The next media platform marketers need to watch may not be a social network, search engine or streaming service, but the place where consumers stop for coffee, charge their cars or fill up their tanks. Retailers are no longer just places where consumers shop. Increasingly, they are becoming media platforms, powered by first-party data, customer insights and the ability to connect advertising exposure directly to business outcomes.
That shift is now accelerating in the GCC with the launch of Engage by ADNOC, ADNOC Distribution’s retail media network designed to connect brands with customers across its physical and digital ecosystem.
The platform marks the UAE’s first full-funnel retail media network operated by a mobility and convenience retailer, combining digital channels, in-station screens, customer insights and first-party data from more than 2.7 million ADNOC Rewards members.
With nearly 700,000 daily service station customers and more than 250 million annual transactions, ADNOC Distribution is positioning Engage as a new opportunity for brands to reach consumers at multiple moments across their daily journeys, from “sofa to station.”
For Jacqueline Elboghdadi, Chief Marketing Officer at ADNOC Distribution, the rise of retail media is being driven by one fundamental challenge facing every marketer today: proving impact. “The biggest tension point that any CMO or marketing director has is answering the CFO: I’m giving you $10 million of a marketing budget, how much return am I bringing back?” she told Communicate.
As advertising moves into a more fragmented and increasingly cookieless environment, marketers are under growing pressure to demonstrate measurable outcomes.
This, she says, is where retail media comes in. “Retail media offers that amazing tool because it provides three things to any advertiser. One, you’re going to know who you are reaching, and you’re more targeted in approaching the right customer at the right time who are receptive. You’re not spraying and praying like the TV of the old days,” she says.
The second advantage is measurement. Unlike traditional advertising channels where attribution can be challenging, retail media enables brands to track the relationship between exposure and purchase behaviour.
“It provides a closed-loop measurement, so you’re able to measure exactly what is the return on investment of the money I’m putting in that retail media, and you’re able to measure that and bring back money in the back,” she explained.
The third element is relevance.
For Jacqueline, the future of advertising is not simply about reaching more people, but about reaching the right people with messages that add value. “The worst thing that happens to all of us is when you receive messages from brands that are not relevant to you and it feels like spam.”
Turning customer journeys into media opportunities
For ADNOC Distribution, the launch of Engage is part of a broader transformation beyond traditional fuel retail.
The company has been investing in non-fuel retail growth, with a strategy to turn its network of service stations into destinations where consumers can access convenience, mobility services, food and lifestyle experiences.
Today, ADNOC Distribution operates more than 590 stations across the UAE, with two out of every three fuel transactions in the country taking place across its network. “We want to turn our stations into a destination of choice for consumers,” Jacqueline explains. “It’s a one-stop shop where you have different experiences and get things done, where convenience meets mobility.”
That ecosystem, spanning convenience stores, EV charging, car services, restaurants and loyalty, creates the foundation for retail media. “Retail media is a completely different revenue stream that we bring into that mix of non-fuel retail, and it’s backed up by a huge real estate or distribution presence… With that wealth of customer data, transactions data, and this widespread in the region, this is a great way to sweat our assets and monetize the transaction data and the customer data as well that we have.”
Moving beyond impressions and clicks
For marketers, the biggest question is whether retail media can deliver more than another advertising touchpoint. Jacqueline believes the answer lies in connecting media exposure directly to consumer action. “Let’s assume you sell soft drinks in our convenience stores. With Engage by ADNOC, you are able to know not only how many people saw the advertising, but how many of them purchased your product afterwards.”
The platform is designed to connect online and offline behaviour, allowing brands to reach consumers digitally before they arrive at a station and continue the conversation through physical touchpoints. “I can reach you on the app, on Instagram, when you are sitting on your sofa. Then when you are fueling, I can reach you through an ad on the screen. And if you walk into Oasis [ADNOC Distribution outlet] to get coffee, you may see a relevant message there too.”
This full-funnel approach, she says, is what differentiates retail media from traditional out-of-home advertising.
Are retailers becoming the next media giants?
Globally, retail media has become one of the fastest-growing areas of advertising, with major retailers building their own media networks. Could retailers eventually compete with platforms such as Google, Meta and TikTok for advertising budgets?
Jacqueline believes the future is not about replacing those platforms, but making advertising smarter. According to Jacqueline, retailers don’t launch retail media networks that expose consumers only to their ecosystem. “Today, our Engage by ADNOC exposes customers to advertising even on Meta TikTok, because you need to reach the consumer where they’re most receptive.”
For CMOs, retail media is likely to become an increasingly important part of the media mix. “It will become a much bigger line across media plans because it helps marketers reach the audience they want, at the right time, and measure exactly the impact,” she says.
What is next for GCC retail media?
With retailers across the region exploring their own media mix propositions, Jacqueline believes the GCC is entering a new phase. Jacqueline explains that this is good for marketers, retailers, the ecosystem and consumers because consumers will see advertising that matters to them when it matters, when they can actually make a purchase.
The next stage for Engage by ADNOC will focus on scaling the UAE proposition, expanding partnerships and exploring opportunities across ADNOC Distribution’s wider markets. She added, “Our key priority over the next six months is to really scale UAE. It’s home, it’s where we have huge market share and a huge wealth of customer data.”
