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Dive Brief:

• Roundel, the retail media division of Target, is pushing further into video through a new partnership with DirecTV Advertising, per a press release shared with Marketing Dive.
• The companies are piloting a solution that leverages Target’s first-party shopper data to help brands target consumers with premium ad placements across DirecTV platforms. Ads will show up on home screens,  during live sports broadcasts and on screens on planes, in hotels and around other travel locations. 
• Reporting tools will link DirecTV’s audience signals with Target’s data to track whether viewers exposed to ads ended up shopping at Target. CPG marketer Danone plans to test the capability in the coming months while Roundel is actively recruiting other clients.  

Dive Insight:

Roundel and DirecTV’s partnership unifies travel, sports and streaming ad buys into one package boasting a unified measurement framework and targeting enhanced by Target’s first-party shopper data. Roundel is pitching the new offsite pilot this week at Cannes Lions, a global gathering for advertisers that tends to invite a lot of dealmaking activity.  

“By connecting Target’s guest insights with premium video environments, we’re helping brands engage guests during key moments of discovery and inspiration while continuing to evolve how advertising supports the shopping journey,” said Matt Drzewicki, senior vice president of Roundel, in a statement.

Retail media networks broadly are pushing into upper-funnel channels, including premium video, to diversify revenue and demonstrate their data capabilities have applications beyond performance marketing. Walmart Connect, the U.S. ad business of Walmart, recently teamed with Google on a deal that will let advertisers use its retail media data to enhance YouTube campaigns and trace the impact of those efforts back to Walmart sales. 

Danone, which markets brands like Dannon and Oikos yogurt, is an early tester of Roundel’s solution with DirecTV. The partnership encompasses over 150 live channels on DirecTV and formats including home screen ad units, video spots, pause ads and curated streaming content. The sports component will allow brands to reach fans of leagues like the MLB, WNBA and PGA during live events, including through pause ads that surface when viewers take a break. Pause ads tend to draw stronger recall rates, according to the announcement. 

Roundel’s pact also make it the first retail media network to place ads in DirecTV Remote, the out-of-home advertising division focused on screens in planes, hotels, bars and other travel environments. DirecTV, which is privately held, is among a crop of cable companies that have been contending with the rise of streaming services and pressures from cord-cutting. DirecTV lost about 222,000 customers in the first quarter of this year, according to MoffettNathanson estimates shared with TheStreet. 

Target’s advertising revenue, the bulk of which stems from Roundel, rose 51% year over year to $246 million in Q1. Advertising has been a bright spot as the big-box store tries to reignite sales and recapture an image as a retailer offering on-trend styles at affordable price points. Net sales at the business were up 6.7% for the three-month period ended May 2.