Sam’s Club MAP Introduces Full-Funnel Video Capabilities, Advanced Member Measurement

Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP) has now rolled out full-funnel video advertising onsite, in-app and offsite. According to the Walmart division, video creates a more compelling experience at all points on the path to purchase.

“At Sam’s Club MAP, we are always looking for new ways to bring more value to our members, and building an additive ads experience across video ad formats enables us to do that in a brand-safe and high-engagement environment,” noted Lex Josephs, VP and general manager of Sam’s Club MAP. “We know our members stay engaged longer and show stronger click-through rates when we serve them up videos, and our new capabilities will help advertisers engage our members with video advertising.”

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Advertisers can layer Connected TV (CTV) ads, sponsored videos and interactive videos with deep first-party member data to access sophisticated targeting to reach new-to-brand and lapsed members, generate awareness of new item launches and create a synergistic video experience:

• CTV ads: If Sam’s Club members are watching content on a streaming device, they’ll see relevant MAP CTV advertisements through a partnership with The Trade Desk (TTD) that allows advertisers to engage members across brand-safe third-party premium inventory.
• Sponsored Videos: While members are searching for items in the Sam’s Club app, MAP serves them sponsored product ads (SPA) that generate awareness and consideration by visually telling a brand and item’s story within the search grid on search results pages.
• Interactive Videos: eko’s interactive product detail page (PDP) videos enable members to engage with an item, offering a “hands-on” way to explore how it works, key features, dimensions and more.

“Combining the power of video with Sam’s Club’s first-party data is a major milestone for PepsiCo,” said Mic Zavarella, VP, marketing at Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo. “MAP’s new video solutions will allow us to reach members at pivotal moments throughout their shopping journey, with highly engaging and relevant product information that will help drive purchase decisions – all with measurable results.”

Advertisers gain access to performance metrics so they can optimize campaigns while they’re still running and drive better business outcomes. CTV ads and sponsored videos are measurable through the recently introduced Sam’s Club Media and Sales Performance Dashboard, which serves as a central source of truth for campaign performance with Sam's Club MAP. Additionally, interactive videos are compliant with video ad serving template (VAST) tagging standards to ensure that they support effective video delivery, tracking and measurement, providing members with a smooth, additive experience.

Sam’s Club MAP CTV ads are an important part of a full-funnel strategy, as well as offsite display and retargeting, that allow advertisers to reach Sam’s Club members during the shopping journey and create custom member audiences and campaigns. They use AI to optimize conversions and return on ad spend (ROAS) based on viewership, behavior and frequency. Advertisers can reach incremental cord-cutting audiences with precise targeting aided by advanced campaign performance measurement and attributed omnichannel sales results.

Advertisers can use sponsored videos to introduce new items and encourage basket building. Further, clicking on the video directs members to the related item page, and they can add an item to their carts directly from the ad. Advertisers have access to sponsored product ads campaigns and omnichannel closed-loop sales performance in a oneself-service dashboard.

The partnership between Sam’s Club and eko, which has offices in Tel Aviv and New York, offers a digital shopping experience directly from Sam’s Club product detail pages. Advertisers can create an “in-club experience,” permitting members to dynamically explore every aspect of a product to help drive brand awareness and engagement. 

This past July, following the success of in-club attribution for search and product ads on MAP, Sam’s Club rolled out additional design, targeting and usability features for its omnichannel advertisers on the platform. 

Sam’s Club, a division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Inc., operates nearly 600 clubs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 20 countries. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Sam’s Club is No. 8. PG also named Walmart one of its Retailers of the Century.