When it comes to hyperlocalised advertising for consumers, retail media networks (RMNs) are one of those channels that many marketers are slowly adopting as part of their marketing strategies to target consumers who already have the buying mindset. 

Unlike other forms of digital advertising–such as social media marketing–retail media ads are shown to people right when they’re ready to buy. And brands love this because it means they’re reaching people who are already in a buying mindset.

Now, for brands and advertisers, RMNs are becoming a must-have, not just a nice-to-have. They’re investing a lot into them because they get access to super-targeted audiences without having to rely on third-party cookies or worry about data privacy issues. The question is: how can marketers in Southeast Asia make the most out of RMNs for their marketing strategies?

In our latest What’s NEXT in Marketing interview, we recently sat down with Ken Mandel, regional managing director and head of GrabAds and enterprise at Grab to discuss the unique capabilities of RMNs and what benefits of using them are critical to success in today’s complex digital advertising landscape. 

Increased usage of rich first-party data

For Ken, the rise of RMNs in Southeast Asia is a strategic response to evolving consumer expectations and industry challenges by brands and advertisers. Moreover, the industry increasingly recognise RMNs’ unique capabilities, which offer several benefits critical to success in today’s complex digital advertising landscape–including its rich first-party data.

“With consumers today becoming increasingly data privacy-conscious, the limitations of traditional digital advertising channels like Search and Social are becoming increasingly apparent regarding data. RMNs offer a paradigm shift by leveraging rich first-party data obtained directly from user interactions within the platform ecosystem,” he said.

Another key capability for RMNs is measurement, and is especially relevant for marketers amidst a continued trend of shrinking ad budgets. 

“RMNs can ‘close the loop’ from consumers viewing an ad to a potential sales conversion, giving brands the ability to measure the precise impact of an ad campaign. In comparison, measuring returns on ad spend on other channels like social networks or influencer campaigns, can be inaccurate, because they occur in different contexts and across different platforms. 

With these capabilities in mind, Ken notes that these capabilities are especially important in Southeast Asia where consumers prioritise seamless, convenient shopping experiences. Citing their recent research alongside Kantar, he notes that around 61% of Southeast Asians surveyed said it was very important to have products or services that can anticipate their needs, higher than the global figure (52%). 

As such, RMNs are well-positioned to continue growing in adoption and prominence in the region in the next few years.

“With first-party data and the ability to ‘close the loop’, RMNs can help brands and advertisers serve products and services with precision in the right context and time, delivering effective campaigns that are also measurable,” he added.

Continued traction despite being nascent

One of the biggest factors contributing to the success of RMNs in Southeast Asia is the region’s digitally-savvy population primed for speed and convenience. With smartphones as their primary device, consumers seek quick, streamlined shopping experiences that can promptly deliver products right into their hands.

Citing their study with Kantar once again, he notes that 2 in 3 Southeast Asians prioritise having on-demand access to products and services, in which superapp RMNs in particular are able to deliver through an integrated ecosystem of services covering all purchasing stages – from discovery right through to last-mile delivery.

Another factor contributing to RMN success in SEA is shopping being transformed into a hybrid experience, noting that around 79% of surveyed Southeast Asians utilised online and offline retail channels simultaneously.

“This is where superapp RMNs in particular shine – whether through digital in-app promotions or out-of-home assets like product sampling or car fleet wraps – superapp RMNs allow brands to design creative full-funnel campaigns that combine online and offline touchpoints across the consumer’s entire buying journey,” Ken explained.

RMNs–despite significantly gaining traction in Southeast Asia–remain a relatively nascent domain that advertisers are still experimenting with. Nonetheless, Ken explains that year-on-year growth in total RMN ad spend in the region is forecasted to increase from 8% in 2024 to 11% in 2030, a widespread shift towards precision, relevance, effectiveness, and consumer-centric strategies in digital advertising.

