Last week, Profitero announced the launch of the Open Commerce Ecosystem, a first of its kind partnership program connecting retail digital shelf analytics, media agencies and tech platforms together for optimized marketing performance. The announcement has generated a lot of buzz, with news coverage appearing in AdAge, AdExchanger, Adweek and MediaPost.
We caught up with Profitero CEO Bryan Wiener to get his perspective on the Open Commerce Ecosystem, and why the industry needs it more than ever.
Q. Why did Profitero launch the Open Commerce Ecosystem?
Our clients use many different tools, data platforms and agency partners to manage and optimize their eCommerce businesses. They don’t want these tools operating in silos, closed off to each other. Instead, they want them to be connected so they can work better together and drive better results. And it’s simply more convenient too. By launching the Open Commerce Ecosystem, Profitero is responding to this need and working on our clients’ behalf to integrate our sales and digital shelf data with the key data sets and platforms they use.
Q. Can you provide an example of a common partner integration use case?
One use case is connecting Profitero’s data with a media agency to optimize sponsored advertising on retailer websites. For example, Profitero’s eComm data can expose that a particular product is out of stock, yet the media agency may still be running paid search ads for it. Combining this data into the same platform and ensuring both marketing (the agency) and eComm teams have access to it, teams can identify this type of issue and pause the campaign, reducing wasted ad spend. On the flipside, Profitero’s analytics can reveal high converting products with low organic traffic, which deserve to be heavily promoted via paid ads. We are integrating with the two leading digital ad technology platforms, Kenshoo and Pacvue, and have 36 partners becoming certified in Profitero’s tools so we can make this integration between sales and marketing more systemic and everyday.
Q. What kinds of benefits can brands expect to see?
Arming marketing teams with real-time eComm data can lead to tremendous business results. For instance, in initial tests between digital ad technology platform Kenshoo and Mayborn Group, a global manufacturer and supplier of baby accessory products, the team leveraged Profitero’s daily traffic, conversion and digital shelf data to optimize sponsored ad campaigns on Amazon. As a result, they drove market share lifts of 10 percentage points — a huge win for a brand that already owns more than 60% of the market. (Catch Kenshoo and Mayborn presenting this case study at our upcoming CommerceLive virtual conference on Sept. 15.)
Media optimization is just one use case. Profitero data can also be used by an agency to improve product content, whether that’s adding elements like videos to boost conversion rates or knowing what keywords to add to boost organic SEO placement. Profitero just published a study that shows that you can earn 4x more sales for a product by getting it to the top of Amazon search ranking organically versus using paid ads.
Q. How does each partner use it?
It varies by partner. Technology partners, like Kenshoo and Pacvue, will be able to integrate directly with Profitero via API and use the data to power their ad buying algorithms and software. Agencies can login to Profitero and access our data insights via real-time dashboards or customize email alerts that will directly guide them on what to consider or adjust every day.
Let’s say you are managing ad spend for a brand on Walmart.com, Amazon.com and HomeDepot.com. You would be able to receive a daily email notification of out-of-stock products, so you can pause campaigns. Additionally, you could be alerted of products that have fallen off of page 1 search results for a key search term, which might cause you to target certain products with campaigns. We will also consider providing API access to agencies in Q4. The faster an agency can react to change in the market, the more sales they can deliver for their clients.
Q. How does the Open Commerce Ecosystem differ from what has been done before? What makes it unique?
There’s a lot of consolidation happening in the industry with companies trying to be that “one size fits all” solution. We see eCommerce data and tech companies acting like agencies by offering more managed services. Meanwhile, agencies are trying to build software and analytics platforms like eCommerce data and tech companies. eCommerce and the needs of brands are evolving too fast, however, making it extremely difficult for anyone to build one solution that can keep pace successfully.
By partnering with five of the major media holding companies (Dentsu, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis, WPP), leading independent agencies (Horizon Media, VaynerMedia) and major ad tech platforms (Kenshoo and Pacvue), Profitero is breaking away from the pack, choosing to play the role of connector rather than consolidator. Through data integrations, we are giving brands the benefits of an all-in-one solution while allowing them to retain the best-in-breed results they get from current partners. Like they say in the Burger King ads, “You can have it your way!”
To learn more about Profitero’s Open Commerce Ecosystem: Read the press release or visit the Open Commerce Ecosystem website.