GroupM and partners launch commerce education curriculum
GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, has announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind global commerce education curriculum.
The three-tier certification program was developed by GroupM’s commerce team, commerce education leader firstmovr, and over 15 retailers, media and commerce technology partners, including Amazon, Criteo and Kroger. The program certifications will upskill GroupM’s 12,000 cross-channel performance experts to create the industry’s largest community of certified commerce experts.
As a first between an agency and commerce ecosystem partners, the curriculum addresses the need for comprehensive, best-in-class education in a sector that is constantly evolving and innovating. Designed to address global trends and local difference, it enables any GroupM employee to learn commerce strategy and activation directly from global commerce leaders.
Sam Bukowski, Global Head of Commerce, GroupM Nexus: “To achieve an elite level of knowledge in a space that is changing and growing as quickly as commerce requires a commitment to and culture of continuous learning. We knew we had to bring more than just a set of out-of-the box trainings to the table for our employees. We needed a true curriculum that was scalable, dynamic, and challenging, that would benefit every one of our commerce experts in over 50 markets. We’ve done that by creating a clear path to three levels of certification, leaning on internal experts and top partners to create something bespoke, relevant and unique in each market. The framework of this program ensures clients working with GroupM are always working with the best trained commerce experts in the industry.”
The content features custom, platform-agnostic materials and boasts more than 30 courses. Piloted in the U.S., nearly 5,000 practitioners have participated in the program to date. The program’s success has prompted a global roll-out throughout 2023, with tailored regional GroupM and partner content now available to practitioners, ensuring the local nuance of commerce is captured throughout the series.
According to GroupM’s This Year Next Year 2023 Global End-of-Year Advertising Forecast, retail media is the fastest growing advertising channel worldwide and is predicted to exceed Linear TV and CTV revenues combined by 2028.
Retailers and media platforms will continuously contribute to content updates, overviewing platform, algorithm and ad inventory changes to keep employee knowledge up to date.
Ted Rones, Senior Manager, U.S. Agency Development, Amazon: “We are proud to have collaborated with GroupM on their innovative commerce education curriculum. This program sets a new standard for excellence in the commerce media space, and we were impressed by GroupM’s dedication to providing comprehensive, best-in-class training to their employees. The new curriculum enables Amazon to share our expertise directly with employees executing media on our platform, helping them stay ahead of industry trends and use our ad products in the most sophisticated way.”
