John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has partnered with Epsilon to expand its retail media offering, allowing third-party brands to access off-site media capabilities.

This marks a significant milestone for JLP’s retail media network (RMN), and is the first time partner brands will be able to expand campaigns to off-site channels, having previously only been able to run RMN activations across the John Lewis and Waitrose websites.

“This move is a big step forward in creating an insight-led retail media offer that spans both grocery and non-grocery,” said Jemma Haley, Retail Media Lead for JLP.  

JLP’s partner brands will now be able to activate advertising and retail media campaigns, underpinned by first-party data, across a range of external channels. These include video ads via connected TV and streaming services, as well as online video and display advertisments across consumer news and lifestyle websites.

Haley explained that the move will not only help expand JLP’s retail media offering to an omnichannel model, but will also open up smarter targeting for third-party brands and advertisers looking to engage its customer base.

“It helps us build a detailed understanding of audiences across vastly different purchase journeys, from immediate necessities to more considered items. This will enable brand partners to target smarter audiences, powered by first-party data, helping our customers discover more relevant brands.”

Jemma Haley, Retail Media Lead, John Lewis Partnership

JLP will use first-party data from its loyalty schemes to power its RMN on Epsilon’s Retail Media platform.

“The off-site opportunity is enormous and connecting on-site and off-site media remains a key challenge,” said Tim Frankcom, President of Europe and APAC at Epsilon. “It’s all too easy to rely on retail media partners that lean heavily on third-party data, but this can result in fragmented targeting and a disjointed customer experience.”

“JLP is taking a different approach, giving brands access to real identity – not guesswork – and campaigns that truly reflect the customer,” Frankcom added.

The off-site RMN solution will launch initially as a managed service, however JLP is considering moving towards a ‘self-service’ platform in future to give advertisers even more control over campaign activation.