Global healthcare giant Walgreens has chosen programmatic conversational advertising start-up Cavai for a £20k pilot after a live pitch at MAD//Anywhere on 10 March.

Cavai, whose clients include Mercedes-Benz, McDonald’s and Kia, won the £20k Walgreens brief after pitching against Olvin, Vamp, Knexus, Go Instore and Increasingly. Focused on technology to help Walgreens “connect with consumers more personally and support them in their health and wellbeing aspirations”, the pitch was hosted by MAD//Fest’s innovation partner, Co:Cubed.

“This kind of technology (personalised micro-journeys) can really help us with the discoverability part of the funnel, allowing customers to tell us what they’re looking for and for us to link them to the holistic experiences and product offers,” said Marni Allen, Director, Consumer Healthcare Futures, Walgreens, who judged the pitches.

"For us, this win confirms Cavai's ethos that personalisation is indeed possible without relying on decaying data. We are very much looking forward to exploring a partnership with Walgreens, which we believe is a perfect fit with Cavai," added Dan Jones, Cavai's Commercial Director UK.

“We’re proud that MAD//Fest in its digital iteration continues to address the challenges of global brands with innovation from the world’s most exciting start-ups,” said Dan Brain, MAD//Fest London’s Co-founder.

“Cavai’s technology opens up a range of different opportunities for advertisers looking for more effective engagement and conversions. We’re excited to connect Walgreens and Cavai and show the potential for collaborative innovation in front of a global audience of marketers.”

Streamed live to 47 countries over 2 days, MAD//Anywhere saw 143 speakers tackle a ‘Forward’ theme.