A Strong Data Foundation is at the Heart of the CVS Media Exchange Retail Media Network

The Challenge

CVS Pharmacy, one of the nation’s leading beauty, health, and wellness retailers, has 74 million members in its loyalty program, ExtraCare, which has been going strong for over 25 years. The retailer’s reach is enviable, with 9,000 locations across the United States receiving more than 152 million visits each month – 85% of Americans live within 10 miles of a store. What’s more, CVS is ranked one of the most trusted retail brands by American consumers.

With this scale of first-party data, reach, and brand equity, it is no surprise that the retailer is in high demand with advertisers and operates a thriving retail media network, CVS Media Exchange (CMX).

The CMX team understands both the extraordinary business value and tremendous responsibility that comes with these assets. As Parbinder Dhariwal, VP and General Manager of CMX, shared, everything his team does is “grounded in enduring CVS equity. We’ve got to ladder up to the corporate values that we have as an organization.” 

To accomplish their ambitious goals, the CMX team made investing in a strong first-party data foundation a priority. As Dhariwal said, “We go slow in order to go fast. What does that mean? Build the foundations. Really focus on the infrastructure and tech partnerships. Make sure there’s alignment to our larger brand.”

CVS sought partners that could help the brand maintain trust within the customer experience, deliver results and transparency for their advertisers, and build a platform they could grow and innovate going forward.

The Solution

CMX found a natural partner in LiveRamp. Equipped to handle an extraordinary volume of data safely and securely, LiveRamp is known for uncompromising standards for privacy, security, and compliance, and its commitment to protecting brand and consumer trust. LiveRamp solutions are designed to address even the specific privacy challenges of the healthcare industry.

The CMX team is a leader in the industry in transparency, working toward providing true 1:1 attribution and exceeding advertiser expectations. LiveRamp’s advanced measurement capabilities make it possible for brands, hungry for proof of performance, to measure the precise impact of each advertising investment. With LiveRamp’s measurement solutions, advertisers on CMX can understand how any number of marketing tactics drive online and offline actions and sales, and optimize their investment accordingly.

The CMX team also found in LiveRamp a partner equally dedicated to innovation. LiveRamp is proud to be the data collaboration platform of choice for the world’s most innovative companies, continually expanding what’s possible with data collaboration. The technology itself offers customization and flexibility, unlike more rigid solutions that leave little room for choice. The LiveRamp team was committed to helping CMX build a foundation that would support continual iteration, improvement, and transformation to deliver the best possible experiences for their customers and brand partners.

The Results

CMX has elevated its offerings to help advertisers connect with ExtraCare consumers in highly customized and relevant ways while prioritizing a frictionless, positive customer experience. As the CMX website puts it, “Find them. Reach them. Delight them.” The media network supports advertisers in defining custom audiences, developing closed-loop measurement reporting, and ultimately generating data-driven media strategies to grow their business with actionable campaign insights.

The partnership also unlocks access to LiveRamp’s premier global ecosystem and expansive network of data collaboration partners for CMX. Having the right infrastructure in place means the team can quickly activate any collaboration they can dream up. 

CMX has already begun collaborating with partners like Pinterest, the go-to platform for consumers seeking creative inspiration. CMX joined Pinterest’s data clean room initiative, powered by LiveRamp, leveraging it to highlight overlaps between ExtraCare members and Pinterest users. This allows CMX to provide more relevant ads and enhance attribution analytics.

Looking ahead, the CMX team is excited to test and learn with brand partners while keeping consumers at the heart of everything they do. The rapid growth of retail media networks and opportunities for data collaboration can be overwhelming for some organizations, but the CMX team is anchored in its principles of trust, transparency, and innovation to guide what they prioritize – and embrace this exciting future.