Simon Property Group, the world’s largest mall operator, launched Simon Media Network on August 27, a commerce media platform that turns foot traffic across its more than 200 retail destinations into a targetable, measurable ad product. The network draws on Simon’s first-party consumer intelligence, built from the Simon+ loyalty program, opted-in location tracking such as property Wi-Fi sign-ins, and purchase data licensed from third parties, across a portfolio the company says draws billions of visits and generates more than $100 billion in commerce annually.
Brands can activate campaigns across Simon’s own digital displays, experiential activations, ShopSimon.com, the Simon+ loyalty program, and Simon-owned social and digital channels, as well as off-platform media, and can target nationally, regionally, by market, or at a single property. The differentiator Simon is selling is measurement: closed-loop attribution tying a served ad to a verified visit, transaction, or engagement, with incremental ROAS reporting. “Today’s marketers need more than impressions. They need partners who can prove a campaign actually moved someone to visit, engage and buy,” said Jared Blechman, Simon’s chief revenue officer.
The original insight here is about where retail media’s next growth is actually coming from. Retail media’s easy growth phase, built on ecommerce retailers monetizing search results, has already hit a wall, and Simon’s pitch is that physical foot traffic across malls is a largely untapped, closed-loop data source that ecommerce-only retail media networks cannot replicate. It is the same instinct behind retailers turning real-world signals like weather into programmatic targeting data: the physical world is becoming the next retail media inventory source once digital shelf space runs out. “What makes Simon Media Network attractive is our ability to bring together brands, consumers and experiences in places where real life happens,” said Lee Sterling, Simon’s chief marketing officer.
Source: PR Newswire
