Dollar General’s retail media network evolves to reach rural communities

After debuting in 2018, Dollar General’s media network, DGMN, is embarking on the next step of its evolution.

Through this next generation of growth, the retailer is looking to use the platform by helping its advertising partners exceed their benchmark and industry standards and more, the company said.

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With DGMN, Dollar General is focusing on providing access to real-time data with trusted brands to help them serve the retailer’s unique customer base across its more than 18,000 stores in 47 states.

“The next iteration of Dollar General’s retail media network, DGMN, is a significant evolution as we look to better serve our markets and customers, particularly those in rural areas, with the brands and products they desire,” said Charlene Charles, head of DG Media network operations. “Typically, digital platforms focus their delivery on high volume efficiency plays, which naturally skew to more densely populated markets for optimization. DG’s first-party data addresses this gap, allowing brands to tap into our unduplicated, extensive and accelerating reach.”

Using its capacity to reach more than 90% of active customers through paid media, DGMN allows advertisers to digitally and physically build awareness, drive purchase consideration and help position it as a retailer of choice for customers seeking popular and trusted brands, the company said.

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Approximately 75% of Dollar General stores currently serving markets of 20,000 people or fewer can utilize DGMN solutions to create more meaningful connections between partners and customers, engaging with those hard-to-reach customers who are potentially overlooked with traditional digital marketing tactics, the company said.

“At Dollar General, we know our customers well, and we continue to identify ways in which we can best service our communities — not just through our brick-and-mortar stores, but also digitally,” Charles said. “DGMN is providing digital solutions specifically tailored to our customers with a more convenient, frictionless and personalized shopping experience.”

DGMN’s strategic partners include The Trade Desk; Live Ramp for data collaboration including advanced data clean room capabilities; Google Ad Manager for onsite and in-app inventory management; and Goodway Group for unmatched expertise in digital media strategy, planning and buying.

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"From the onset, DGMN has been a truly collaborative partner, continually working to build capabilities and drive our mutual business," said Jayme Jansky, head of field shopper marketing at Unilever. "Together with DGMN, we can develop campaigns rooted in data-driven insights to strategically connect with and convert key audiences among their growing marketable profiles."

The evolved media network now includes 21 new advertising partners, representing brands such as Unilever, General Mills, Hershey’s and Colgate-Palmolive. Notably, Unilever has been working with Dollar General’s media network since 2018, the company said.