CVS debuts its own media network

Just in time for the busy fall season, when health experts expect a surge in flu and coronavirus cases, CVS has a new offering for advertisers. On Monday, the pharmacy chain announced its CVS Media Exchange, a digital media platform that gives consumer packaged goods brands targeting access to specific customers based on the retailer’s own shopping data. The network “allows brands to focus their ad spend on reaching the right customer at the right time, with maximum efficiency,” said Norman de Greve, CVS Health’s chief marketing officer, in a statement, noting that CVS “can target both loyal and category shoppers and accurately validate the effectiveness of a campaign by measuring both online and offline sales.” This “closed loop” system, in which CVS can use its own shopper data to show brands which ads and which placements are resonating with sales, could be particularly valuable to advertisers looking to avoid risk during the current economic climate. CVS is not the first retailer to recognize the value of its data to advertisers. Four years ago, Target began investing more in its own media network, called Roundel. Other marketers including Best Buy and TripAdvisor have made building media networks a priority. Forrester recently predicted that any retailer with more than 500 million unique monthly website visitors will explore creating its own media business. News of CVS planning a new ad network first began circling in April. While many retailers have suffered during the pandemic, CVS is one of the few to see sales rise due to its health-focused products and coronavirus-testing ability. Earlier this month, CVS reported second-quarter revenue of $65.3 billion, a 3 percent rise over the year-earlier period. The company saw net income of $3 billion, a nearly 50 percent rise over last year. CVS has been expanding its virtual-care offerings, medicine delivery and in-store HealthHUBs which help consumers with chronic conditions.

CVS debuts its own media network

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