The Very Group, which operates digital retailers Very and Littlewoods, has launched Very Media Group, a reimagining of its retail media proposition in partnership with SMG, the UK’s leading independent retail media operator.
Leveraging The Very Group’s position as one of the UK and Ireland’s largest digital-only retailers with 1.4M daily site visits and 4.4M active customers, Very Media Group has ambitions to become the choice retail media network for brands.
Since launching its new platform in November 2023, The Very Group has shown the power of its rich customer dataset and leading creative capabilities in optimising its own brand marketing, driving material growth in brand attribution, sentiment and shopper intent. Campaigns within the new Let’s Make It Sparkle creative platform, including the fashion-forward Haus of Flamingo have achieved wide acclaim, with the Christmas advert launching the brand’s three flamingo fluent devices ranked Kantar’s 2nd most persuasive Christmas ad of 2023.
Now, drawing on technology from SMG, Very Media Group aims to bring the power of this deep consumer insight to brand partners, helping them connect to the distinct Very audience at scale.
The launch of the new retail media proposition follows a successful 12-year partnership with SMG. In addition to The Very Group’s own experts, Very Media Group will be reinforced with a dedicated in-house SMG team that brings experience in campaign strategy, concept development, campaign execution, retail trading, marketing and data analysis, and delivering brand-centric omni-channel campaigns.
Unlike many retail media networks which rely on loyalty data, Very Media Group’s unique combination of personal, shopping and financial data will offer a deeper knowledge about individual shopping behaviours and customer journeys. This fuels a test and learn environment that will allow brands to optimise their marketing strategies with highly effective creative to deliver future successes.
With Criteo’s Commerce Media Platform also integrated into the proposition, brands can seamlessly access The Very Group’s digital shelf with the knowledge that the Group’s deep customer insights will allow them to serve the right content to the right customers. This means high-impact and bespoke campaigns that resonate with the Group’s loyal customer base, driving sales for brand partners across its diverse product offering.
The proposition will also integrate above-the-line, experiential, and influencer marketing. Very Media Group will offer brands the opportunity to collaborate with them on bespoke campaign concept development, combining data and creativity to launch market-leading campaigns targeting audiences online including social media platforms.
Over the next 12 months, Very Media Group will ramp up to build on its significant online opportunity as the retail media network for one of the UK’s largest domestic online-only retailers. Powered by first-party data, top-class creative capabilities and advanced digital measurement, Very Media Group aspires to unlock the power of its partners to deliver growth for brands and The Very Group alike.
Jessica Myers, chief customer officer at The Very Group said: “I am thrilled to unveil Very Media Group, our new retail media proposition. We have amazing in-house retail media expertise, one of UK retail’s largest data assets, and an outstanding creative team. Now, we’re bringing them together alongside industry-leading partners to give brands even better access and connectivity to families in the UK and Ireland.
“Thanks to our technology partners, brands will have unprecedented levels of insight into their marketing and media activity. We’ve long known the power of data, and now through Very Media Group our brand partners can harness this to transform their media planning and strategy. This will be a significant step forward in retail media and a major opportunity for us and our partner brands.”
Sam Knights, CEO of SMG, added: “As a foundational client of SMG, we are excited to take this new and exciting next step with The Very Group in their retail media journey. The Very Group stands out due to its diverse range of brands—spanning sports, electronics, home goods, beauty, fashion, and toys—alongside their invaluable data on a highly valuable customer base. By combining their strengths with our technology and expertise, this partnership will enable brands to craft engaging campaigns with exceptional efficiency, while effectively measuring and evaluating their performance through our proprietary software product Plan-Apps.”
