Create a Programmatic Audio Ad

How-to | 1/28/2026 | Learn how to create a Programmatic Audio Ad

Audio connects your brand with captive audiences actively engaged in their favorite streaming stations and podcasts, particularly during key holiday periods and prime listening moments. Programmatic Audio ads leverage Kroger data to connect customers with relevant audio content with companion banner ads on these audio streaming services.

Streaming audio refers to digital audio content delivered over the Internet, accessed through platforms like Spotify, Pandora, or SiriusXM on smartphones, smart speakers, computers, and car audio systems.

Expanding beyond the current audio offering, Programmatic Audio provides personalized, on-demand, and live audio experiences ( including music and podcasts) making it a fast-growing and versatile channel for media consumption. Programmatic Audio ads reach listeners at peak attention moments between songs and podcast segments, driving focused engagement.

As such, you can use Programmatic Audio to speak to your Audience Segments in premium listening environments through mobile and web audio spots.

You can have Programmatic Audio ads with or without added Kroger branding. However, if you want to be co-branded with Kroger, your Programmatic Audio ad must drive to a Kroger Family of Stores digital destination.

Programmatic Audio ads can help:

Generate awareness by engaging listeners while they are actively streaming music or podcasts.
Drive a higher connection to Audiences creating a stronger ability to build brand affinity.
Inspire usage and connect with customers during daily activities, prompting consideration when they're ready to shop.
Create unique shoppable moments with clickable companion banners, guiding listeners to seamlessly connect to your products.
Lessen cognitive load (less mental effort) for Audiences to understand and internalize you message.

Populate Schedule

A three (3) week lead time is needed for this type of Campaign.

Use the calendars to enter your Media Start Date The first day the campaign is displayed to customers (for example, March 1, 20YY). and Media End Date The last day the campaign is displayed to customers (for example, March 1, 20YY)..

The recommended length of this type of Campaign is four (4) to 12 weeks.

Once you enter these dates, the Milestones table with important milestones is automatically populated.

Add Measurement UPCs

Click Add UPCs Universal Product Codes.
In the new window, click Add UPCsto select a method for adding UPCs.

Method	Use Case	Instructions
CPG to Brand Drilldown	Find specific brands by their CPG (like Simple Truth within The Kroger Co.) Use when you want to add an entire brand to your coupon to ensure everything tied to a brand is captured; good for portfolio activations	Click through the Kroger hierarchy until you reach the desired level (like The Kroger Co. > The Kroger Co. > Simple Truth). Click the checkbox next to the brand you want to add. The summary box on the left confirms the number of UPCs in the selected brand.
Location in Hierarchy	Find your UPCs in the Kroger hierarchy Reflects how Kroger categorizes products sold in-store. You can drill into the highest level, Primary Department, through mid-levels (like Commodity), all the way down to individual Scan UPCs.You can add UPCs starting with the Commodity level down through the Scan UPC level. Selecting at the Commodity and Sub-Commodity levels adds all UPCs in that Commodity or Sub-Commodity. Use when you want to capture all UPCs in a specific category for your coupon; it's helpful to have knowledge of the Kroger hierarchy when using this option	Click through the Kroger hierarchy until you reach the desired level (like All > Grocery > Groc-All Other > Dry Noodles and Pasta). Click the checkbox next to the group of products you want to add.
UPC Description Search	Find UPCs with keywords (like Kroger Pasta Sauce) Use when you don't have UPCs on hand, but know what product you are looking for or when you want to include pack sizes (like six (6) pack Sprite)	Enter a search term for the UPC. 84.51° Prism searches for the search term in the UPC description and returns results accordingly. Select all the UPCs you want to add.
Manual Entry	Copy and paste your UPCs directly into 84.51° Prism Use when you have a prepared list of product UPCs	Enter (or copy / paste) your 13-digit UPCs. Click Validate UPCs. Select all the UPCs you want to add from each column (Matching UPCs All UPCs matching what you entered/pasted, Alternate UPCs UPCs that you entered / pasted that are found when dropping the check digit (the last number of the UPC)., and/or Not Found UPCs UPCs that you entered/pasted that were not found. If these are new products, they may not validate, but you should still include them.).
Product Groups	Add UPCs from a previously saved Product Group Create a new Product Group Use when you have a group of frequently used UPCs	Search for your Product Groups by entering a search term. If you don't have any Product Groups or want to create a new one, click Create Product Group. To learn how, see Create and modify Product Groups. Select the Product Group(s) you want to add.

Click Add UPCs to Campaign to add the select UPCs.

84.51° recommends copying any UPCs, so that you can use them later in the intake process where UPC entry is needed.

Click Copy (#) UPCs to copy the selected UPCs to your clipboard. Then, you can use Manual Entry to add these UPCs to your Campaign.

Add Coupons

Select Yes or No to answer "Is this channel driving to a coupon?".

If Yes, click Add Coupon.

For full instructions, see Create a new coupon.
If No, proceed to Click-Through Destination Where customers land when they click on a campaign ad..

If adding a coupon, you'll need to perform some more coupon-related tasks.

