It’s interesting to see Retail Media take off, these past few years. When I set up retail promotions in the noughties (before social media was a thing) it was a challenge to quantify the value of retail exposure versus paid media. So I used to do a ‘finger in the air’ technique: total number of stores x assets x number of days x average daily foot traffic. This was before online shopping was a thing – I hasten to add – asos (or As Seen On Screen as it was back then) was a novelty – not a viable alternative to going out shopping with your mates on a Saturday and hitting up Topshop, Oasis and Warehouse.
Anyway, my bestest-favest retail promos back then, were Down With Love x Boots and Legally Blonde 2 x New Look. At the time, I was obsessed with (in no particular order) Boots Meal Deals and Buy 2-for-3, Ewan McGregor, Renee Zellweger (a hangover from Bridget Jones, I thought, but love her to this day), and last but not least, New Look. I did like Legally Blonde … but not obsessively so. It’s only now in my 40s that I truly appreciate Reese and her ridiculous talent.
OK, so fast forward. It’s the year 2023. I’m in Australia and you have local agencies like Zitcha, nailing the retail media space. Retailers have cottoned on to the value of their space, reach and influence. And, with it not being the noughties, they also have a load of subscribers (or first-party data, to make it sound more cutting-edge) and social media to amplify everything. The likes of Woolies (always call it Tesco) and Coles (never call it Sainsbury’s, oddly enough) have their Cartology and 360 offerings and – tbf – if you’re a supplier then why wouldn’t you spend with your biggest distributors? Captive and engaged shoppers a mere few metres away from a shelf-full of your products. It’s brilliant.
All that said, I love ‘natural’ collaboration. I’m obsessed with MECCA’s collab with NGV and the holiday campaign featuring the artwork of Kaylene Whiskey. The other day my daughter left a MECCA bag on the living room floor (of course, all things belong on the floor when you’re a teenager…) and I got a pair of scissors to it, to create some cute gift tags for Xmas gifts. But back to the collaboration – I think it’s perfect: it’s Aussie, it’s culturally relevant and it’s gorgeous to look at.
#RetailMedia #RetailSpace #MediaAssets #AudienceReach #ThirdParty #AffiliateMarketing
Marie White 