GroupM, WPP's media investment group, and Criteo, the commerce media company, have announced their first-ever partnership in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, aiming to enhance omnichannel commerce media capabilities for GroupM's clients.

The collaboration seeks to unite product sales data and the unique media solutions from GroupM with privacy-safe commerce audiences and proximity-based insights provided by Criteo. The technology that Criteo brings to the table promises to enhance media planning, budget allocation, and best-in-class activation, driving improvements in relevance, optimisation, and conversion across all channels for GroupM's clients.

Anita Munro, Chief Investment Officer at GroupM APAC, describes the collaboration as a substantial and thrilling progress for advertisers in APAC and the industry as a whole. She said, "Combining Criteo's commerce media capabilities with our own not only strengthens our commerce offering in the region but also allows us to set a new standard for what's possible in advertising by bringing products, media, clients and consumers closer than ever before."

Besides enhancing omnichannel capabilities, the partnership will also extend GroupM clients' access to Criteo's complete omnichannel monetisation solution. This solution allows retailers to manage their entire media inventory across e-commerce and physical retail locations while enabling brands and agencies to effortlessly discover and purchase omnichannel media from leading retailers. GroupM clients will gain access to tools for 360 media asset activation, covering in-store activations like point-of-sale displays, out-of-store activations such as inbox sampling, and online activations like email and social media.

Taranjeet Singh, Managing Director, Enterprise, APAC at Criteo, expressed his anticipation for the partnership. "Together with GroupM, we are honoured to usher in the next era of omnichannel marketing in the region. This partnership represents a union of industry leadership, and we are optimistic that it will drive greater integration across omnichannel campaigns and elevate success for brands and advertisers."

With the rise of commerce media, both Criteo and GroupM aim to evolve their partnership by seeking strategic opportunities across media-buying capabilities and insights to foster predictive decision-making. They plan on further collaborative endeavours to establish best practices in this area, unlocking many exciting possibilities.