What Is Non-Endemic Advertising? (and How Do You Use It?)

With retail media continuing to grow both in scale and spend, a number of its offshoots are making claims to be the ‘movement within the movement’. Few have a stronger case than non-endemic advertising. 

In the next few minutes, you’ll learn about the differences between non-endemic advertising and its endemic equivalent in terms of locations, advertisers, and opportunities.

We’ll also pick apart some compelling examples of the format to guide your own efforts. First, let’s outline the basics.  

What is non-endemic advertising?

There is a subtle difference between endemic advertising and non-endemic advertising. 

Endemic advertising happens when advertisers promote their products in places where they are sold.

Marketplaces like Amazon utilise endemic advertising to generate a secondary revenue stream by selling greater visibility on their pages. A classic example is the ‘sponsored’ products at the top of a search query. These are often paid for by the seller of that product. 

Non-endemic advertising happens when advertisers promote their products in places where they are not sold.

Why would you promote a product where it is not sold? Allow us to explain. 

How non-endemic advertising works

Non-endemic advertising is fuelled by audience overlaps, which occur when brands target the same type of customer.

Let’s say I operate a luxury car hire provider. My customer is typically male, around 40-55 years old, with a high income. Consequently, a host of premium clothing brands might want to target my audience, which is where non-endemic advertising opportunities arise.

There are so many examples of audience overlaps in the retail world.

For gyms, consider the value of health-conscious audiences to vitamins and supplement providers. If I sell real estate services, think about the value of my audience to a retailer selling appliances or furniture to a new homeowner. 

There are countless examples of non-endemic partnerships, all powered by audience overlaps. 

What’s an example of good non-endemic advertising?

There are a few different ways of executing non-endemic advertising campaigns, and your chosen route largely comes down to your goals.

To help advertisers with brand awareness, there are conventional online display ads and in-store displays. These see retailers using their properties to put certain brands in front of their customers. 

For a more sales-orientated approach, an advertiser might offer a free gift in exchange for a bigger commitment. Non-endemic advertising is highly popular among subscription providers, who have been quick to offer free trials of their service to customers buying through a retailer with a relevant audience. 

Non-endemic advertising case study: BrandSwap and SimplyCook

Challenge 

Recipe box subscription service SimplyCook wanted to find a way to acquire new customers. Acquisition is a major goal for the brand, which uses brand partnerships to bring its offering out to new audiences.

Solution

BrandSwap helped SimplyCook advertise a free trial of its service at several well-known electrical retailers. The logic was that customers were purchasing items like refrigerators and cookers that made use of its ingredients. 

By partnering with major brands like Currys and Hughes Electrical, SimplyCook was able to present an enticing offer to customers after they’d made a purchase.

Results

By putting SimplyCook in an environment where customers would be receptive to its message, BrandSwap became a key acquisition channel, delivering 1,000 customers on a target of 50. 

Furthermore, thanks to the offer’s relevance to the original purchase, those trialists were also 8% more likely to become full subscribers. 

Non-endemic advertising vs endemic advertising: which is better?

Non-endemic advertising and endemic advertising serve two different types of businesses.

Retailers that only sell their own products have no choice but to create non-endemic advertising opportunities. Conversely, if you sell products from other brands, you can go for either format, or both. 

For endemic advertising, be wary of the space you can offer to advertisers on your site. Retailers with good product search functionality should be able to embed sponsored placements into their journey. If you’d rather retain your path to conversion, you might want to consider non-endemic advertising.

There is no right or wrong answer here, as it depends on how you can fit advertisers into your experience.

Why is non-endemic advertising so popular?

Amazon, Home Depot, and Walmart all run non-endemic advertising on their websites. 

Retailers and advertisers love the format for several reasons. Here are some clear ways of how it adds value:

No competition

With non-endemic advertising, there is no concern about a conflict of interest. You can simply showcase relevant advertisers without worrying about the impact on your own sales.

Conversion-driving strategies

Non-endemic advertisements can be served post-purchase to prevent changes to the customer journey. However, retailers can also use the format pre-purchase to convert a customer. This is called ‘gift with purchase’ and a highly popular strategy in the retail media world.

Gift with purchase sees a retailer offering a ‘gift’ from a brand partner in exchange for their customer completing a transaction. 

Gifts like free advertiser trials and offers drive four outcomes, two of which are exclusive to the retail host:

1. The retailer uses the gift to secure a sale. 
2. The retailer generates a commission by referring the customer to the advertiser.
3. The advertiser acquires a new customer for their brand.
4. The customer gets a free gift. 

In essence, every side of the transaction wins out – not bad for advertising. 

Improved customer loyalty

Looking back to post-purchase applications of non-endemic advertising, you could also use a reward to boost customer loyalty.

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Winback campaign: Offer a reward from an advertiser to ‘win back’ a lapsed customer, e.g. after a subscription has ended.

• Reward frequent buyers: Send advertiser rewards to your most valuable customers to increase their chances of returning.

• Second sale: If you have products that complement a customer’s recent order, why not package an advertiser reward into an offer on the second item to enhance the value for money? 

Email is the perfect tool for delivering these promotions and keeping customers onside. 

Enhanced earnings

If you already have a retail media network, adding non-endemic advertising to increase your earnings is a no-brainer. Not only will you have more inventory to monetise, but you’ll also expand your advertiser network.

Advice for getting started with non-endemic advertising

Though non-endemic advertising requires a slightly different playbook than endemic formats, a similar set of rules applies to making it work. 

1. Make it relevant 

Relevance does a lot for non-endemic advertising. 

If customers get rewards or offers on items that complement their purchase, they’re more likely to consider them. Retailers then increase their revenue by more customers engaging with their advertisers, who consequently drive better results.

2. Find a good spot

If you’re adding non-endemic advertising to your existing retail media network, the challenge is to bring the two formats to your customers without bombarding them with advertisements. 

The best retailers sell inventory in-store, on their websites, in mobile apps, and even direct marketing to find uncluttered spots.

3. Be proactive in identifying overlaps

The magic of non-endemic advertising lies within the connections between retailers selling different products. Think like a publisher by approaching brands with a natural tie to your audience. 

4. Prioritise gifts to bring value to customers

Non-endemic advertisements range from deep discounts to simple display campaigns. Look for advertisers that provide free gifts to give customers value for money.

5. Test and learn

Your highest-performing advertisers might change from season to season. That’s your cue to prepare for when certain brands might perform best and present a premium advertising opportunity.

Learn more about non-endemic advertising 

BrandSwap connects retailers with a host of brand partners for powerful non-endemic advertising. Reach out to our team to see how the model can work for you.