Q4 is a high stakes time for grocery brands. Spend is concentrated, but so are the challenges: new less healthy food (LHF) legislation, hybrid shopper behaviour, and media costs climbing to 14% higher than last year. The pressure is on to make every single pound count.
Many brands are turning to off-site Retail Media Network (RMN) activations to find an edge. But are they doing it right, or are they just doing more? Simply extending on-site tactics to off-site channels risks wasting budget and failing to be memorable.
This article provides a tested, pragmatic playbook for off-site RMN activation. We’ll walk through how to move beyond simple brand presence to deliver what actually matters: incremental sales, loyalty growth, and measurable brand strength.
Why many off-site activations fail (and waste money)
Before we get to the solution, let’s identify the problem. We see brands make these three common (and costly) mistakes when activating off-site via RMNs.
- The “more-of-the-same” mistake.
This is treating off-site as a simple extension of on-site tactics. But shopper behaviour isn’t the same. Off-site is your chance to build the brand and prospect new audiences, not just capture active buyers. It’s a different job that demands a different strategy, one that can be effective and LHF-compliant.
- The “last-click” trap.
If you only measure on-site conversions moments after a click, you’re missing the true value of your investment. The real, pragmatic question is incrementality: did your off-site spend drive additional sales or new customers you wouldn’t have captured otherwise? Brands must look at integrated measurement across all retailers to understand the full impact.
- The “one-size-fits-all” creative.
With at least 50% of an ad’s success riding on the creative, underinvesting here is a critical error. Off-site spans multiple channels and formats. This is your opportunity to connect with shoppers at multiple points, build brand equity, and influence the final purchase, but not if your creative is an afterthought.
The off-site pivot: from wasted spend to brand value
The challenges are clear, but so is the opportunity. The data shows why a strategic pivot to off-site is essential for Q4 success.
- Shoppers are already there: digital’s share of groceries continues to climb. With 71% of UK consumers buying at least some groceries online, your audience is navigating a complex holistic journey before they ever hit ‘add to basket’.
- Moments are fragmented: peak shopping moments are compressed. Shopper attention splits between CTV, mobile, and in-store experiences (MiQ’s TV Insights report this year shows 55% of consumers second-screen while watching TV). Off-site channels like social, display, and CTV are where you interrupt, remind, and redirect shoppers.
This is why we need to think of off-site RMNs as the strategic answer to the traps. When done right, off-site activation stops being more of the same, and becomes the essential catalyst for:
- Reaching high intent audiences before they even visit the retailer’s site.
- Building memorable creative journeys that carry through to a sale.
- Driving incremental outcomes by new purchase opportunities (click-to-collect, QR-linked offers, etc.).
A pragmatic three step playbook for Q4
Here is the practical playbook for turning strategy into measurable outcomes.
Step 1: Start with holistic measurement
Before you spend a penny, define success. In a fragmented market, this means moving beyond last-click. A well-crafted sales lift study that spans multiple retailers is the only way to prove the true, incremental value of your activity and make the case for future investment.
Step 2: Orchestrate your channels
Don’t just meet shoppers; orchestrate the journey. Shoppers are everywhere, and no single RMN or DSP has the scale to reach them all. A multi-DSP, multi-RMN approach might seem daunting, but it’s the most pragmatic way to connect with your audience across their entire consumer journey, and build real brand equity.
Step 3: Build your creative for the journey
Your creative is the strategy. Pair eye-catching formats (from brand-building video to QR code-driven, ‘shop now’ banners) with high-attention placements. This allows you to build a sequential, memorable story for your consumers, dramatically increasing their likelihood to purchase.
Beyond the basket: a final take on Q4
Capturing demand is the old playbook. Creating demand is the pragmatic new path. It requires an orchestrated strategy that avoids the pitfalls of legacy approaches, and proves its worth through true incremental sales and building long term relationships with the consumer. It’s the only way forward in a quarter where every pound is under pressure. This playbook provides the framework to move from being present to driving value. The only question left is, will your Q4 strategy just capture demand, or create it?
Looking to influence the entire path to purchase? See what MiQ Commerce can do for you.
