Marketing is an essential part of every retail business.
As we continue to adapt to the new normal, the best thing you can do for your brand is to use the retail strategies and tactics that are tailored for online advertising.
Your brand’s retail media network is exactly the kind of marketing asset that can generate revenue and protect your profit margin. Let’s look at exactly how it works and how it can help you meet your CPG brand’s targets.
What is a Retail Media Network?
Think of a retail media network as a set of relationships that form your advertising platform. Retail media is all about placing your brand’s ads as close to the point of sale as possible (for example, a sponsored ad for makeup on the Walgreens webpage for beauty supplies).
When you’re targeting your audience efficiently, it encourages customers to make purchases at the moment in the online sales process where transactions are most likely to occur.
Another great example of that point in the sales process is just before the checkout page on your website. That’s the moment when a customer is very likely to spend money, so you just have to focus on marketing the right product to them instead of trying to hard sell. We recommend placing ads on the home page, category page, search page or product detail page.
Of course, a network extends beyond your business too. Linking up with brand partners in your retail media network extends your reach and opens up new advertising platforms for all parties.
Why CPG Brands Need a Retail Media Network
Online shopping is no longer the future of retail – it now requires as much consideration as the packaging on your product.
And when it comes to digital marketing tactics for retail, successful ecommerce brands are making use of retail media networks in their shopper marketing strategies and it’s easy to see why.
In the US alone, online customers spent more than $861 billion in 2020 – over 44% more than in 2019, according to Digital Commerce 360. Smart Insights reports that, globally, e-commerce sales went up by 32.4% to an estimated $791.7 billion. The pandemic has been seen as the biggest reason for so many consumers shifting to online shopping, but the ecommerce boom is showing no signs of slowing down.
Two Steps to Setting Up Your Brand’s Retail Media Network
1. Identify your contact points for advertising
The first step to building a successful retail media network is nailing down the places you want to advertise. These are the contact points where you’ll be marketing directly to customers. The best contact points have a combination of these factors:
- Near the point of transaction
- Unobtrusive but visible
- Easy to click on
- Relevant to surrounding products (for brand partners)
2. Grow your network through brand partnerships
If your brand is relatively small, join an existing retail media network to gain access to larger retail partners and their ad space. Companies like CVS, Walgreens and Amazon have been making good use of these networks. If you’d rather have full control of the network, though, consider partnering with peer businesses that align with your brand.
Brand partners don’t have to be direct competitors; you just need enough overlap in your consumer bases to make the most of each other’s platforms. You might have existing business relationships that you can build partnerships on, but finding viable brand partners doesn’t need to be a hassle either.
Look around your market, especially where your customers also like to shop. Those are brands that can also benefit from your retail media network, making it much easier to pitch to them.
Ready to Build Your Brand’s Retail Media Network?
Setting up a strong retail media network doesn’t have to be hard, but it is necessary for success in the age of online shopping. All it needs is an understanding of the benefits of retail media and a willingness to build strong business relationships.
Partnering with retail marketing specialists like Cliffedge Marketing helps you discover the qualities that tap into your brand’s true potential and create more relevance for shoppers.
