It All Hangs in the Balance: Pros & Cons of Retail Media Networks vs Retailer Agnostic Strategy
Defining the right retailer engagement strategy for your brand can be a daunting task. Is it better to partner directly with retailers or drive sales at multiple retailers? Or both? And more importantly, the relationships a brand builds with retailers are critical to success – making this decision even more impactful and important. It's no wonder the question is often asked: Should I work with a retailer media network or build a retailer agnostic strategy? We're here to help!
Defining the right retailer engagement strategy for your brand can be a daunting task. Is it better to partner directly with retailers or drive sales at multiple retailers? Or both? And more importantly, the relationships a brand builds with retailers are critical to success – making this decision even more impactful and important.
It's no wonder the question is often asked: Should I work with a retailer media network or build a retailer agnostic strategy? We're here to help!
Retail Media Networks
Let’s begin with Retail Media Networks (RMN). RMNs are an advertising app or platform aligned with ONE specific retailer. The Target or Walmart app are both RMNs where advertisers can advertise to consumers and drive awareness and sales at those specific retailers only. RMNs have become a large portion of advertising revenue for retailers nowadays and a pretty significant way for brands to reach consumers. As a matter of fact, a recent survey indicated that one in 10 retailers anticipate that their RMN ad revenue would grow by more than 74%.
Retailer Agnostic
By definition, retailer agnostic is a strategy where the brand is NOT aligned with a single retailer, but instead looking to drive sales at many retailers. This strategy allows brands the opportunity to advertise their products in several platforms and apps to meet consumers where they are on their mobile devices most frequently.
To help you better understand the key differences between these two strategies and aid you in your decision on which approach is best for your brand, we’ve put together a helpful pros and cons list for each.
Retail Media Networks
Retailer Agnostic Strategy
So, Which is Best for My Brand?
In conclusion, weighing the pros and cons, it is truly most beneficial to have a healthy mix of both RMNs and retailer agnostic solutions in your ad strategy. Preserving retailer relationships while also driving awareness and sales across multiple retailers is truly CPG advertising nirvana.
You will want to consider your product mix against your media mix strategy. One category of products may perform well in the right RMN, while other products might be better served with a retailer agnostic approach. Ultimately, what’s essential is extracting the success metrics from each method to understand how it’s working and ensure you are meeting your target audience where they are.
Oftentimes this may mean taking the retailer agnostic approach to connect with customers in apps that go beyond a specific retailer and engaging consumers across list building, recipe, lifestyle and social apps.
To do that, you need a reliable partner like AdAdapted that can offer a unique approach to aligning CPG brands with category relevant consumers, creating a data-driven connection based upon prior engagement and activity.
You can learn more about how we can help by visiting our solutions page or contacting us at info@adadapted.com.
