Criteo’s commerce-focused video advertising solution is planned to launch in India in 2022

Adtech company Criteo helps marketers, companies, brands, start-ups in displaying effective advertising across all channels, mainly over websites and steadily expanding to apps, by applying advanced machine learning to unparalleled data sets. Criteo aids companies with the technology they need to better know and serve their customers. Criteo’s display ads appear in interactive banner advertisements, generated based on the online browsing preferences and behaviour of each customer.

With their recent change in identity, they are also going to launch video advertising solutions in India. Available abroad, it is under the process to be launched in India. In conversation with Adgully, Taranjeet Singh, Managing Director, SEA and India, Criteo, dwells on this and much more. Excerpts: 

What was the idea behind rebranding from being a retargeting point solution to a full-fledged media ad-tech solution provider?

The new branding launched in June 2021 solidifies that we’re no longer only a retargeting point solution, but rather a global technology company driving outcomes for marketers and media owners through our world-leading Commerce Media Platform. Commerce Media is a new approach to digital advertising that combines commerce data and intelligence to target consumers throughout their shopping journey and help marketers and media owners drive commerce outcomes (sales, revenue, and leads).

We are laser-focused on our transformation to the new Criteo with new branding, including a new logo, visual identity, and brand positioning – “The Future is Wide Open.” – to ensure we maintain a resilient performance marketing business, continue to grow Retail Media incredibly fast, and power our full Commerce Media Platform offering.

The new tagline, “The Future is Wide Open”, connects us to our purpose of supporting a fair and open Internet that enables discovery, innovation, and choice. Being “open” means being collaborative and willing to evolve for the good of marketers, media owners, the consumers that they serve – and the advertising industry as a whole.

The new logo brings the two dots previously connected at the top right of the logo to the center of the new logo to better represent consumers and its customers, who are the centerpiece of the company’s product strategy to offer the world’s leading Commerce Media Platform.

What are the trends in the e-commerce marketing space?

In the short-term for the rest of the year, because of increased customer demand and festive offers, consumers are constantly browsing through various channels and allowing brands that offer them value in the form of relevant and exciting deals into their lives. Criteo’s 2021 Holiday Commerce Report shares key trends that marketers should be aware of, including how stores are driving seasonal spending and excitement as well as consumers’ adaption to the “Constant Commerce” trend, which will likely continue throughout the festive season.

In a bigger picture, according to a report by Bain and Co., India’s e-commerce market is set to clock $100-120 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) and 300-350 million shoppers by 2025. In terms of the emerging channels, India’s online video market is expected to touch $4 billion by 2025, with advertising accounting for $2.5 billion, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA).

Today, e-commerce has become the lifeline for many customers as sales on e-commerce platforms are climbing up phenomenally. According to a consumer survey conducted by Criteo, the India report shows that half of consumers, especially the millennials, say they will purchase more online because of COVID-19. The need for the Internet is more pronounced than ever during this period as we may witness only further growth when it comes to online.

With more channels available, brands and retailers need to deploy an omnichannel marketing strategy to ensure that consumers get both the online and offline experiences they desire. This includes engaging with shoppers who previously only shopped in-store with relevant online advertising that speaks to where they are in their customer journey. In the future, linear campaigns are likely to become more strategic, and digital campaigns will become more refined, improving multi-channel efficiency.

As the world’s leading Commerce Media Platform, supported by robust first-party data rights management, and offering a combination of demand and supply side capabilities, Criteo’s unified tech platform continues to cater to the needs of both marketers and media owners. Through our First-Party Media Network, Criteo helps marketers and media owners connect, enrich, and activate first-party data using privacy-by-design measures, helping them achieve addressable audience reach, personalise marketing experience, and measure outcomes.

What are the trends and innovations coming in the AdTech space, performance marketing, mobile marketing, etc.? What according to you will be the future of advertising?

There are various advertising trends that will change the future include:

1. Commerce Media is the future state of AdTech
2. Gaining consumer trust will be critical for businesses to thrive in the next decade. Data is now the backbone of the omnichannel economy and consumer trust is fundamental to customer relationships.
3. Demonstrating brand values will be central to connecting with consumers. Consumers are looking for brands to take meaningful steps that deliver tangible results. The brands most likely to succeed are the ones that make their North Star. They walk the walk and create authentic conversations to reach their consumers’ passion points.
4. Apps and video ads will become increasingly important throughout the consumer journey.
5. Connecting physical stores and ecommerce is essential for retailers. Two things will be key to long-term growth for retailers: driving CLV and driving new customer acquisition. Creating a more customer-centric marketing strategy, as opposed to channel-centric, and engaging the customer on her terms. Leveraging physical store assets to continue to win in the competitive ecommerce space is essential, and retailers will need to develop a fully connected data set to enable that.
6. Finding the right partners will be key to succeed in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace. The time has come for marketers to team up with the right partners who can help them build full-funnel ad campaigns to get people interested in their brand, keep them engaged, and drive loyalty and CLV both online and offline

What are Criteo's offerings in the OTT and CTV segments? What are the latest trends in OTT advertising?

Criteo is heavily invested in the growth of emerging channels and formats, including video ads; and video and CTV ads surged over 1,000% in Q1 2021 globally. Criteo’s commerce-focused video advertising solution understands the true value of video for businesses and enables marketers to reach in-market consumers who are more likely to buy across their purchase journey and whenever they consume video contents. We are currently testing the solution with clients in the market and aiming to officially launch it in India in 2022 as the opportunity is big and it will further support marketers and media owners. According to Criteo’s app user behaviour report, six out of 10 Indian shoppers have downloaded streaming video apps during COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed consumer behaviour with respect to streaming video across all age groups. It is observed that on an average, an individual spends around seven hours and 55 minutes viewing online video content, whereas Indians have outdone their viewing hours by spending 10 hours 54 minutes weekly in viewing online video content, according to the State of Online Video report 2020 by Limelight Networks.