Inside 7-Eleven’s upper-funnel retail media approach

Plus: Which ride-sharing platform presents a bigger opportunity for advertisers? This edition is made possible by Walmart Connect NOVEMBER 13, 2023 It’s your last chance to tell us what you think in our annual newsletter survey, which closes Tuesday, November 14. By completing the survey, you can enter a drawing to win one of five $100 Amazon gift cards. [We want to hear from you!]( [Inside 7-Eleven’s upper-funnel approach to retail media]( [Many advertisers see retail media solely as a performance marketing channel](. But 7-Eleven’s retail media network, Gulp Media, is aiming higher up the funnel. “Most retail media [networks] are focused on performance marketing on their first-party websites,” Mario Mijares, vice president of insights, loyalty, marketing, and monetization platforms at 7-Eleven, said at [Advertising Week New York 2023](. “We’re not doing that. Our focus is connecting our database to third-party platforms and in-store for top-of-funnel and mid-funnel marketing.” Powering this full-funnel experience is 7-Eleven’s “immediate consumption ecosystem,” which includes Gulp Media, 7-Eleven’s database of customer loyalty and point-of-sale data, and its Brain Freeze Collective, a group of 250,000 customers that can be tapped for qualitative or quantitative research. Story continues below. With these tools, 7-Eleven helps brands achieve lower-funnel goals like conversion as well as upper-funnel objectives like brand awareness and lift. - 7-Eleven worked with C4, a small energy drink brand, to grow its audience outside of its loyal customer base, said Mijares. - Through a top-of-funnel campaign with 7-Eleven, C4 achieved a 6.6% sales lift for individuals in households making $50,000 to $75,000 per year and an 8% sales lift for individuals in households making $100,000 to $149,000, according to 7-Eleven. - In addition, 33% of exposed buyers were new to the brand at 7-Eleven, 7.4% of whom were also new to the category. 7-Eleven will soon add another layer to its ecosystem: lab stores. These are fully functional 7-Eleven locations that use hidden cameras to see which products are resonating with consumers and which aren’t, giving brands access to customer insights before they even officially launch a product. “Do a small run [in the lab store],” said Mijares. “Once you’re ready to launch, then we do a launch campaign for the loyalty program [across all stores], then [do a] shopper marketing [campaign], and then outside our four walls with Gulp Media. All of that [data] goes back into our analytics platform and then you can do your attribution.” Gulp Media also plans to lean heavily into in-store media in the coming years, specifically with in-store radio. - “We believe that the best [in-store media] channel is radio,” Mijares. “[Customers] don’t need to be looking at a screen. You don’t need to distract the consumer from what they’re doing.” - To ensure its in-store radio is targeted, 7-Eleven will use an AI-generated voice for its messaging, giving the retailer flexibility to put content in a Boston or Southern accent. [Read online]( [Which ride-sharing platform presents a bigger opportunity for advertisers?]( [Which ride-sharing platform presents a bigger opportunity for advertisers?]( Key stat: 77.6 million people in the US will use Uber or Lyft next year, according to our August 2023 forecast. Beyond the chart: - Uber will hit a new record of 54.4 million users in 2023. Lyft will hit its own record with 33.5 million users in 2024, according to our forecast. - Uber and Lyft both reported decent earnings last week, with [Uber boasting increased advertising revenues]( and [Lyft still building out in-app advertising](. - Both Uber and Lyft are expanding advertising formats, from backseat displays to in-app ads. Marketers should monitor this growth, especially as both platforms mature, as noted in our [Ride-Hailing 2023]( report. - Uber is well ahead in the ad ecosystem right now, but a growing user base for both services means a growing audience for advertisers. Use this chart: - Evaluate the ride-sharing ad opportunity. - Compare Uber and Lyft audience size. [Read online]( Email sent to: {EMAIL} If you cannot view the HTML newsletter, [please read it in your browser here](. [Become a Premium Subscriber]( | [Advertise with us]( [Manage your email preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Privacy Policy]( ©2023 Insider Intelligence, One Liberty Plaza 9th Floor, New York, NY 10006 [LiveIntent Logo]( [AdChoices Logo](