CSP's second-annual Retail Media Network Forum kicks off Monday in Dallas. Convenience-store retailers, consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and technology providers will gather for the event, which is held in partnership with c-store consulting firm NexChapter.
The inaugural event in October was combined with CSP’s C-StoreTEC conference, but this year, CSP dedicated three days to an individual RMN Forum, which will take place April 28-30.
Convenience stores have high-frequency customers, Art Sebastian, CEO of NexChapter, Des Moines, Iowa, told CSP, which leads to a lot of data, and retail media is the fastest-growing segment of advertising.
“I see a future where convenience retailers are thriving in the retail media era,” Sebastian said. “I think they're unlocking new revenue potential, deepening brand and advertiser partnerships and creating more seamless shopping experiences for their customers.”
While there are several convenience-store retailers that have retail media networks up and running, the majority of c-stores are in education mode, Sebastian said.
The RMN Forum will feature general session speakers from Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven, which has had a RMN for about two and a half years, and Westborough, Massachusetts-based EG America, which has recently entered the retail media space. Also on the agenda are Houston-based Chevron, Spicewood, Texas-based TXB and more. Plus, leaders from Philadelphia-based GoPuff, Chicago-based Mars Wrigley, Springdale, Arizona-based Tyson and more will share how they “moved into the fast lane of the retail media space,” Sebastian said.
The education sessions include a variety of levels of learning, with Retail Media 101, the building blocks of retail media; 202, technology stacks; 301, maximizing ad inventory on-site, off-site and in-store; and 401, measuring incrementality, customer lifetime value and more.
“I've learned no matter how much you know about this space or about the industry, you're still learning every day because the space is changing so much,” said Sebastian. “I'm also quite honestly very humbled by how people are engaging in this topic. Nobody is pretending to know everything. Everyone is bringing their knowledge set and their set of questions to the table and we're having really rich debates and conversations.”
The Retail Media Network Forum will also dedicate time to 15-minute one-on-one meetings.
“We heard from the inaugural event that retailers put a lot of value on those one-on-one meetings,” he said. “They want to meet innovative tech companies that have global perspectives, that have practical use cases, and they want to learn.”
Also during that time, there will be closed-door retailer roundtables to minimize downtime.
“Retailers told us they want to talk about customer data strategy and CDP,” he said. “They want to talk about technology roadmaps, and they're asking questions, like, ‘Should I build my own retail media network? Should I partner with a vendor? How do I build internal support and buy in?’ So these are some of the topics that we'll discuss in these roundtables.”
Sebastian recommended coming to the event with personal and company goals.
“There's a high probability that you'll meet everyone over the course of a couple days, but maybe there are a few folks that you want to meet more intentionally,” he said. “Bring questions to the table because we've created an environment that's very welcoming and inclusive of all. Questions are always welcomed.”
To help attendees, there is a physical workbook that serves three roles. First, it's a tool aligned with the agenda to capture notes. Second, it will be a tool to build activation work plans during a guided session on day three. Third, it will have a c-store focused retail media glossary that defines all the key terms.
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