Retail media networks have been a hot topic for a few years now, with c-store majors like 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores and Wawa unveiling their own programs.
Smaller players, meanwhile, have mostly watched from the sidelines as they instead focus on broader industry challenges like labor and supply chain.
But Stewart’s Shops is an exception. The 350-plus-store chain based in Ballston Spa, New York, has put its own spin on retail media, offering advertising for both local and national brands on screens and over speakers at its c-stores and fuel pumps.
The ads and music start at the pump and continue in the store. Playlists are curated by the company at the corporate level, with audio ads playing every minute at the pumps and every two minutes inside stores.
“One minute was a little bit too short for our employees,” said Melissa Kreider, creative director at Stewart’s Shops. “We wanted to make sure that we weren't driving them crazy.”
Advertising evolution
Stewart’s has been running commercials in its stores for more than a decade, cycling through a number of technology shifts in the process.
“We used to do DVDs, so we would put commercials and other Stewart’s messages out on a DVD and that looped in the store,” said Kreider.
The offering broadened five or six years ago, when Stewart’s signed a music contract and put speakers throughout its stores. This made it so songs and ads could be heard wherever customers were shopping, Kreider said.
During the pandemic, as companies like 7-Eleven and Casey’s were ramping up their retail media networks, Stewart’s made its own foray into broader advertising for brands. Until that point, Stewart’s had only been running its own advertisements.
In a June blog post, Stewart’s pitched its advertising service to local businesses, highlighting an opportunity to generate ads not just from major brands, but also from community establishments.
“Over the past year, banks, auto dealers, roofers, martial arts instructors, ski resorts and heating and ventilation companies are among the long list of businesses that have advertised on Stewart’s STVs or at our gas pumps,” the company wrote in the blog post, noting that ads could play as much as 45 times per day.
Retail media light
While the fuel pumps only get audio, Stewart’s has one screen in each of its 358 stores to broadcast video ads, said Kreider.
“We have a television screen and we have speakers throughout the store,” she said. “And we are playing Stewart ads, commercials that we make here at the office, about Stewart's products and Stewart's image. We have music playing through the speakers. And then we also are selling advertising time in 15-to-30-second spots.”
The clients include a mix of local businesses and well-known national brands.
“The national [commercials have] been vendors that are selling in our store, like Frito and all that,” said Kreider. “And then we are also selling to local clients, and that's real estate agents and landscapers and roofing companies.”
She said they also run commercials for community events.
While some of these companies have their own teams that can make advertisements, any company that doesn’t can lean on Stewart’s in-house team for a small additional fee. Stewart’s has seen a high level of interest in its commercial-making service.
“You'd be surprised,” said Kreider. “We are creating a lot of commercials.”
As retail media networks grow, advertisers are looking for data that shows how their campaigns connected with shoppers. While Stewart’s can currently only offer proof of play to its advertising partners, it is looking into partnerships that could provide more accurate reach estimates using mobile phone data. However, the lack of in-depth reporting hasn’t hurt the program.
“We have a lot of repeat business,” said Kreider. “It's very, very popular.”
