T-Mobile Dials Deeper Into Ad Business With Retail Network (NewFronts)

Jon Lafayette
·2 min read
T-Mobile.
T-Mobile.

T-Mobile said it is expanding its advertising business, creating an in-store retail media network and adding Plex, the video streaming platform for its footprint of mobile customers.

At its first presentation at the NewFronts Tuesday, T-Mobile said that as one of the biggest advertisers in the U.S. it was in a unique position to build products for marketers.

“T-Mobile has a simple mission: Be the best in the world at connecting customers to their world,” said Jean-Paul Colaco, the former Hulu and WarnerMedia executive who joined T-Mobile last year as senior VP and chief T-Ads officer. “T-Mobile Advertising Solutions has the unique opportunity to propel the industry forward, delivering more personalized, customer-centric advertising driving higher engagement and superior outcomes for marketers.”

Retail media networks have become a big deal as store owners look to cash in on their shopper traffic and use customer data to help brands target ads and measure campaign results.

T-Mobile said its in-store retail media network will enable advertisers to target more than 20,000 screens in 11,000 T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile retail locations. T-Mobile said it plans to expand its retail media network by adding other retailers.

Plex will give T-Mobile reach in the connected TV space. Advertisers will be able to use insights and audience data from T-Ads to target consumers with relevant ads and specialized sponsored experiences, like free movies and series.

Brands will also be able to advertise through T-Mobile’s loyalty programing through the T Life app.

T-Mobile said its Magenta Advertising Platform gives advertisers tools to drive better outcomes and connect with the right audience on the right screen. The platform is designed to deliver interest-based audience profiles using insights from T-Mobile’s privacy-safe, first-party data.

T-Mobile said an unnamed food delivery app used T-Mobile's first-party audience data to deliver incremental audiences within an omnichannel video campaign during the Super Bowl, T-Mobile said.

T-Mobile Advertising Solutions identified new audiences, reaching 852,000 incremental households and achieving an 18.6% increase in brand consideration.

There was also a 23% lift in app re-engagement among inactive users after an ad exposure and a 6% incremental install rate, meaning new users were captured directly via media spending with T-Mobile.