Why 2025 will be the year for ‘fill-in-the-blank’ media networks

In recent years, almost every retailer has attempted to start out — and sustain — a media network to monetize their audiences. Not each one was successful. The journey isn’t without challenges, but brands have demonstrated that with the right strategy, the opportunity to construct a thriving ad network is close by.

In 2021, Eric Seufert famously said every little thing is an ad network. If you might have precious consumer data, you might have a possibility to create one.

Amazon was the first to prove audiences could be monetized effectively, while Target is credited with being certainly one of the first to actually make it a stand-alone business. Walmart has expanded what a retail media network can be by acquiring Vizio. But for all these caterpillars that become retail media butterflies, Gap, Microsoft and several other retailers that encountered bankruptcy all become moths, having shuttered their media networks.

Despite the failures, the promise of incremental revenue — often at the next profit than every other aspect of their operations — has many individuals enthusiastic about the opportunity.

Yet, critics argue retail media growth is a mirage and that advertisers are only testing the channel or shifting shopper dollars from one bucket to retail. We don’t consider that’s the case.

Looking ahead, 2025 will be the year of “fill-in-the-blank” media networks, where organizations in as varied industries as travel and tourism, financial services and software have or are planning to launch ad networks. Many more will follow.

But turning from an information asset “caterpillar” right into a profitable media network “butterfly” requires a mix of labor, strategy and luck. Not every company will succeed but, fortunately, recent entrants can learn from the hard-earned lessons and failures of retail media.

Here’s what it’s essential to construct your personal media network and what to contemplate to avoid missteps.

A big audience and compelling offer

Advertisers have their selection of destinations, especially given the success of non-endemic ads on retail media. If you don’t have a large audience, strong brand heritage or a compelling story for advertisers, it might not be value it to construct out a media network at once.

Technology to enable reach on and off the platform

Remember, while retail media got its start on actual retailers’ dot-coms, it has quickly branched out to social media and other destinations through programmatic. It’s your audience you’re monetizing, not only your physical and digital storefronts.

Effective measurement and proof points

You must reveal to advertisers that you could measure the metrics most vital to them, beyond clicks and impressions. Media networks may also drive significant brand lift for a few reasons. One, people browse retailer web sites like they browse the in-store aisle. They may not be purchasing anything at the moment, but using the right technique to “warm” them for future purchase is a brilliant approach.

Run pilots and quickly create case studies and collateral to reveal success to potentially skeptical audiences. Package measurement with buys, and motivate and empower your sales teams to supply actionable insights to leads.

The right people

Building a media network isn’t like adding an end-cap, or promoting a brand new product. It’s an intricate business that requires the right talent. It’s unlikely any company has the right internal team to construct a media network from scratch. Sure, you’ll be able to try, but that might end in delays and more missteps than if the right seasoned player joins the team.

For example, PayPal hired Mark Grether, who previously ran Amazon’s ad network and spent three years establishing Uber’s media business. New firms trying to enter this space should find the right talent who has a demonstrable track record. Even with the right person in place, it takes time to construct an ad network. But the best time to construct one was yesterday. The second best time is today.

Expand the pool of potential advertisers

Among the biggest mistakes a brand new ad network could make is limiting their advertisers pools to simply those that sell on their sites and of their stores. Upwave data has shown that non-endemic ads actually outperform endemic ads on retail media networks. A major think about the success of “fill-in-the-blank” media networks is the influx of non-endemic advertisers who see value in these platforms.

Remember, people browsing web sites are likely balancing multiple to-dos of their heads. The timely reminder about getting a brand new quote for auto insurance on a retail site might stand out at just the right time.