NRS Digital Media
An Impactful Path Toward Connecting Brands to Communities

National Retail Solutions (NRS) Digital Media is transforming the landscape of retail advertising with its advanced programmatic advertising strategy, positioning retail stores as an innovative new channel for outreach. This breakthrough provides a distinct opportunity to connect with a traditionally overlooked demographic—urban, multicultural consumers frequently visiting the stores. The approach enables advertisers to reach this audience programmatically and at scale, heralding a new era in targeted advertising.

With a robust network featuring over 28,300 active point-of-sale (POS) terminals across nearly 25,000 independent stores, complemented by the deployment of advanced POS technology that includes screens for dynamic content display, NRS positions itself as an attractive ally for advertisers seeking to amplify their influence and broaden their reach.

Yet, the brilliance of NRS Digital Media doesn’t stop there. The platform’s second stroke of genius is providing first-party scan data as a strategic resource for advertisers and brands. This rich data, derived from transactions at the point of sale (POS) terminals, serves as a treasure trove for consumer-packaged goods (CPG) suppliers, brokers, analytics firms, and advertisers alike. They can use the invaluable information to assess their marketing strategies and calculate the return on investment (ROI) for advertising efforts.

“NRS not only opens the door to a previously untapped audience but enriches the advertising ecosystem with data-driven insights, creating a symbiotic win-win scenario for all stakeholders involved,” says Eli Korn, chief operating officer at NRS.

Serving a broad spectrum of small-format, independent retailers—including convenience stores, bodegas, liquor stores, grocery markets, and shops offering tobacco and various sundries—the NRS platform caters to a highly loyal customer base that frequents these outlets approximately four times per week. This unique engagement is amplified by the company’s ability to deliver broadcast-level reach combined with superior ad frequency, averaging 8.67 times per week.

Measuring outcomes as the crux of its strategy, NRS leverages real-time, deterministic mobile device data to ensure advertising transparency and effectiveness. Advertisers can accurately gauge their campaign’s reach, frequency, and impressions, addressing the industry's demand for transparency and ROI.

With its highly customized approach to tailoring the ad campaigns to each client’s objectives, like expanding distribution, boosting sales, or raising brand awareness, the company adapts its strategies accordingly. For instance, NRS focuses its advertising efforts on stores that sell products from competitors rather than its clients to improve product distribution. In addition, it prioritizes stores with high sales turnover of its client’s products to increase overall sales volume.

Another valuable aspect of NRS is protecting customers data. By exclusively using product transaction data for advertising, NRS provides a safer, compliant way to optimize and assess product performance while ensuring consumer privacy.

“The data we’re collecting is anonymous transaction data. We know someone bought a product but has no identifiable information about the buyer. We record that a product was purchased at that time, and it’s the sole information we collect,” says Kristy Day, VP of advertising strategy and sales of NRS.

NRS not only opens the door to a previously untapped audience but enriches the advertising ecosystem with data-driven insights, creating a symbiotic win-win scenario for all stakeholders involved.

While NRS has built-in security protocols powered by leading tech companies such as Google and AWS, it does not adhere to consumer tracking practices. This allows customers full access to the platform without any concerns over data collection.

In one scenario, a leading alcoholic beverage client aimed to increase sales velocity in targeted independent retail locations where their product exhibited strong performance. Despite holding first place in the U.S. market, the client lagged in the independent retailer subset. The client invested in a six-month NRS campaign across various locations. Within 45 days, the promotion delivered full ROI on total campaign spending.

Notably, category performance exceeded industry standards, with increases of 2.4 percent in baskets and 1.7 to 4.8 percent in sales, outpacing competitors and gaining the client’s expected results.

This kind of success story is not only rooted in the company’s ability to fulfill client satisfaction but in its contribution to local communities’ social and economic fabric. Particularly noteworthy is NRS’s role in supporting community engagement and economic growth through its support of independent retailers.

In the fragmented media landscape, NRS provides a roadmap for impactful advertising by remembering what matters most— extending reach and fostering robust customer relationships.