It seems like everyone and their sister wants to become an advertising network. This is behind the semi-recent rise in retail media networks, where retailers monetize the high-traffic and intent-advantaged real estate in and around their stores. It’s become a popular way to boost retail sales and diversify revenue.
But there’s one key distinction – besides the inherent advantages of advertising in the last few inches to the cash register. These networks are first-party in their orientation, meaning they utilize all their own data for promotional targeting. That makes them compliant with the privacy era’s rules of engagement.
Some of the same principles were recently unlocked from a player outside of the retailer realm: Chase. The bank announced that it’s launching its own media network. Known as Chase Media Solutions it will include inventory within its app, website, and other channels to deliver targeted ads and deals.
Why is Chase doing this and what executional advantages does it bring to the effort? In short, it has a treasure trove of ground-truth data on the products that you buy. This is some of the best data that any media publisher or ad network can ask for in formulating consumer profiles and personas.
Broader Buckets
If that last part sounds familiar, similar factors have propelled Master Card’s efforts. As broken down by Mastercard’s Elina Greenstein at Localogy’s Place conference in November, the company synthesizes aggregate purchase data, then serves it back to brand and retailer partners to gain consumer insights.
In both cases, and back to an earlier point, this is all first-party data. While it isn’t without PR landmines (which are being triggered in the announcement’s aftermath), it’s technically privacy-compliant in that consumers’ data aren’t being sold to, nor changing hands with, third parties for ad targeting purposes.
Beyond that technical advantage, it’s unclear what assurances JP Morgan Chase will make to ease consumer concerns or consternation. Will it apply granular consumer-level targeting with personal identifiable information (PII)… Or will it create broader buckets of personas (a.k.a. audience targeting)?
These answers, and other moves that come next from JP Morgan Chase, will be telling. Though it’s sitting on a gold mine of consumer purchase data, it won’t mean anything if no one consumes the content in its media network. Consumers need to feel safe doing so, or the effort could be doomed.
Connecting the Dots
For similar reasons, JP Morgan Chase’s media network could be well-served with quality content. All of the rhetoric and focus in its launch has been about consumer targeting prowess and potential. But we’d hope that JP Morgan Chase knows that it also has to get people to show up. And that means content.
Though the primary hook is its app and website – where it is advantaged by 80 million customers – the effort could be amplified through content channels like publications and podcasts. If it goes that route, it will be all about execution – perhaps carrying personal finance themes and service journalism.
A content network could also develop by assembling assets in high-value verticals where people spend money, such as arts & entertainment. In fact, Chase announced the acquisition of restaurant reviews site The Infatuation in 2021. That could be one signal for where it wants to go next with a media network.
If we’re right in connecting those dots, one way to ensure quality will be in smart media acquisitions and internal hires. Without media & publishing sensibilities – we’re talking about a bank here – it will need to hire a proper publisher or content chief who knows what they’re doing. We’ll see if can pull this off.
