Media networks are the future. By 2030, the retail media network market is projected to exceed $231 billion. Individual businesses can capture this opportunity and open up new revenue streams that yield a high return on investment (ROI).
Media networks are not only transforming the way advertisers reach customers—they are also transforming the way businesses operate: what capabilities they have, how they organize around their media network, and what partnerships they need to succeed.
Launching a successful media network involves more than just collecting and selling data, adding a tech stack, or investing in marketing technology. The process of building a media network is holistic, comprehensive, and complex. To succeed, organizations need to make the right mindset shifts. These shifts revolve around four core areas: organizational change management, customer centricity, data management, and channel optimization.
Having the right mindset is the most powerful—and underrated—tool that businesses can have when they join the media network revolution.
Want to get the most value out of owned data? Media networks help businesses do that. They enable organizations to leverage first-party data and open new revenue streams through incremental purchases, all while serving as a bridge between organizations, customers, and advertisers to facilitate more personalized, targeted interactions.
It all starts with data. Businesses harvest and analyze data from a variety of customer touchpoints, including loyalty programs, guest rewards, website interactions, and in-store transactions. They can leverage this data to derive actionable insights.
For example, a retail or travel company with a loyalty program can collect consented data on customer purchase history, preferences, and behavior. By analyzing this data, the company can then identify trends, segment customers, and tailor marketing efforts to individual needs.
Media networks create new business opportunities for brands—they enable organizations to monetize their data by sharing insights and impressions from it through advertising partnerships and sales. These partnerships allow advertisers to access the precise targeting capabilities offered by media networks, ensuring that their ads reach the right audience at the right time.
Audience Data: Owned properties and offsite third-party channels.
Publicis Sapient partnered with an American supermarket chain to build out its media network by helping construct the grocer’s channel strategy, campaigns, and data infrastructure to support its new network. Over the course of three years, the network generated $100 million in revenue.
Old mindset: "Media networks are just an add-on to what we already do."
New mindset: "Media networks are a standalone function that requires distinct strategies and capabilities and, most critically, a different customer."
Launching a media network requires a fundamental shift in how organizations view their media sales and operations. Media network success requires a sales organization that understands the different requirements of a variety of media buyers. Meeting the KPIs of those buyers is enabled through media operations.
We understand where the money is in Media Networks and how to engage with advertisers.
| Function | E-commerce | Shopper marketing | Brand marketing | Media agencies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial/product buying | Retailer stores revenues | Retailer.com revenues | Brand and retailer equity | Brand loyalty | Brand goals |
| KPIs | Share of shelf (in-store and digital shelf), Share of display/features availability | Share of digital shelf, Targeted activation enabled by customer and retail data insights | Brand awareness/consideration | Media spend effectiveness | |
| Typical use case | Product listing, Leaflet promotion, Product search ranking | Sponsored products, New product trials, Personalized promotion | New product awareness, Seasonal advertising, Connected TV | Performance media | |
| Share of budget | Trade terms budget | Ecommerce activation | Shopper marketing budget | Brand marketing budget | Brand media budget |
Media networks are not just an add-on to an organization’s existing way of doing business. If built and executed correctly, a media network is a crucial part of the customer engagement flywheel. By targeting the right customers and optimizing against incremental transactions, media networks drive greater engagement and loyalty. Loyalty, in turn, strengthens a media network, thus creating a virtuous cycle of engagements and transactions.
Commerce and media networks enable the customer engagement flywheel:
To begin to understand where there may be capability gaps, businesses must understand what their organization can currently do—and where it still needs to grow.
Media networks rely on specific capabilities that bring together multiple corners of an organization. In evaluating their organization for the right capabilities, these are some of the questions that businesses should ask themselves:
Media networks require a high degree of collaboration across the organization. This means breaking down silos and working together across functions such as marketing, IT, data, legal, finance, and operations. It also means collaborating externally with partners, agencies, and advertisers to ensure the network is delivering value to all stakeholders.
Key questions to ask:
Publicis Sapient collaborated with a successful fuel retailer to implement its media network. By leveraging the organization’s extensive first-party data, Publicis Sapient helped develop a media network that delivered personalized promotions to customers. This organization opted to enlist Publicis Sapient’s support rather than building its own internal capabilities. The partnership not only enhanced customer engagement but also generated significant incremental revenue for both parties.
Old mindset: "I already know my customer and what they want."
New mindset: "Consider the needs of advertisers."
If media networks have a hero, it’s the consumer, the person at the center of the network. Businesses want to move them. Advertisers want to connect with them.
But the person who purchases a bag of chips from a fuel station or books a flight with a mobile app is not the only customer that media networks serve. They serve two customers: the end user and the advertiser. Both groups have unique needs and expectations that businesses must balance as they build out their network.
Personalized recommendations and targeted promotions can significantly enhance the customer experience. Building a 360-degree view of each customer and integrating personalized experiences is crucial. Personalization should be seamless, unobtrusive, and relevant. For example, a customer browsing an online store should receive personalized product recommendations with contextual and store personalized ad impressions.
Advertisers aim to reach the right audience with their messaging. Precise targeting maximizes the impact of their campaigns.
