Walgreens said on Monday (May 17) that it is offering more ways for brands to connect with the pharmacy chain’s customers and take advantage of the “first-party data” that the retailer collects.
In an emailed press release, the company said the expansion of the Walgreens Advertising Group’s capabilities will enable brands to reach more customers “thoughtfully wherever they choose to consume media. … This increase in investment to develop additional capabilities advances Walgreens’ media focus.”
The new advertising service includes “OTT advertising,” meaning that a TV viewer, for example, can have individually targeted content that is different from what others see.
“At Walgreens Advertising Group, we have three principles that are core to our DNA: to help brands deliver more relevant personalized experiences, to support audience-led and channel-agnostic media approaches, and to make it easy to work with us,” said Luke Kigel, vice president of Walgreens integrated media and leader of Walgreens Advertising Group.
At the end of last year, the pharmacy chain announced the launch of its Walgreens Advertising Group, “a modern, full-service, personalization-driven advertising offering,” the company said in a press release.
The hot “big retail” trend has Walgreens — along with rivals such as Walmart and Amazon — offering in-house advertising on their websites to vendors. From the retailers’ perspective, why get paid only once on a purchase if you can get paid twice? In other words, Walgreens can make money both from selling an ad on its website and then selling a product to its own customers.
“We have an unparalleled insight into consumers’ needs and shopping preferences,” said Kigel at the time, noting that Walgreens can help advertisers boost their return on investment “by unlocking the power of its first-party data.”
Also this month (May 4) Walgreens said it is rolling out nationwide same-day delivery “in under two hours” for over 24,000 retail items. The launch was seen as a way to boost sales at its 9,000 domestic locations while augmenting its omnichannel efforts
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