All the retail media world is a stage, and AI is fast becoming its star player. This week, as a major U.K. retailer unveils a shiny new AI platform claiming to automate shopper-specific ad creation across multiple formats, TWIRM wants sneak a peek behind the curtain.
TWIRM, as every savvy retail media maven knows, is the This Week in Retail Media podcast, hosted by Kate Dickson, Head of Marketing and Communications, Retail Media, STRATACACHE, and Jonathan Rosen, STRATACACHE’s Global EVP of Retail Media Strategy. Each week, Kate and Jonathan chat across the Atlantic about three retail media stories that excite them, intrigue them and even, sometimes, have them asking to “see the receipts.”
This week’s top story, courtesy of Decision Marketing, looks at U.K. grocery giant Tesco’s launch of its Creator Studio—an AI tool the retailer claims will automatically generate ads across multiple formats, both onsite and offsite. It promises to deliver brand-approved customized and relevant content for online browsers and in-store shoppers, as well as both first-time and lapsed customers.
But is it too good to be true? Kate notes that Tesco is often at the vanguard of innovation, but wants to see a case study showing that its AI delivers the creative goods. “I’d really love a brand to say, ‘This is how we use this tool’”—and that it works, she says.
From Tesco’s tech-meets-creative bid, Kate and Jonathan dive deeper into the AI rabbit hole to look at Walmart’s ChatGPT integration, the latest Open AI partnership that seeks to reinvent product search. Last, they explore Ulta Beauty’s invitation-only marketplace launch and muse about brand standards in the age of third-party sellers.
Click here to hear Kate and Jonathan unpack Tesco’s big move to deploy AI as a creative tool and how the technology is rapidly reshaping the retail media landscape.
