For a copy of the Retail Media Report Card ANZ, fill out the form below.
The Mars Agency’s industry-leading Retail Media Report Card series extends into another country this month as the second edition of our Australian report adds New Zealand-based platforms.
Launched in the U.S. in fall 2022, The Mars Agency’s Retail Media Report Card is an evaluation tool that lets brands assess the relative capabilities of leading platforms across the key criteria needed to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs.
With spending on retail media advertising in Australia projected to hit AUS$1 billion (U.S.$650 million) by 2025 and commensurate growth expected for neighboring New Zealand, the time was real for The Mars Agency’s growing regional team to release a significantly expanded second edition of its regional Report Card.
The new report evaluates the capabilities of five leading networks in Australia and three in New Zealand across the grocery, pharmacy, liquor, and ecommerce retail sectors. It examines 62 key capabilities in five performance areas — targeting, measurement, media opportunities, innovation, and partnership — and identifies the “table stakes” that all effective networks should provide.
“The state of retail media networks in Australia and New Zealand reflects a dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape, characterised by innovation, competition, and the quest for consumer engagement and loyalty,” says Sally Tobin, Managing Director ANZ at The Mars Agency. “We’ve been helping our brand clients make sense of these increasing market complexities and identify the best investments for their media dollars. This Report Card is one of the tools we use to arm them with the intelligence they need to do just that.”
In-store media opportunities are already a key piece of the retail media offering in ANZ, in contrast to other global regions where networks focus almost exclusively on digital opportunities. Major retailers are building up sizable operations: Woolworths’ Cartology already has a substantial offering in both Australia and New Zealand. And as it is nearly everywhere else in the world, Amazon looms as a major player in Australia (although not yet New Zealand).
Since late 2022, The Mars Agency’s U.S. team has released a quarterly Report Card that has become a valuable assessment tool for both brands and the retail media networks themselves. The agency’s European team also recently released its second edition earlier this month. The “franchise” will next move into Canada in April.
“The Mars Agency is influencing and managing more than $1 billion in retail media globally, and this expansion of the Report Card reflects our commitment to another region experiencing immense growth,” says Ethan Goodman, EVP of Commerce Media at The Mars Agency.
“We took learnings from our U.S. team and worked closely with retailers here to develop this Report Card as a tool to help both brands and retailers,” explains Dani Carlo, ANZ Commerce Media & Measurement Director at The Mars Agency, who led the effort.
Earlier this year, The Mars Agency acquired The In Group, New Zealand’s top brand activation agency, to establish itself as one of ANZ’s foremost commerce marketing partners for brands and retailers. It originally entered the region in 2022 by acquiring XPO Brands, Australia’s leading shopper and retail experience agency. Both local shops are expanding their tool sets to provide full-service commerce marketing capabilities to clients.
For a copy of the Retail Media Report Card ANZ, fill out the form below.
About The Mars Agency
The Mars Agency is an award-winning, independently owned, global commerce marketing practice. With talent around the world, we connect people, technology, and intelligence to make our clients’ business better today than it was yesterday. Our industry-leading martech platform, Marilyn®, helps marketers understand the total business impact of their commerce marketing, enabling them to make better decisions, create connected experiences and drive stronger results. Learn more at themarsagency.com.