Retail Media
The article covers the definition of retail media, the workings of a real-world digital retail media network, how brands can use retail media to enhance their marketing campaigns and customer experience, and the increased sales performance driven by high-quality retail media campaigns. It also provides examples of retail media signage and displays and highlights the importance of in-store promotions
I. Introduction to Retail Media
A. Definition of retail media
Retail media represents available ad space a retailer sells to an advertiser. This can be banners on the retailer's website or on digital screens inside the retailer's own stores. In recent years with the proliferation of connected digital real-world screens, advertisers are being able to do more with their media budgets.
B. What is a real-world digital retail media network
Working with multiple retailers can be challenging. Additionally, not all retailers have the ability to deliver ad inventory across all of the screens in their stores. For example, say you sell beauty products in Walmart, Kroger, and CSV you will want to be inside or as close to the point of purchase as you can in order to attract customers and stay top of mind. It's beneficial to run on screens inside the store and right outside the door.
C. Overview of a Retail Media Support Campaign
If you are a brand and sell a product in a physical location, then you need to be taking advantage of retail media. It starts by identifying what stores your products are sold in. You can take this analysis further by looking at what stores you have the most stock in or what areas you might be running out of stock(and exclude them). Additionally, some brands may have first-party data on consumers that they can use to home in on a set of stores. All of these factors help you determine the optimal media market for your campaign.
Once you have the list of stores you want to run media in, the next step is to identify the available media inventory. The Nemo Platform at DOOH Marketing is able to automatically identify all of the screens inside the stores your products are carried in. Additionally, it's always a good idea to target outdoor screens in close proximity to the retail stores. For example, there might be a large format billboard right in front of the retailer, or perhaps there is an urban panel charging station in the parking lot, where people walking into the store will be forced to walk by it. With our retail media offering, we make it simple to plan, activate, and measure how well your retail media advertising dollars are performing.
By including retail media inside the store and next to the store it helps expand the touch points you are able to reach your target customers. On a website, it's similar to running on the home page as well as on the product page and product detail page. Even the product detail page impacts your reach just like the billboard out front of the retail store helps positively impact your real-world reach.
II. Benefits of Retail Media
A. Increased visibility on Digital Marketing Campaigns
When you use our retail media platform you are able to reach people with digital screens inside the stores and right next to the stores. Our retail media network works through digital channels which help give the most flexibility and targeting capabilities. For example, we can run your ads only when the stores are busy. With our unique API integration with Google Popular Times, we ensure your digital advertising has the highest impact.
Marketing campaigns that utilize retail media networks are able to get access to more touch points along the consumer journey. For example, these campaigns reach consumers with their digital ad spend when consumers are driving to the store on the billboard, in the parking lot with an urban panel, in the store on the digital toppers, and at the register when checking out.
B. Retail Media Improves the Customer Experience
When you run digital place-based screens inside and around retailer locations your retail marketing efforts fit into the customer experience vs competing for it. For example, it can be annoying for consumers to get bombarded on online retailers' websites, with display ads, and on social media with digital ads, however, when you run ads in the real world, the ads no longer are a nuisance and can help consumers find new products and services. Advertising space in the real world tends to get remembered more than other formats and in recent years has started to develop unique formats that advertisers can take advantage of(like electric vehicle charging stations)
III. How Brands Utilize Retail Media
A. Examples of Retail Media Signage and displays
The most common type of displays in retail media include screens
- At the point of sale - These screens are at the checkout lines
- In the front of the store - These screens are usually comprised of large digital toppers on coin machines, movie rental boxes, and key copiers.
- Around the retailer - Urban panels are in the parking lot of many large retailers as well as large format billboards. In urban areas like New York City, you can find other types of outdoor screens in close proximity to the retailer. For example, people will walk by digital Bus Shelters and digital subway screens.
B. In-store promotions
When running a digital out-of-home retail media campaign, you have the option to run in-store promotions. Since the campaign is digitally enabled you can even swap out different promotions based on the time of day or day of the week. For example, you may offer a certain coupon for a frozen breakfast sandwich in the morning and a different one in the afternoon for a dinner crowd. In-store promotions can be accompanied by a QR Code. All though the QR code redemption rate may be decreasing, consumers tend to associate them with a deal or discount, which can bring more visibility to your promotion.
IV. Summary of the benefits of using retail media
In summary, if you have a product inside of a retail store, you need to be running a digital out-of-home retail media campaign in order to stay competitive in the market and maximize your touch points with potential consumers. A DOOH retail media execution can be challenging on your own but with the right software and the proliferation of digital screens, it has become as easy as launching a Google Ads campaign.
Retail media, has proven itself to be a main part of the modern advertising ecosystem. Its inherent benefits of increased visibility, enhanced customer experience, and potential for driving higher sales can significantly uplift a brand's performance in the retail space. Beyond simply reaching potential consumers, retail media helps a brand truly integrate into a customer's shopping experience, making advertising less intrusive and more impactful. The flexibility and precision offered by digital platforms such as the Nemo Platform at DOOH Marketing, ensure smooth and efficient planning, activation, and measurement of retail media campaigns. With the continued growth and diversification of digital screens in and around retail locations, retail media's potential to shape and influence consumer behavior will only continue to increase, making it an invaluable tool for any brand seeking a competitive edge in the marketplace.