Select which Coupon Targeting Type you want for this coupon.
Select an answer to the question, "What type of transactions should this coupon be redeemable for?".
Use the calendars to select Coupon Display Start, Coupon Display End, and Expiration Dates.
Review Divisions and selected coupon UPCs.

Add Click-Through Destination

Select a Click-Through Destination Where customers land when they click on a campaign ad. from the dropdown menu.

Option	Definition	Instructions
Curated Product List	Group of products available on Kroger Owned and Operated Pages for a customer to add directly to their Pickup order or online shopping list 84.51°'s recommended best practice	Select the Type of Product List. If you select, Custom Product List, click Add UPCs to start creating your list. If using a coupon, select which coupons should appear on the Click-Through Destination.
General Coupon Pool	Direct link to a specific coupon in the General Coupon Pool	If using a coupon, select which coupons should appear on the Click-Through Destination.
Kroger Owned and Operated Page	Department or seasonal page hosted on Kroger Owned and Operated Pages MUST go live a minimum three (3) business days prior to the media live date	Use the dropdown to answer, "Where will this page be located?". If using a coupon, select which coupons should appear on the Click-Through Destination.
Landing Page	Temporary Landing Page where brand content, recipes, and/or coupons can be hosted for a specific campaign Creative development required and additional lead times apply	Select a Landing Page Template. If using a coupon, select which coupons should appear on the Click-Through Destination.

Enter Targeting

Select Yes or No to include podcast inventory as part of your audio investment.

If you want to reinforce your Brand message in high-attention moments, you may want to consider adding a podcast for a full-funnel audio strategy.
Enter your Channel Budget.

Your Channel Budget is the available budget for this channel, NOT including downloads, redemption, or any anticipated creative costs other than insertion.
Set the Frequency The number of times your campaign will be optimized in flight according to your chosen initiative or the average number of times an individual sees an ad during a campaign to help balance exposure without causing ad fatigue. (Default frequency is six (6)).

Frequency is the amount of times your ad can be exposed to a single Household in a single week. For example, if your Frequency is set to six (6), then a Kroger shopper can see this ad up to six (6) times a week.

Frequencies vary based on tactic.
(Optional) Enter any Guidance for this Audience.

This guidance helps to define the audience you want to target for this Campaign.
Select an answer to the question, "How should this channel be optimized in flight?".

Awareness — Introduce and raise awareness of your brand with customers

Select an answer to the question, "What kind of targeting do you want to use for this campaign?".

Prism Custom Audience — Science-driven audience building recommendations refined by segment customization based on the channel, objective, and UPCs used for model scoring

Work with your Account Manager to create your Prism Custom Audience.
1. Once targeting is finalized, you'll see the details in your channel.
A maximum of five (5) Audience Segments are allowed for this type of Campaign.

Set up Ad Experience

Select Yes or No to answer, "Do you plan to provide KPM-approved 3rd party tracking tags?".

If Yes, answer any additional questions that appear and provide any additional information that will help the 84.51° Prism team with this Ad Experience.
KPM uses Clinch and DoubleVerify. Tracking tags include ad server tags, brand verification, and brand lift measurement.

Accepted tags include:
- Impression tags
- Click tags
To learn more about tags, see KPM tagging guidelines.
Select Yes or No to answer, "Do you want Kroger Precision Marketing to create the audio and bannerize your ad for an additional fee?"

If Yes, you'll work with your Account Management team to determine specific costs for any creatives and to continue audio creative development.

Audio creative development includes professional audio production, audio banner sets for all 11 Kroger banners, and licensed use across Programmatic Audio publishers (for example, Spotify and iHeart Radio).

To learn more about creative specs, see KPM creative specs and policy documents.
Select an Audio Duration.
Select which Audience Segment you want for this version.
- Your created Audience Segments will appear here.
(Optional) Enter any notes you have in the text box.
Click Add UPCs to add Promoted Product UPCs.
Select answers to "Which divisions should be included?"
Select Yes or No to answer, "Are any of the promoted products New at Kroger Introduces new items to Kroger customers with offers targeting category-relevant householdss with highest propensity for trial.?".

New products must be on-shelf for at least 30 days prior to Campaign start date to ensure they are available to customers.
If Yes, enter the On-Shelf Date for the products.
(Optional) Click Add Another Version to create additional creative versions for your Campaign.
(Optional) Repeat the steps above for each additional creative version.

Save Campaign Details

After you enter all of your Campaign Details, click Save.

You can click Save at any time and return to finish your Campaign Details later, if desired.

View report

Your Media metrics and wrap report will include, but is not limited to, the following metrics:

iROAS Incremental Return on Ad Spend; the total sales difference between test and control relative to the total as determined by the total sales uplift generated by households targeted for the coupon.
aROAS Attributable Return on Ad Spend: The total sales of the test group relative to the Total Campaign Cost as determined by the total sales for the products being measured.
Household Penetration
Sales Uplift
Impressions
Clicks
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Completion Rate
Viewability

Cross-Channel Campaign report

If you're running a Cross-Channel Campaign, you may qualify for PrecisionView 360 measurement.

To learn more, see Cross-Channel Campaign reporting.