Walmart Media Group (WMG) has made significant updates to their Sponsored Ads platform and offerings for brand partners in 2020. We’re celebrating the changes at Harvest Group as our clients will experience more transparency and reporting options than ever before. While this change is positive, it can also be confusing. What does all of it mean for brand partners? We answer a few common questions we’ve received in this FAQ – we hope it helps you out!
I received an email with advertising updates from Walmart Media Group – what is changing in 2020?
Walmart Media Group is granting brand partners access to control the execution and management of Walmart Sponsored Ads through their Self-Serve Platform or by working with a handful of approved Marketing Partners.
What are Walmart Sponsored Ads?
Ads that appear in Search on Walmart.com, below the Buy Box or in the Item Carousel.
Which Platform Can I Run Sponsored Ads on?
Sponsored Ads campaigns are only available for Walmart.com through the self-serve platform or working with a Marketing Partner. Brand partners can now get granular with Search campaigns with more access to data and the ability to make changes to ads instantly.
Can I still work with WMG for Sponsored Ads?
No, WMG will no longer manage Search Campaigns once your current programs expire. Although, WMG will still be your go-to resource for Display Ads and Online Grocery Pickup (OGP) Ads.
Brand partners will still work with WMG for total advertising business, overall strategy, behavioral targeting, etc.
What are WMG Preferred Marketing Partners?
Walmart Media Group named a handful of Preferred Marketing Partners that brands can work as an alternative to the Self-Serve Platform. Kenshoo was named as one of the first and Harvest Group has partnered with them to offer a unique opportunity to brands looking for expansive advertising expertise.
Why did Harvest Group and Kenshoo form a partnership?
Kenshoo is a leading advertising technology platform specializing in advanced automation and optimization. We created a partnership to leverage the Harvest Group Walmart expertise with their amazing technology to offer more comprehensive reporting and to maximize ROAS for clients.
Kenshoo’s machine learning technology allows the technology to do the work for you. Brand partners can see return on advertising efforts and tie insights back into total Walmart strategy. Together, we’re always helping you to answer the questions of “What does this mean?” “How do my Sponsored Ads contribute to in-store and offline sales?”.
What can I expect when working with Kenshoo and Harvest Group?
We make it easy and fast to get started – just come with your budget, goals, and expectations. We’ll handle the rest! Our combined technology and expertise allow us to stretch your ad spend to get the best cost per click possible. So far, we’ve been able to deliver ROAS of 5x or more to clients.
Why should I work with a marketing partner instead of using the self-serve platform?
Scale. The self-serve platform can be time consuming and difficult to use. Every decision in the Self-Serve platform needs to be made manually. It can take around three hours to set up a “robust” campaign in Self-Serve.
Marketing Partners can manage ads through technology, making changes immediately to ensure you’re always winning the bid for your items. For reference, a full campaign takes about 10 mins to set up in Kenshoo. Because the platform allows you to set rules to maximize ad spend, you can just let it run without making manual changes. With the partnership, Harvest Group is always there to provide strategic changes, recommendations, and items suggestions. Brand partners receive robust reporting to provide comprehensive omnichannel metrics, bringing all digital efforts back to your total Walmart strategy.
What is the timeline for implementation with Harvest Group and Kenshoo?
We estimate around 3-5 business days for API creation & Kenshoo activation with a brand partner’s credentials. We’ll set up an hour meeting for understanding your budget, goals, and expectations then we can launch. Our first campaign launched for brand new customer in 2 weeks, no problem.
Ready to talk about Sponsored Ad options with Harvest Group? Reach out to Josh Richardson, jrichardson@harvestgroup.com
