Walmart Display Self-Serve Advertising Brings Big Opportunity for Brands

It’s been more than a year since Walmart Media Group rebranded, becoming Walmart Connect. In their rebranding announcement, Walmart shared that the punchier name “reflects the company’s unique ability to accelerate the connection between brands and its 150 million weekly customers.”

With a goal of becoming “one of the top ten advertising platforms in the US,” Walmart Connect said they would maintain focus on 3 top priorities: growing offerings across their digital properties; launching innovative in-store experiences; expanding offsite media opportunities at scale.

As for how that promise holds up a year-plus later? Let’s just say Walmart was good on their word.

On the digital front, in the past 12+ months we’ve seen Walmart launch their own DSP in partnership with The Trade Desk—heavily ticking that ‘expand offsite opportunities at scale’ box. And as far as growing offerings across their own digital properties? We’ll be exploring one such monumental advancement in that category today—the launch of Walmart Display Self-Serve (DSS).
 

What is Walmart Display Self-Serve (DSS)?

Walmart DSS is a nimble, self-serve platform that gives advertisers total control over their onsite Walmart display advertising efforts, to include building, activating, managing, optimizing, and measuring campaigns.

The new platform delivers the same omnichannel impact as historical, Walmart-managed campaigns, but with greater speed, control, convenience and automation, opening up the door for more brands and sellers of all sizes to take advantage of Walmart’s digital ad inventory.
 

Walmart DSS Benefits

 

• Walmart integrated automation IP and technology into their Display self-serve platform, reducing the time and resources needed to go from ad planning, to set up, to go-live

 

• Advertisers can leverage Walmart’s robust behavioral, contextual, and keyword targeting to reach the most relevant Walmart shoppers

 

• Walmart’s Creative Builder allows for easy and efficient creative control through automated templates

 

• Walmart’s Creative Library allows you to manage creatives across campaigns

With no budget minimums, access to Walmart’s robust 1P audiences, and full management control, this Walmart self-serve ad platform offers a streamlined way to build, publish, and optimize your onsite ad efforts at scale.
 

Walmart DSS Levels the Playing Field

Prior to the release of DSS, onsite Display ad opportunities were exclusively managed by the Walmart Connect team. Due to the high minimum spend Walmart-managed Display campaigns command, many smaller and mid-size brands and sellers were priced out of participation.
 

But brands new to Walmart Display aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit.

Even larger brands who could fit Display into their Walmart advertising budget prior to DSS will realize unique advantages working with the self-serve ad platform offers—namely, the ability to have full, on-demand control of your onsite ad efforts. Walmart-managed campaigns offer brands in-flight insights through a performance dashboard, but limited ability to act on those insights. With the introduction of DSS advertising, those levers are now available to pull, making adjustments and optimizations in real-time.
 

Post-flight reports are still valuable.

To be certain, Walmart’s post-flight, closed loop reporting is still incredibly valuable, painting a clear, comprehensive picture of your holistic omnichannel impact. This reporting will continue to play a major role in informing strategy and execution for future campaigns; it will simply be complemented by the ability to make in-flight changes without having to wait for ‘next time’ to fully maximize each ad dollar spent.
 

Why Partner with Tinuiti for Walmart DSS Campaigns?

 
Tinuiti has all the expertise, tech and relationships in place to create the right media mix that maximizes performance across Walmart’s digital properties.

• We are one of only nine Walmart API Platform Partners, with more than three years of direct Walmart Advertising experience. This partnership has resulted in early, often beta, participation in programs such as Search Brand Amplifiers and Walmart DSP

 

• Through our relationships with Walmart Connect, we gain program approvals and platform access, and have strategic conversations on goals, budgets, and advertising intent. This enables us to activate and manage campaigns from set-up, and run optimizations and reporting on reach and performance

 

• We can target Walmart 1P data, including historical segments (past brand or category shoppers), or predictive segments, such as in-market category shoppers. We can also layer contextual and keyword-based tactics to identify and target the right customers

Want to learn more about leveraging Walmart Display Self-Serve’s streamlined platform features to scale your onsite ad efforts? Reach out today to chat with an expert!