Independent retail media platform, Zitcha has inked a collaborative relationship with leading business consultancy, PwC Australia to help retailers take advantage of the growing retail media space set to be worth up to $2.14 billion in the next five years.
Zitcha connects the omnichannel media assets of retail publishers, including instore, offsite, onsite and in-home and automates the purchasing of media across these channels in a self-serve platform, enabling retail advertisers to connect directly with consumers.
The Zitcha and PwC collaboration will see the companies unite to offer retailers and media agencies complementary services from strategic business planning through to execution and implementation.
Zitcha co-founder and CEO, Troy Townsend said the collaboration with PwC was another significant milestone for the software platform and followed Zitcha raising $4.7 million in growth funding from Australian venture capital firm OIF Ventures. The relationship involved no money or financial incentives.
“They are engaging with us because they want to talk to clients about the best solutions available in the marketplace and they regard Zitcha as an industry-leading platform,” Townsend said.
“We were attracted to collaborating with PwC by their industry-leading corporate governance credentials which we think will provide invaluable insights for our joint clients.
“Zitcha empowers retailers through efficiently monetising their retail media assets, providing another revenue stream which is especially useful in today’s challenging retail environment. Zitcha clients already include leading online beauty store Adore Beauty and we expect the PwC collaboration to provide further impetus for onboarding more retailers.”
Townsend said the next step was for Zitcha and PwC to hold roundtables with retailers, which would introduce the platform to those looking to enhance their retail media offering.
“PwC is very careful about who it collaborates with so we’re really proud Zitcha is the right fit and that they took the time to understand the platform and what we can do for retailers,” he said.
PwC Australia director, CMO advisory, Dan Robins said retail media had not been seen in the mainstream for a long time but that was changing.
“There is an understanding now, particularly in the US, but increasingly in Australia, that this can be a high margin offering for retailers and an alternative advertising opportunity for a broader spectrum of buyers,” he said.
“In many ways retailers could behave like a typical media conglomerate because they already have numerous touch points, whether that is someone walking instore and interacting with a digital screen, listening to in-store radio, reading their magazine, or shopping online, which could all be coupled with rich transactional data.
“Advertisers want engaging media placements with customer data insights where they can link the delivery of ads to sales outcomes. Retailers with multiple touch points are ideally positioned to provide it. Furthermore, this is not necessarily limited to grocery and consumer goods retailers – there are potential opportunities for a big spectrum of businesses who have real and digital-world connections with consumers.”
