Nice win for T-Mobile-owned Vistar Media.
Today, the company announced that Western Union has tapped Vistar to help manage and monetize its network of 2,200 — and growing — digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens across North America and Brazil.
Specifically, Western Union will use Vistar’s ad tech stack, including its ad server and SSP. In the release, Western Union explains that the business started “with a mix of existing and newly installed screens, many of which were previously underutilized,” adding that Vistar helped “revitalize” those screens.
This is a common challenge for many brick-and-mortar businesses that invested in digital screens years ago but struggled to manage them or innovate on the customer experience. Now, with Vistar, Western Union is leaning into DOOH — an increasingly table-stakes play for any brick-and-mortar business, from retailers to banks to gyms, that has access to customers and first-party data.
We’ve covered Western Union’s retail media network (RMN) before. The company prioritizes reaching multicultural audiences, as most of its screens and locations are in diverse neighborhoods. According to Western Union, its customers are 70% more likely to make a purchase after using one of its services, such as cashing a check or receiving a money transfer — a valuable proposition for brands advertising on its RMN.
Why This Matters:
It feels like DOOH and retail media have quickly become synonymous, as more companies build infrastructure across their brick-and-mortar locations to extend the reach of their retail media networks.
EMARKETER projects that in-store retail media ad spend will reach $1.06 billion by 2028 — less than 1% of total retail media spend. While incredibly small compared to online, it shows we’re just scratching the surface when it comes to monetizing physical retail spaces. As more retailers invest in in-store screens and technology, the massive gap between digital and physical retail media could start to shrink — even if only slightly.
At the end of the day, brands want more ways to reach shoppers, especially when they’re closer to the point of purchase. This is exactly that.
Experts React:
In the announcement press release, Western Union’s Director of Media Network Operations, Josh Bernstein, said, “Partnering with Vistar Media has been a game-changer for us.” He also added that the partnership has turned “screens that were once underperforming into a dynamic media network that truly reflects the communities we serve.”
Our Take:
A solid win for T-Mobile’s Vistar Media right out of the gate as the company keeps building momentum in the adtech space. One vertical Vistar probably won’t be working with anytime soon: telecom. But, hey, they probably don’t need to.
