Retail media has exploded in popularity the last few years but is now at a tipping point. With every retailer spinning up their own network, advertisers are becoming frustrated in this fragmented digital media market. But as advertisers now have to go to each individual retailer to buy inventory, and as the sizing and ad specifications can look different from walled garden to walled garden, advertisers are losing time and missing out on valuable inventory. The absence of a standardized framework hinders retail media's true revenue potential and scale for buyers, sellers, and technology stakeholders alike.
To address this challenge, Kevel has established a working group to create an Open RTB (Real-Time Bidding) programmatic standard for retail media. We believe that the IAB’s Open RTB protocol can provide powerful features and benefits to all stakeholders in the space.
Standardizing data formats and protocols streamlines the buying and selling process. Advertisers can seamlessly buy across various retail media networks, reducing friction and inefficiencies associated with fragmented buying across various retail media networks with varying standards. Advertisers can also easily access and analyze unified data, gaining valuable insights that can drive informed decision-making. Consequently, this increases campaign efficiency, improves targeting accuracy, and maximizes return on investment (ROI) for retail media advertisers.
The establishment of an Open RTB programmatic standard for retail media is a crucial step towards enhancing transparency, efficiency, and innovation within the industry.
We’re looking for publishers, advertisers, and technology partners to work with us to develop this standard. If you or someone you know would be interested in participating, apply here.
Open RTB is a framework for programmatic standardization developed by the IAB; you can learn more here.
The objective of the working group is to co-develop an OpenRTB standard for retail media and submit it to the IAB by the end of the year.
Apply to be part of the working group here. All you need is a work email, your LinkedIn URL, and why you think you’d be a good fit for the group. We’ll follow up with next steps!
Any stakeholders in the ad tech ecosystem who are interested in creating an OpenRTB standard can apply. If you’re in product or an engineer working at a publisher, retailer, advertiser, or ad tech partner then you’d be a great fit.
The group will meet twice a month until we publish the spec.
