TV Ad Spend Weekly: Walmart gets in on the digital supermarket sweepstakes
Brands continue to invest heavily in above-the-line content, and television is still seen as the place brands want to be. Each week, in partnership with Kantar Media, The Drum looks at which brands have been investing the most on newly-launched creative on US national broadcast and cable TV.
Walmart takes aim at Whole Foods as it spends big during the NBA Finals with a trio of new creative. / Kantar Media
National TV ad spend saw a small increase of 4% during the week of June 4, reaching a total of $95m. Spend on new advertising also rose, reaching $149m – an increase of 20% week over week. For the second week in a row, the NBA Finals brought in the most revenue for both new and total national TV advertising. The last two games of the championship were responsible for $71m, including $20m for new commercials. As a comparison, the Stanley Cup finals only brought in $18m total, with new TV spots accounting for just $3m.
The grocery aisle has become as a critical battleground retailers, especially after Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods last year. Traditional brick and mortar stores are looking for new ways to win over consumers by pushing into the digital space, giving consumers more options than ever before.
Walmart has been a fierce competitor in the space, and began its free curb side grocery pickup service back in 2016. With the competition heating up recently like never before, the retailer has been aggressively expanding to new locations and with a new ads released this week, announced that the service is rolling out nationwide.
All of Walmart’s new ad budget for the week went to three new TV spots promoting the service. Each commercial shows Walmart customers conveniently ordering groceries through the retailer’s app, while personal shopper’s in-store do the leg work. All the customer has to do is relax, roll up to the curb and enjoy their food.
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This data is part of ongoing reporting released on a weekly basis with Kantar Media using its AdScope tool.