“This will bring forth more data-driven campaigns that will not only arm brands with the ability to reach the right audience at the right time, but also unlock infinite possibilities for omnichannel consumer engagement throughout their daily lives,” he said.

Ken also added that looking ahead, he believes that retail is just the start, and that the industry is already seeing vertical media networks emerging across many sectors, including travel, hospitality, and health and wellness. 

“No matter the vertical, capitalising on this vital channel ultimately requires brands to focus on consumer-centric media strategies and choose the right partners equipped with essential RMN capabilities – first-party data, a substantial audience, and the ability to ‘close the loop’ – to create high-impact campaigns that make the best of RMNs,” he noted.

RMN strategy means going full-funnel

To make the most of their RMN investments, Ken advises brands to be timely and relevant on said investments by leveraging insights from the rich first-party data obtained directly from user interactions within the platform ecosystem. Said invaluable data enables brands to deliver highly targeted and personalised advertising experiences that resonate with audiences at critical moments.

“Beyond elevating the relevance of the brand’s product or service, this will also position the brand more favourably as functional, amplifying the campaign’s impact on long-term brand building,” Ken stated.

He also added that brands should go full-funnel with their RMN strategy, meaning brands should harness the omnichannel nature of RMNs to extend their reach beyond digital, opening up new opportunities for broader reach through enhanced targeting capabilities and diverse ad formats.

“This also augments measurement, where the online-to-offline ecosystem of RMNs allows brands to capture more comprehensive metrics across the ecosystem – whether that’s ad clicks, product samples received or purchases in-store – for better campaign optimisation,” he said.

While all of the aforementioned strategies revolve around the technicalities of implementing RMNs, Ken also stresses the importance of creativity, which also plays a crucial role in helping brands stand out in a crowded advertising landscape. For him, in order to surprise and delight consumers, brands have to craft unique, immersive experiences that surpass communicating brand messages on a screen.

A sample of this is GrabAds’ work with Wonda Coffee which transformed consumers’ car rides into complete sensorial experiences. The campaign featured 3D coffee cans atop the Grab cars, passengers were greeted by the Wonda jingle and the aroma of roasted coffee beans within the cars, while an in-car QR code offered a free can of coffee for sampling. 

“RMNs offer a multitude of ad formats, allowing marketers to seamlessly blend online and offline spaces into a unique experience – which is critical for awareness and discovery campaigns to be successful,” Ken stated.

While keeping in mind all of these strategies, he also shares that no two markets are identical when determining the success and effectiveness of RMNs, as unique local contexts play a crucial role in shaping each market’s distinct needs. While the region presents ripe opportunities for RMN players, it is worth noting that not all RMNs are created equal, nor present the right fit for every occasion. 

With that in mind, marketers have to consider each platform’s users and whether they align with their brand’s target audience segments.

“Superapp RMNs are ideal for brands seeking full-funnel solutions to reach consumers across their buying journey from discovery to purchase, while social media RMNs are often better suited for awareness campaigns due to their reliance on user-generated content.” Ken further explains.

RMNs’ impact in performance marketing

When asked about the importance and impact in performance marketing, Ken notes that RMNs have mostly been known for their strength in ‘performance marketing’—basically, they are great at driving conversions and getting people to buy right away. But the reality is that RMNs have evolved beyond just being a last-step push.

“Although RMNs are often recognised as a performance channel, they are in fact a full-funnel solution that offers valuable opportunities across every stage, from brand building and discovery at the top to conversion at the bottom of the funnel,” he said.

An example of this in motion was during GrabAds’ work with fast-food chain Lotteria in Vietnam, which delivered a 9.3x increase in sales for every dollar spent and brought in over 8,000 new customers. In the campaign, by targeting new and existing customers across every stage of the purchase journey with a mix of video, banner, search, in-transit and other ad formats, the campaign drove a 13% uplift in ad recall and 8% uplift in purchase intent.

