CVS’s retail media network is turning on self-serve advertising for the first time through a deal with The Trade Desk, a move that brands have wanted so they could control ad campaigns and get more transparency, according to Parbinder Dhariwal, VP and general manager, CVS Media Exchange.
CVS Media Exchange and The Trade Desk announced their partnership today during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Check out our guide to retail media networks
Until now, CMX has been a managed-service product, where brands in CVS stores work with the retailer to place ad buys, which can appear across the internet, including on Pinterest. The new arrangement puts CVS audiences inside The Trade Desk, the demand-side platform that many brands use to self-service their digital ad campaigns. The Trade Desk has made several deals with retail media partners, including Kroger, Albertsons and Walgreens. Meanwhile, Walmart has a bespoke integration with The Trade Desk that underpins its Walmart Connect DSP.
“We’ll give all of our partners who run their self-serve through The Trade Desk insight into media spend and that will subsequently also help us think about how we reduce waste in the ecosystem,” Dhariwal said. “And this is why our suppliers, advertisers, that they’ve been pushing us further to really come to the table with that self-serve opportunity, because it provides that level of transparency.”