Media networks must balance the needs of both customers and advertisers. The most successful networks are those that can deliver value to both groups without compromising the experience of either. This requires a deep understanding of each group’s needs and the ability to design experiences, offers, and campaigns that serve both.
For customers, this means providing relevant, personalized experiences that enhance their journey and add value. For advertisers, it means delivering access to high-quality audiences and the ability to measure the impact of their campaigns.
Old mindset: “I already collect and use data to make decisions.”
New mindset: “Optimize the right data for maximum value with clean rooms.”
Data is the heart of media networks—but not all data is created equal. Media networks rely on quality, accurate, and relevant data to satisfy advertisers’ needs. At the same time, running a media network is not the same thing as acting as a data broker since data should be actionable and insightful.
Organizations need the right systems in place to bring together a variety of first-, second-, and third-party data in a privacy-compliant way. First-party data includes information collected directly from customers, such as purchase history and preferences. Second-party data is obtained from trusted partners, while third-party data is aggregated from various external sources.
Media networks must provide advertisers with the kind of data that they need and want. This data should be:
Data privacy and security remain top of mind for customers around the world. Publicis Sapient’s 2023 Customer Data Survey revealed that 80 percent of respondents self-identified as extremely, very, or somewhat concerned about companies using their data.
Customers are not the only ones harboring this concern. Governments around the world are increasingly adopting data protections. Though they vary by region, regulations govern how data is collected, stored, and used.
What can businesses do to ease these concerns and ensure that their media networks align with evolving regulations? Implementing consent management systems allows customers to control their data and provide explicit consent for its use. This enhances transparency and builds trust with customers.
Organizations standing up media networks should also have identity resolution measures in place. Identity resolution is the process of linking data points from various sources to create a unified view of the customer.
Identity resolution providers play a crucial role in anonymizing and securely processing data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations and protecting customer information. This involves matching customer data across different touchpoints and channels, ensuring accurate and consistent profiles. Collaborations with identity resolution partners can help resolve identity and ensure accurate data collection and measurement. Identity resolution is critical for linking disparate data points and creating a unified view of the customer.
Epsilon’s COREID, an identity resolution solution, shows how businesses can leverage data to create accurate and comprehensive customer profiles, enabling more precise targeting and personalized marketing efforts. COREID integrates data from various sources, ensuring that customer identities are accurately resolved and linked across different touchpoints. This comprehensive view of the customer allows businesses to deliver more relevant and timely messages, enhancing customer engagement and driving higher conversion rates.
Technology stacks can make or break a media network. Platforms should integrate seamlessly with existing and new systems, including customer relationship management systems, data management platforms, and ad servers. They should also be able to trace, track, and process large amounts of data. Implementing reporting dashboards to surface and analyze data provides a visual representation of key metrics, enabling stakeholders to monitor performance and make data-driven decisions.
Publicis Sapient and Google’s RMN Accelerator supports and streamlines reporting to enhance data-driven decision-making and campaign management. By consolidating data from various sources, the tool provides a comprehensive view of campaign performance, enabling advertisers to optimize their strategies. This allows advertisers to track key metrics, such as click-through rates and conversion rates, in real time, facilitating more informed decision-making.
For onboarding data, platforms like LiveRamp enable organizations to put their data in one place. This gives them a unified view of their offline and online data.
Old mindset: “Media networks are only about digital experiences.”
New mindset: “Integrate both online and offline channels for a seamless customer journey.”
To maximize the impact of media networks, organizations must adopt an omnichannel approach that integrates both online and offline channels. While digital channels are significant, media networks also operate through various offline channels, creating a cohesive and enhanced customer journey.
While online channels are crucial, they are not the only way to reach customers. Most industries, such as retailers, operate in an omnichannel offering. Mirroring the customer experience, media networks can and should leverage “offline” touchpoints, such as in-store displays and kiosks, to deliver personalized messages, share promotions, and capture a broader audience.
For instance, a retail store can use digital signage to display targeted ads based on customer demographics and behavior. Interestingly, in-store provides a stronger non-endemic value proposition than digital experiences. This personalized approach enhances the shopping experience and drives higher engagement.
What is one thing that the most successful media networks have in common? They’re invisible. If a customer sees the media network in action, then the business is not executing it successfully. Media network advertising needs to be contextual so that customers find it relevant.
Successful media networks integrate online and offline channels to create a cohesive and enhanced customer journey. Developing an omnichannel strategy that encompasses all touchpoints ensures a consistent and engaging experience for customers.
For example, a customer browsing products online should receive personalized recommendations in-store based on their online behavior. This seamless integration enhances the customer experience and drives higher engagement and sales.
Integrating technology and data is essential for creating a seamless omnichannel experience. Organizations must invest in technologies that enable real-time data integration and analysis across various channels. For example, implementing a customer data platform (CDP) allows businesses to consolidate data from different sources and create a unified view of the customer. This integrated approach ensures that customer interactions are consistent and personalized, regardless of the channel.
The media network revolution is here. Businesses that embrace this new way of working will unlock new revenue streams, deepen customer relationships, and create more value for advertisers. But success requires more than just technology—it requires a shift in mindset, a commitment to organizational change, and a relentless focus on customer and data centricity.
Are you ready to join the media network revolution?
publicissapient.com/solutions/media-networks
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