“This shows that RMNs can achieve dual objectives of brand building and performance within a single campaign,” he said.

In order to unlock the power of full-funnel in RMNs, Ken suggest brands to ask themselves the following questions:

  • How is your brand leveraging the diverse online and offline ad formats in creative strategies to better drive brand messaging traction?
  • How is your brand tapping into real-world transaction data to identify the right consumer segments to reach?
  • How is your brand using the online and offline metrics tracked by the RMN platform to create a unified measurement plan that allows you to discern return on investment from campaigns?

“These questions, once answered, will help brands deliver greater impact across the funnel with campaigns that go beyond just performance,” he stated.

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As big retailers and superapps find themselves sitting on a mountain of data, a majority of them are now using it to help brands get in front of people right when it matters most. With that, the impact RMNs are having is huge, and they’re only becoming more essential for brands that want to connect with shoppers in a smarter, more direct way. Retail media isn’t just a trend; it’s becoming a core part of how we shop and how brands reach us.

In the industry’s continued quest to find new channels to deliver effective campaigns to consumers, retail media networks (RMNs) have proven to be able to cut through the noise and able to stand out to consumers and deliver results. This is especially evident with the continued popularity of RMNs for marketers in Southeast Asia, with the latest report from GrabAds and Kantar noting that advertising spend on RMNs in the region is forecast to grow US$4.b by 2030.

The report also highlighted the importance of superapps in boosting RMN ad spend amongst SEA marketers, stating that superapp RMNs are well-positioned to serve the consumer needs with their O2O full-funnel ecosystem powered by first-party data.

To better understand how RMNs became a popular advertising platform for marketers in the region–and how brands and advertisers should approach them–MARKETECH APAC recently spoke exclusively to Ken Mandel, regional managing director and head of GrabAds and brand insights at Grab to learn more about the benefits of RMNs for advertisers and what case studies should the industry note in terms of RMN application.

Understanding regional factors that amplified RMNs

For Mandel, while retail media networks (RMNs) development differ from one region to another, he noted that Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital economy and increasingly tech-savvy population primed for speed and convenience have made the region a fertile ground for the rapid growth of retail media networks (RMNs).

This is then highlighted by their recent study alongside Kantar that noted the total advertising (ad) spend on RMNs in Southeast Asia is projected to grow by 8% year-on-year in 2024, with year-on-year growth forecasted to be higher or consistent with global growth figures till 2030. 

“Such market nuances are shaped by consumer preferences and behaviour. For instance, our study shows that 2 out of 3 Southeast Asians surveyed prioritise having products and services on-demand. This suggests that consumers in the region demand seamless, convenient experiences that get desired products into their hands quickly,” he stated.

He also noted how superapps much like Grab have also emerged as an integral aspect of consumers’ daily lives, and are able to seamlessly bridge the entire retail experience from discovery to purchase and delivery.

“One in two Southeast Asians utilises superapps for their everyday online and offline activities, according to our study with Kantar. The integrated RMN ecosystem with its multiple services allows RMNs to collect first-party transaction data across the platform beyond simply purchasing habits, providing holistic user understanding for brands to build more effective targeting parameters,” Mandel added.

How RMNs are delivering effective advertising campaigns

To begin with, Mandel notes that RMNs allow brands and advertisers to benefit from a full-funnel sales flywheel that achieves both top and bottom-funnel objectives. For him, they are powered by first-party transaction data and solution-oriented ads, allowing advertisers to serve highly relevant ads to customers that meet their needs and behaviour across their buying journey.

“Essentially, RMN ads reach consumers who are already in a buying or discovery mindset and provide a suitable product solution for the right occasion. As a result, consumers are more receptive towards RMN ads, as they are perceived as less intrusive and more trustworthy,” he explained.

It is also worth noting that in the same study they conducted alongside Kantar, it noted that RMNs ranked first in online media channel equity, which measures consumers’ receptivity to advertising messages across different online media channels. 

