Sam’s Club intros member access platform
Sam’s Club is transforming its ad business into the Sam’s Club Member Access Program.
“At Sam’s Club, we are member obsessed. We lead with this obsession by offering a curated assortment of high-quality products at an incredible value,” Lex Josephs, vice president/general manager of Sam’s Club Member Access Platform, announced on the company’s website.
“We lead with this obsession by providing our members with a multi-touchpoint experience, whether they are shopping at our Clubs, on SamsClub.com, in app or with Curbside Pickup and Delivery," Josephs added. "We lead with this obsession every day.”
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Josephs continued, “Today, we’re reintroducing ourselves as an access and ads platform focused first and foremost on our members by delivering an additive ads experience. We know our members want a shopping experience that is easy, convenient and personalized. And we know our agencies, ad tech platforms, suppliers and marketers want to reach our members efficiently and effectively. With MAP, our journey will always start FIRST with our member. Next, we will create and give partners experiences, tools, and opportunities that help members discover new products at the time they need and want them.”
Josephs called the transformation a member-first approach, which is now aligned with the overall Sam’s Club member-obsession, "that differentiates us, along with the combination of our platform, our products, our people, our processes and our first-party data. We believe every member experience should be curated, consistent, qualitative, comprehensive and quantifiable. We believe our platform should be easy to buy, easy to sell and easy to operate – regardless of the size of our partner. "
Josephs also noted that members are searching now more than ever for solutions to meet their personal needs.
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"For these reasons, we are launching a member-additive ads experience with sponsored product (search) ads. In tandem, we are also launching a self-service platform for sponsored product (search) ads. These product initiatives will allow our partners to buy search in an automated way, enabling them to easily operate and easily buy with MAP,” she said.
Josephs also stated that in addition to the retailer's owned and operated platforms, its members discover products and browse many other places beyond SamsClub.com.
"As a result, we are launching a Programmatic Partnership with LiveRamp, IRI and TradeDesk. This opportunity will allow Sam’s Club to partner with our suppliers, marketers, ad agencies, and ad tech platforms in unique data-driven ways, but ultimately, bring members back to the Sam’s Club ecosystem,” Josephs said.
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Josephs detailed what makes MAP unlike other retail ads businesses and membership and subscription platforms: "as a membership organization, we have an incredible amount of insight on our members. Not only do we have 100% visibility into their purchases, but we also know their search behaviors. We know our members incredibly well. In addition, we offer a curated assortment of high-quality items. Therefore, we can predict what our members want and need with great precision. And because of this, we’re able to build partnerships and ad experiences that are additive to our member’s experience, while also being extremely effective and efficient."
Josephs indicated that as part of the transformation, "we will continue to evolve our data monetization and partnership strategy (one key partner is IRI), while maintaining the trust of our members. Recently, we’ve built an incredible leadership team that allows Sam’s Club to realize this formula. Our goal is to first and foremost create a member-additive experience, but to also grow profit and revenue for Sam’s Club. And this is quite fitting, because MAP is part of Sam’s Club’s newly formed growth organization – led by Kieran Shanahan, chief growth officer, Sam’s Club – that includes Product, Strategy, Marketing & Membership, and MAP."
Josephs concluded, “By working cross-functionally with Sam’s Club E-commerce, Sam’s Club’s Merchandising Organization, and the Growth Organization, MAP will help drive alignment and direction for our partners. This will ensure that our members receive what’s right for them, while advertisers receive the results they need. Our mission is to deliver the most valuable member additive ads experience in the industry, and with our focus on the member – across all of Sam’s Club, now inclusive of MAP – we are poised to do so. We are member-obsessed. We are associate-inspired. We are partner-focused. And we are excited about making our member’s shopping experience with Sam’s Club even more valuable, measurable, and fun.”