Following in the steps of Target and Walmart, CVS Pharmacy introduced its new advertising platform, CVS Media Exchange, last week. The platform will provide placement opportunities to CPG brands through programmatic display ads, social media, search engines, video ads, and in-store advertising. With access to 74 million consumers within its database, this development was a suitable next step for CVS. The company plans to utilize this data in curating custom audiences for its CPG partners to target.

Norman de Greve, CMO of CVS Health, stated that the business was already using customer data in developing its advertising strategy. CVS was able to target consumers based on their past purchases and provide them with offers that would be of interest. This data access and understanding helped CVS easily offer this new opportunity to its CPG partners.

Despite some questions about why the network has launched during a global pandemic, CVS is very confident in its decision. There was evidence justifying the decision to launch CVS Media Exchange. Health Care interest continues to rise. Companies are wanting to learn how to spend their marketing budgets efficiently. These facts have led to reports that over 50 brands and agencies have expressed interest in using the new platform.

With so many businesses accessing customer data, who do you think will be the next to launch their own advertising network?