“RMNs are able to deliver strong performance marketing results, thanks to three key ingredients – first-party data, a sizable audience and the ability to close the loop between consumer intent and purchase. This means that advertisers can attribute sales to their media dollars,” he also stated.

Mandel also highlighted how superapp RMNs in particular can reach and measure both offline and online behaviours and transactions, thanks to their unique online-to-offline ecosystems. 

For instance, on Grab’s case, they were able to work with juice brand Sunquick to serve ad banners offering a free sample of Sunquick’s new Mango cordial. Through this campaign, clicking into the ads would take shoppers to GrabMart where everyone who bought an item would have a bottle of Sunquick Mango cordial added to their basket. Moreover, they have also worked with DBS when they curated an omnichannel campaign with offline fleet ads and in-transit online ads on the Grab app.

“Superapp RMNs are not just pure performance marketing channels. According to the latest Grab Food and Delivery Trends 2023 report, 66% of our consumers come to Grab without a specific store in mind, and 91% of them have used the Grab app to discover new restaurants or stores. This means that consumers also leverage RMNs for discovery, which opens up opportunities for upper-funnel brand building,” he said.

Understanding how superapp RMNs are supporting contextual advertising

Speaking of superapps, Mandel notes that the integrated RMN ecosystem with its multiple services on superapps allows RMNs to collect first-party transaction data across the platform beyond simply purchasing habits, providing holistic user understanding for brands to build more effective targeting parameters.

Moreover, it is also worth mentioning that the superapp’s integrated payment systems also make it possible to track offline transactions if users pay using the platform, allowing brands to better attribute sales to advertising dollars.

“Superapp RMNs like Grab bridge the online to offline with their comprehensive ecosystem. GrabAds offers advertisers offline assets such as product sampling, in-car branding or car wraps to deliver an integrated campaign across multiple channels. This is key to designing more effective ad campaigns as our report with Kantar reveals that using both online and offline channels improves positive ad receptivity by 5%,” he explained.

He also added how superapps are able to provide first-party transaction data, which reflects the true commercial intention of a consumer. For them, this helps brands and advertisers identify consumer personas and audience segments based on actual behaviour and transactions. 

In their own case, they have identified so-called ‘Chief Family Officers; (CFOs) as a specific, high-value segment of their users on the Grab platform based on indicative purchasing behaviour. According to Mandel, their behaviour within their app offers many opportunities for advertisers to do so, since they spend 2.1 times more monthly and use delivery services 1.9 times more frequently than the average Grab user.

“Advertisers looking to reach CFOs can consider promoting family-related products catering to their needs. Ultimately, high-resolution user profiling with superapp RMNs allows brands to create more targeted campaigns that resonate with specific user segments,” he said.

Advice for advertisers tapping RMNs for the first time

“if you’re not in the game, you can’t play”: this was the number one advice Mandel offered to brands if they want to explore RMNs for the first time. For him, whilst RMNs provide a lucrative opportunity for advertisers to expand their reach, one should also know their perfect RMN match.

“It is also important to partner with the right RMN players. While there are diverse retail media platforms in Southeast Asia, advertisers should look out for three key ingredients when deciding which platform to work with: first-party data, a sizable audience and the ability to ‘close the loop’,” he said.

Mandel also added, “Most importantly, brands should not focus only on bottom-funnel opportunities. RMNs are full-funnel solutions, and advertisers should consider how they can utilise the capabilities of RMNs across the funnel with the consumer in the middle.”

With RMNs continuing to be a promising advertising platform for marketers in Southeast Asia, it’s also important to understand that tapping into this new type of platform requires both an understanding of how your brand would be relevant to users, especially those who are using superapps on a regular basis. With consumer behaviour being more manifested on online platforms, RMNs–whether on social media or on e-commerce platforms–is a great opportunity for advertisers to ride on whilst understanding better consumers on a contextual basis.