In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the advertising industry is witnessing a seismic shift toward retail media networks (RMNs) as brands seek to connect with consumers in more meaningful ways. With Google’s reversal on third-party cookies, the focus is now squarely on leveraging first-party data for targeted advertising. In this exclusive interview, we delve into why retail media is poised to dominate the future of advertising and how foodpanda’s innovative AdTech strategy, including its burgeoning retail media network, is leading the charge in elevating full-funnel advertising and reaching consumers at multiple touchpoints.
Why do you believe retail media is the future of advertising, even with the recent reversal of Google’s plans to deprecate third-party cookies?
Google’s decision to keep third-party cookies should push the industry to double down on identity, measurement, and targeting solutions that were being developed for a cookieless world. Instead of returning to old methods like user tracking, advertisers should continue evolving their strategies to rely on first-party data. This will lead to a more decentralised and robust industry that’s less dependent on big ad platforms like Google and Facebook.
In addition, privacy and consent-marketing practices are still crucial for brands to build a sustainable long-term marketing strategy. Whether or not cookies are used, marketers need new approaches to effectively reach the right audiences at the right time, maximise their media effectiveness through the funnel, and accurately measure the impact of their marketing efforts. First-party data is key to achieving these outcomes.
Retail Media Networks (RMNs) are powerful tools in this shift, leveraging first-party data to help marketers future-proof their campaigns. RMNs are effective because they target high-intent customers who are already in shopping mode and ready to make a purchase. By using data from actual transactions, they offer more accurate insights than third-party data, allowing brands to deliver relevant ads that improve the overall shopping experience.
While conventional channels relying on third-party cookies still work, they will likely become less effective over time due to audience saturation, leading to stagnant growth and declining ROAS. In contrast, RMNs provide fresh, actionable insights that drive sustained growth by targeting new and relevant customer segments.
Finally, RMNs reduce reliance on major ad platforms that may change their policies and leave advertisers unprepared. With increasing regulatory oversight and consumer privacy concerns, RMNs offer a solution by relying on data voluntarily shared by consumers. This approach ensures compliance and delivers better results, helping advertisers effectively reach potential customers while improving ROI.
How significantly do actual and predicted purchasing data differ, and what impact does this have on advertising strategies?
Our business model allows us to gather valuable first-party data from our customers through food and grocery orders. Other data points are captured through transactions on the app, including spending habits, preferred payment methods, past purchases, mobile networks, and more. This data reflects real customer behaviour – what they buy, how much they spend, and how they pay – providing a clear and accurate picture of customer preferences.
There are many use cases for such first-party data across various industries. For instance, this information is invaluable for a credit card company, by enabling them to target credit card users who are likely to be interested in their products.
Using this first-party data, we can segment customers based on specific characteristics, enabling highly targeted marketing campaigns. For example, we can offer personalised deals to high-value customers who frequently order premium products, or create special promotions to engage less active users – leading to more relevant and impactful ad targeting.
An example is Unilever’s recent campaign in Singapore to boost awareness and sales of Ben & Jerry’s products. By leveraging foodpanda’s first-party retail data, Unilever targeted customers who had purchased Ben & Jerry’s or other frozen desserts on the platform in the past year.
To measure impact, the campaign used foodpanda’s sales measurement platform to reach these audiences on the open internet. The results were impressive: Unilever saw a 1.5x ROAS, with increased transaction volume on the foodpanda app driving sales of both new and existing Ben & Jerry’s flavours. By focusing on past Ben & Jerry’s customers, the campaign achieved the highest ROAS at 26x and reduced the cost per acquisition (CPA) by 94% compared to the campaign’s average CPA.
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In contrast, third-party cookies offer generic inferred data about users’ browsing activities across various sites. As a result, personalisation based on third-party cookies is often less effective and relevant compared to the precise targeting made possible with first-party data.
Recognising this, we offer brands the opportunity to leverage our reach, platform capabilities, and high-value audiences. By using this rich data, we provide brands with more targeted, full-funnel solutions through panda ads – our integrated advertising solution.
Since launching in 2022, panda ads, foodpanda’s RMN, has been growing quickly, putting foodpanda on the right track to becoming a leading retail media network. panda ads delivers favourable outcomes for our brand partners, signifying that their ads are resonating with customers and with our help, are reaching the right audience.
How does foodpanda’s all-in strategy for AdTech, especially with retail media, elevate full-funnel advertising and influence multiple touchpoints more effectively than traditional methods?
Quick commerce (Q-commerce) is rapidly growing in Asia and we’re a market leader in the field. As a beloved brand across APAC, we’re uniquely positioned to help our partners amplify their campaigns, boost awareness, drive consideration, and influence purchases. A prime example is our Christmas campaign in the Philippines with Coca-Cola. Using an online-to-offline (O2O) strategy, we boosted Coca-Cola’s reach, transactions, and sales by encouraging consumers to pair their beverages with popular dishes and offering promotions. The campaign resulted in a 40% sales increase and over a billion impressions, utilising channels like CRM ads, social media, in-app activations, and billboards to maximise impact during the festive season.
With panda ads, our adtech capabilities empower us to drive mid-to-low funnel performance and help brands analyse the impact of their campaign across the funnel. Our partnership with The Trade Desk enhances this by enabling brands to engage with foodpanda customers across the open internet via The Trade Desk’s platform, while measuring the impact of ad campaigns on conversions.
We’re committed to enhancing our suite of advertising solutions to address common challenges faced by marketers. Whether it’s improving targeting capabilities to help brands connect with key audiences, creating interactive ad formats (e.g. spin the wheel, homescreen ads), offering offline solutions (e.g. Digital Out of Home (DOOH) Smart Rider Bags ads), or delivering deeper consumer insights and analytics, we are dedicated to providing impactful and innovative solutions for our clients.
As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, foodpanda remains at the forefront of innovation, empowering brands with cutting-edge AdTech solutions that harness the power of first-party data. With a commitment to enhancing targeting capabilities, delivering insightful analytics, and creating impactful advertising experiences, foodpanda’s all-in strategy for retail media is setting new benchmarks in the industry. As we look ahead to a cookieless future, it’s clear that retail media networks like panda ads will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of advertising, driving growth, and delivering meaningful results for brands and consumers alike
