How WHSmith’s new retail media network is recasting airport advertising

The company has a presence in many of the nation’s busiest airports, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Dallas-Fort Worth. As opposed to the many other advertising businesses retailers have launched in the U.S. and Canada in recent years, WHSmith’s is unique in that it has no e-commerce presence and is exclusively focused on travel facilities and destinations.

The company had previously offered advertising capabilities to brands. But retail media has expanded as an industry, and those brands have been asking for more robust capabilities, measurement and new ways to interact with customers, said Stuart Michell, chief commercial officer for WHSmith North America.

Airport advertising isn’t new, with brands marketing throughout airports, such as through signage and even TSA travel bins, but this represents an approach more targeted at shoppers that goes beyond simply creating brand awareness.

“Brands now face a multitude of options when deciding where to allocate their valuable retail media budgets. This has also created challenges for retailers in defining propositions that offer distinct value to both brands and shoppers,” Michell said in an email. “In this competitive landscape, differentiation is critical for retailers to stand out and provide unique value through their retail media offerings.”

WHSmith has a network of 200 digital screens in its stores and plans to double that over the next few months, according to Sean Crawford, managing director of SMG, which is working with WHSmith to establish the advertising business and also operates retail media networks for European retailers Asda and Boots. The campaigns will also include audio in the stores and printed floor displays. WHSmith and SMG have already begun working with Pepsi and Bose on campaigns.

“No one else has really gone after the travel in-store market,” Crawford said. “There is a huge audience that passes through U.S. airports every day, and so there’s a massive opportunity for brands to capture that audience and speak to them in a moment where they can’t go anywhere else.”

Crawford said the companies are also working with The Trade Desk and Meta to do off-site display ads and campaigns that run on social feeds. For example, they may run an ad to someone already inside an airport that directs them to the store to purchase headphones.

“Retail media in North America has been so focused [on] on-site, and that’s because of the domination of Amazon and Walmart,” Crawford said. “But what we’re looking to do here is actually take some some lessons from Europe, which is to ensure that it’s store-focused and it’s a store experience.”

Bringing more advertising into e-commerce websites and physical environments through dedicated networks has been a priority for retailers as a revenue-growth mechanism. Other retail media leaders say applying retail media to a travel-centric audience especially has potential.

“Airports, train stations and travel hubs are high-traffic environments with engaged audiences in a ‘shopping mindset,’ often with time to explore,” said Sean Turner, co-founder and chief innovation officer for retail technology platform Swiftly. “By using retail media networks in these spaces, retailers can target travelers with relevant ads and promotions tailored to their journey.”

Former Walmart Connect executive Drew Cashmore, now head of strategy for another retail technology platform Vantage, said WHSmith’s move sets a precedent for how U.S. retailers can rethink media activations in physical spaces to take advantage of captive audiences.

“This entry introduces a new layer of sophistication to U.S. retail media strategies, particularly in non-traditional settings like airports, where consumer intent and purchasing patterns differ from standard retail spaces.”

Michell agrees that WHSmith’s unique audience opens up unique opportunities for brands. One of its biggest advantages is the extended dwell time travelers experience in airports.

“This extra time lets us turn moments of boredom into engaging, memorable brand interactions,” Michell said. “Travelers are not only more likely to engage, but the travel retail environment also provides the perfect backdrop for impactful experiences that encourage the trial and, ultimately, purchase of products and brands shoppers may not have previously considered.”