iWorld
Criteo unveils commerce Max DSP and next-gen retailer monetization suite
Mumbai: Criteo (Nasdaq: CRTO), the commerce media company, today announced the general availability of its self-service demand-side platform (DSP), Commerce Max, giving brands and agencies a single point of entry to retail media inventory onsite and across premium publishers offsite. Complementing Commerce Max, Criteo is also expanding its retailer monetization solution suite, offering retailers the means to tap previously unattainable demand by paving the way for the integration of marketplace and in-store monetization technologies.
Retail media has proven extremely successful for retailers looking to grow additional revenue streams and brands and agencies looking to engage consumers actively in a buying mindset. Until now, however, fragmentation across the industry has held retailers, brands and agencies back from reaching their full potential with retail media.
“Our focus is enabling all commerce-driven companies to buy and sell audiences engaged in shopping. The process has to be frictionless, and it has to solve for fragmentation,” said Criteo CEO Megan Clarken. “With today’s launch, we’re equipping our clients with the right tools to cut through and connect in a more unified retail media ecosystem that ultimately creates more unity across the broader advertising marketplace.”
Driving Commerce at Scale
Commerce Max entered market testing in 2022 with leading consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy, and the world’s foremost media investment company, GroupM, as exclusive Alpha partner. Over this period, Commerce Max enrolled 10 retailers including Best Buy, Macy’s and Shipt. Retailers who have completed campaigns have more than doubled conversion rates on average when running both onsite and offsite advertising through the platform.
Industry Praise for Commerce Max
“Through Criteo we now have one point of entry to a pivotal retail media network, all within a single platform – Commerce Max – that applies the same KPIs to retail media as those we use for our programmatic buys,” said Unilever club team shopper marketing lead Billy Dyer following another successful test with GroupM and Unilever in which the brand’s conversion rate rose by over 400 per cent.
“Combining onsite and offsite targeting enables us to focus media spend across a broader part of the shopper funnel while finding the most suitable audiences wherever they are.”
“Shipt is known for having a unique member community that is loyal to our platform, and when coupled with Criteo’s onsite and offsite products and enhanced personalization features in our full-funnel offering, advertisers have found it to drive an ever greater return for their ad spend,” said Shipt VP, CPG partnerships David Young.
“We’re excited to be at the forefront of the rollout of the Commerce Max platform, starting with its initial testing phase and now its general availability,” said Mark Heitke, Director of Ad Products and Audience Strategy at Best Buy Ads. “The platform offers a variety of onsite and offsite capabilities, giving our brand partners even more options to reach our audiences in meaningful ways.”
Now in general availability, brands and agencies across the globe can use Commerce Max to access data and inventory across multiple retailers and marketplaces, finding valuable audiences on these sites and extending these audiences offsite. This is underpinned by closed-loop measurement, enabling advertisers to quickly and efficiently determine the effectiveness of campaigns and optimize accordingly.
Criteo is a leader and one of the first to bring digital measurement standards to retail media with Commerce Max. Criteo’s partnership with Integral Ad Science allows brands and agencies to measure viewability and invalid traffic on a retailer’s site across all ad formats, including native and sponsored products by 2024.
A Unified Approach for Retailers
The second component of today’s launch is the unveiling of Criteo’s retailer monetization solution suite. This suite marks the next phase in the development of Criteo’s core monetization technology, Commerce Yield, which will not only provide retailers and marketplaces with a complete media toolset but also serve commerce companies such as automakers, movie theatres, transportation services, airlines and more.
Commerce Yield combines Criteo’s former Retail Media Platform with several solutions derived from recent strategic acquisitions, including
Commerce Yield Marketplace: Through Criteo’s strategic acquisition of Mabaya, Commerce Yield Marketplace will help monetization officers integrate marketplace tactics and formats.
Commerce Yield In-Store: The powerful union of Brandcrush and Criteo’s in-store monetization technology, providing advertisers access to a wider range of offline inventory.
Commerce Yield Insights: Previously called Gradient, a cutting-edge suite of insight and data tools which provides digital-shelf insights to support enterprise-level retail media buys.
Criteo’s leadership team will unveil more details during a hosted event today, 12 September at 12p.m. Eastern Time. To watch the broadcast, click here.
iWorld
Prime Video drops trailer for Lukkhe, a rap crime drama starring KING in his acting debut
Eight episodes of revenge, redemption and hard-hitting rap arrive on the streaming platform on 8th May
MUMBAI: Prime Video has unveiled the trailer for Lukkhe, an eight-episode musical action drama built around the world of rap, crime and bruised relationships — and it has done so in suitably loud fashion, launching it at a live concert in Mumbai featuring electrifying performances by KING, Amira Gill, Akshath, Raashii Khanna, Ruaa Kayy and RUTVXK. As if that were not enough, the show’s music album was also dropped at the event, in collaboration with exclusive music streaming partner Amazon Music and music label Warner Music India.
The series is directed by Himank Gaur and produced by Vipul D. Shah and Rajesh Bahl under the banners of Optimystix Entertainment and White Guerrilla LLP. It is created and executive produced by Agrim Joshi and Debojit Das Purkayastha.
The cast is the talking point. KING, the acclaimed Indian rapper and songwriter, makes his acting debut as MC Badnaam, a performer consumed by rivalry and hunger for recognition. Raashii Khanna, returning to Prime Video after Farzi, plays Gurbani. Palak Tiwari, making her streaming debut, plays Sanober. Lakshvir Singh Saran plays Lucky. The ensemble also includes Nakul Roshan Sahdev, Kritika Bharadwaj, Shivankit Parihar, Yograj Singh and Ayesha Raza Mishra in pivotal roles.
The trailer plants its flag squarely in the tension between MC Badnaam and his rival MC OG, played by Parihar, while threading in the love story between Lucky and Sanober. The soundtrack, which spans hard-hitting rap anthems to emotionally charged melodies, is as much a character in the show as any of its leads.
Gaur was candid about what drew him to the project. “Lukkhe gave me a chance to dive into a world that’s loud, emotional, and constantly on edge,” he said. “What stayed with me was how every character is chasing something personal, and music becomes their way of expressing it. Working with this cast, especially KING in his debut, along with Raashii, Lakshvir, and Palak, was incredibly rewarding because they brought honesty that elevated every moment.”
Khanna reflected on her character with evident relish. “Playing Gurbani in Lukkhe was a really intense and fulfilling experience,” she said. “What I found most interesting was how her strength comes from something deeply personal, which shapes every decision she makes. It was about finding that balance between vulnerability and grit.”
KING, stepping in front of the camera for the first time, was characteristically direct. “Stepping into Lukkhe as MC Badnaam has been a defining moment for me,” he said. “What drew me in was how real his hunger and need to be heard felt. It’s something I connect with as an artist. Bringing music into his journey made the experience even more personal.”
Tiwari described the role as a first on multiple fronts. “It was my first time working with Prime Video, and the whole experience felt new and creatively satisfying,” she said. “Being part of a story that has both intense and heartfelt moments, along with a team that brought so much honesty to it, made this journey truly memorable.”
Saran, for his part, zeroed in on what made Lucky tick. “Lucky is someone who’s trying to move forward while still carrying the weight of his past, and that push-pull made him really interesting to explore,” he said. “There’s a sincerity to his journey that I hope people connect with.”
Lukkhe premieres on Prime Video in Hindi on 8th May, across India and in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. In a streaming landscape drowning in crime dramas, this one is betting that putting a rapper at its centre – and meaning it – is enough to cut through the noise. On the evidence of the trailer, it might just be right.
