhancing digital capabilities to meet customer needs[2].
As readers of eBusiness Institute’s blog will know, we continually stress how important it is for brands and retailers to embrace Omnichannel now if they are to thrive in the future.
CVS giving marketers RDM capabilities demonstrates that they understand the power of RDM and how important it is to reach customers via a wide variety of effective online and offline touchpoints.
eBusiness Institute is in a great position to both help Pharma companies drive OTC product sales online and show businesses of all kinds in the retail space how to get the best out their RDM activities – please contact us if you would like to learn more.
How can we help you?
eBusiness Institute has extensive expertise in helping multinational companies to ‘win’ at Online Retailing. Our End-2-End offering enables short-term interventions to quickly get up-and-running, and long-term set-ups to successfully integrate Online Retailing with your company’s ways of working.
Please get in touch to find out how we can help you maximise your eCommerce and Omnichannel performance.
Sources
[1] https://chainstoreage.com/cvs-takes-amazon-walmart-retail-digital-ad-market
[2] https://chainstoreage.com/technology/csa-exclusive-cvs-stays-current-with-omnichannel-photo-offering
