Why Most Chief Marketers Can’t Value What They Already Own
For the past decade, retailers, telcos, and banks have championed omnichannel operations, while marketers have obsessed over omnichannel single customer views. Yet when it comes to owned media leverage — the broader array of channels companies control — the industry has focused nearly entirely on one thing only: digital display. In-store typically represents over 30% of an omnichannel business’s total media value, and yet eMarketer recently reported that only 1% of all retail media ad spending went in-store!
This tunnel vision has created a paradox: While retail media networks race to monetize online customer data and sponsored product placements, companies across sectors — from retail to finance to travel and beyond — are sitting on owned media assets worth an average of $48 million annually in untapped value. And notably, the bulk of that value lies elsewhere entirely.
Here are 4 actions CMOs can take to reframe mindset and effectively leverage owned media:
1) Uncover the Omnichannel Opportunity
Retail and Commerce media networks traditionally start with high-volume, low-value offerings like sponsored search and product tiles, which have become increasingly commoditized. According to our research, digital display represents less than 10 percent of most organizations’ total media value. Yet 90 percent of owned media value remains trapped in channels brands have never properly valued:
– In-store media represents 23 percent to 73 percent of total media value, depending on the industry sector
– Email accounts for 23 percent to 37 percent of total media value
– Print placements (for example, magazines and catalogs) represent 5 percent to 30 percent of total media value
These aren’t experimental channels. They are vast established touchpoints that reach customers at high-intent moments. The reason they’ve been overlooked is simple: These assets are harder to target, serve, and measure than digital display. The industry has followed the path of least resistance, building infrastructure around the easiest 10 percent while missing the valuable 90 percent available offline.
2) Calculate What Money is Left on the Table
Why should companies care? Consider how partnerships typically work. A brand collaborates with a “brand like us” to reach shared customers. They sponsor sports events or teams. They allow partner brands to access their loyalty base with offers. These partnerships offer fast-track awareness and extend reach. But the value exchange is often inequitable. One partner pays in cash while the other provides valuable media access. And yet, only the cash investment appears in the deal terms. No rate cards. No measurement framework. No value attribution. This isn’t a marketing problem. It’s a CEO problem. Underleveraged revenue worth tens of millions annually should demand boardroom attention. The critical first step is to get an independent valuation of your owned and operated media channels. Only once your organization understands the value of the media can you make some informed decisions about how best to leverage it.
3) Move Beyond digital Retail Media Networks
Retail media networks have become the industry’s answer to monetizing customer data and digital touchpoints. But companies are discovering that their most valuable media inventory isn’t what they’re selling through RMNs. It’s the full spectrum of owned and operated channels they control. As retail media networks evolve, the most sophisticated players are moving toward truly omnichannel offerings that encompass both digital and physical media. Store-based channels that have been historically underutilized are now becoming central to the conversation as organizations begin to understand their potential value. T-Ads, T-Mobile’s ad sales division, is an example of a business that has embraced omnichannel thinking by anchoring their offering around digital screens and screen partnerships (Uber). T-Ads has unofficial annual media revenues of $1.25B. The shift requires fundamental changes in how companies think about their owned assets: valuing the full media footprint — in-store signage and screens, email ecosystems, print placements, loyalty app real estate, checkout experiences — not just the digital inventory that’s easiest to measure. It also means crafting pricing frameworks that reflect actual market value rather than outdated rates or guesswork. Companies need systems that aggregate owned media usage across all departments rather than letting media support get negotiated away in partnership deals without charge. Most importantly, it requires organizational alignment about who owns and operates each channel, transforming owned media from a cost center to a measurable revenue driver.
4) Establish a Leadership Position
Marketers naturally want their business seen as progressive and innovative. But when it comes to owned media, most organizations still have a blind spot when it comes to owned media operations. For many, owned channels are just another place to run their BAU marketing messages without giving strategic thought to treating customers distinctly to prospects. Companies that develop sophisticated approaches to valuing their owned media assets signal something different. They demonstrate control over their channels and prove they understand the true value of their customer relationships. This isn’t about squeezing partners or destroying collaborative relationships. It’s about establishing fair value exchanges based on defendable data. The question is whether they’ll act before their competitors do. Because once a player in your sector establishes defensible pricing for owned media assets, everyone else will be negotiating from a position of weakness. The infrastructure to capture this $48 million opportunity already exists. It will go to those who move first.
#CMO, #OwnedMedia, #RetailMarketing, #Omnichannel, #DigitalTransformation