Walmart, NBCU beef up shoppable ads, measurement ahead of retail spree

Dive Brief:

NBCUniversal (NBCU) and Walmart will introduce new shoppable experiences and measurement capabilities around live sports on Thanksgiving night (Nov. 28), per details shared with Marketing Dive. This is the first time Walmart Connect is bringing its retail media offering to linear TV.
Viewers will be able to directly shop via an on-screen QR code leading to Walmart.com and through NBCU’s new text-to-shop functionality in its Shop the Pod ad format. Advertisers will be provided closed-loop measurement to attribute sales across linear and streaming.
The news represents the next step in a long-standing partnership between the retailer and media conglomerate that speaks to the growing convergence between video and retail media networks.

Dive Insight:

NBCU and Walmart are kicking off their latest collaboration during the linear and streaming broadcast of a Thanksgiving night NFL game, tapping into the intersection between sports fandom and the big-box store’s customers. Eighty-six percent of Walmart shoppers watch pro football, per first-party data cited by the retailer. The timing anticipates the Black Friday and Cyber Monday blitz.

Viewers will be exposed to the latest shoppable ad formats, including ones that deploy QR codes and text-to-shop functionality. Beyond promoting Walmart as a holiday destination, the ads will feature brands from categories like CPG. NBCU and Walmart are promising closed-loop measurement for sales attribution.

“This is the next era of advertising — the most compelling content, an innovative viewer experience and real, cross-platform reach and attribution,” said Alison Levin, president of advertising and partnerships at NBCU, in a statement.

In addition, Walmart will be featured in a 2-minute segment promoting its Black Friday “advertainment” campaign, called “Deals of Desire.” The 10-part series features familiar actors in vignettes that parody fan-favorite TV shows. “Deals of Desire” is running in addition to Walmart’s larger 2024 holiday advertising push.

The latest collaboration between NBCU and Walmart, which will extend beyond Thanksgiving, is part of the companies’ ongoing efforts to tie together content and commerce. The retailer served as the launch partner for NBCU’s Must Shop TV, and NBCU has been testing ad offerings as a member of the Walmart Connect Partner Lab.

Walmart’s global advertising business increased 28% year over year in Q3, with Walmart Connect, which is focused on the U.S., growing 26%, per its latest earnings report. The retailer’s acquisition of Vizio, which further entrenches the company in the video advertising space, is rumored to close on Dec. 2.

NBCU parent Comcast beat Q3 earnings expectations, with revenue for its media segment up nearly 37%, mostly due to the Olympics. Total ad sales for the Summer Games surpassed $1.2 billion.