Walmart strikes a deal with Vizio: 3 things advertisers need to know

Walmart is officially even more connected to connected TV.

Today, the retail giant closed its $2.3 billion deal for TV maker Viziowhich was first announced in February. In a press release, Walmart noted that the purchase of Vizio and its SmartCast operating system (OS), which has more than 18 million active accounts, will allow the company to create more opportunities to help advertisers to connect with consumers and further accelerate Walmart’s growth. Connect, the company retail media business in the United States

The deal has a particularly big impact on the advertising industry, and here are three things marketers need to know:

1. The agreement is data-driven

Experts previously told ADWEEK that Vizio’s operating system was key to the deal, allowing Walmart to collect automatic content recognition (ACR) data, which can recognize specific content played on a device, in order to improve advertising.

According to Kenneth Suh, CSO at Nexxen, “ACR data provides very powerful targeting capabilities, which Amazon does not have at the scale of Vizio,” allowing Walmart Connect to be more competitive in the CTV landscape.

ACR data will also help Walmart better compete with Amazon, as retail media companies seek to create their own closed-loop systems.

Of course, Walmart’s hold on Vizio’s data could impact the market as a whole.

Ashwin Navin, co-founder and CEO of Samba TV, previously said the move would “undoubtedly disrupt the space for advertisers who currently rely on Vizio’s raw audience data as part of their advertising stack.” advertising or measurement”.

2. Walmart competes for CTV dollars globally

Beyond the data, the deal positions Walmart as a larger player in the retail industry and connected television space as it takes on the Samsungs and Rokus of the world.

“Walmart’s consumer reach could propel Vizio’s advertising business to eventually compete with Samsung and Roku,” Ross Benes, principal analyst at eMarketer, previously told ADWEEK. “If this happens, and it is not clear that it will, then Walmart-Vizio could become one of the top five sellers of CTV ads in the United States, and possibly the world.”

As one of the largest retailers in the world, Walmart also has the ability to expand its advertising business by promoting Vizio TVs more, whether through discounts or even selling fewer TVs from other brands.

However, Benes noted that this practice could also lead to a reaction from Walmart. Although increased sales of Vizio TV could expand Walmart’s advertising business, the move could be considered anticompetitive.

3. Deal is latest step as lines blur between retail media and CTV

Retail media and CTV are increasingly intertwined as companies seek to reach consumers in their own closed-loop systems. And for Walmart, the move was “smart and logical,” according to Oz Etzioni, CEO of ad tech company Clinch.

“Their already massive global footprint and trove of first-party data, combined with CTV/OTT channel ownership, will offer advertisers quite a compelling package and more seamless opportunities to activate audiences at scale in a truly omnichannel manner,” Etzioni told ADWEEK. . “Creating such a broad and holistic ecosystem will provide advertisers with seamless opportunities to reach their audiences in increasingly relevant and personalized ways. »

Overall, the move “turbocharges” Walmart to also become a more significant player in media and entertainment, said Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today.

“While the scale is not yet comparable to Amazon, it gives Walmart a great platform that fits their needs very well,” Mathur said.