Austin Leonard is the Vice President and General Manager of DG Media Network, the retail media arm of US value chain Dollar General. Recently, DG Media Network announced a new collaboration with Kevel and The Trade Desk that aims to connect inventory, activation, and measurement into a single, unified solution.
The integration connects onsite retail media inventory from Dollar General with offsite activation via The Trade Desk, supported by retail media technology from Kevel, thus enabling advertisers and agencies to execute retail media campaigns across the full funnel.
Retail Media Age spoke to Leonard about what sets DG Media Network apart in the retail media space and how it connects with an underserved customer base; how the partnership lets advertisers address different stages of the funnel; and what he sees as the direction of travel for retail media in the United States.
What makes Dollar General’s retail media offering unique, and what does its status as a widespread convenience retailer mean about the way it can deliver for brands?
Dollar General’s differentiation starts with our footprint and the customers we serve. DG operates more than 21,000 stores across the United States, with 75% of the population located within five miles of a DG store. That gives us a uniquely scaled, high-frequency connection with customers who are often underserved by traditional retail, ecommerce and digital media channels.
What makes our retail media offering distinct is the combination of that physical proximity and the trust our customers place in us for everyday essentials. We’re not just reaching shoppers; we’re reaching them in moments that truly matter, when purchase decisions are being made under real-world constraints like budget, time and accessibility.
For brands, this translates into highly actionable engagement. Our customers shop frequently and with intent, which allows us to drive consistent, measurable outcomes.
We can also offer closed-loop measurement tied directly to in-store and online sales, and we’re able to influence behavior both at the point of inspiration and the point of purchase. That intersection of scale, trust and proximity is what sets Dollar General’s retail media network apart.
You recently partnered with Kevel and The Trade Desk in order to connect Dollar General’s onsite inventory with offsite activation. Can you break down what this looks like in practice for advertisers?
Our partnership with Kevel and The Trade Desk is about making DG Media Network more interoperable and easier to activate within the broader media ecosystem.
On-site, Kevel powers our ability to deliver native, highly relevant ad experiences across DG-owned properties, allowing for precise targeting within our digital ecosystem. Through The Trade Desk, we can then extend those capabilities off-site, enabling advertisers to activate DG audiences programmatically across the open internet, whether that’s display, video or connected TV.
In practice, this means an advertiser can identify a high-value shopper segment, say frequent buyers of household essentials, and reach that audience both within DG’s owned channels and across premium offsite environments. Equally as important, advertisers can then measure how those exposures translate into actual purchases within our stores.
The result is a more seamless, more integrated approach to retail media that connects audience insights, media activation and sales outcomes.
How does this setup open up opportunities for advertisers to address the entire retail media funnel? What does it mean for measurement and attribution?
At the top of the funnel, advertisers can use The Trade Desk to drive awareness and reach incremental audiences off-site. In the mid-funnel, we can reinforce messaging through targeted engagement within DG-owned channels – like the DG app with its more than 100 million customer profiles.
And at the bottom of the funnel, we can drive conversion through highly relevant placements tied directly to the shopping experience, through the DG In-store Radio Network, and through our in-store signage and promotional programs at the shelf.
What’s especially powerful is the continuity of measurement, specifically for onsite display and offsite tactics executed via The Trade Desk. Because we can link media exposure to actual transactions, we provide closed-loop attribution that gives brands a clear understanding of return on investment. This level of transparency within a single activation platform will help advertisers to optimize campaigns in real time and make more informed decisions about where to allocate spend.
How do you anticipate that this newly-connected offering will play into Dollar General’s particular strengths as a retailer and retail media network?
By connecting onsite and offsite activation, we’re amplifying the value of our first-party data and making it more actionable for advertisers. Our customers are highly engaged, value-conscious shoppers, and the ability to reach them both within and beyond our ecosystem allows brands to stay relevant throughout their purchase journey.
Additionally, our store network provides a unique advantage in bridging digital and physical retail. We’re able to influence not just online engagement but also in-store behaviour at scale.
What are your thoughts on the direction of travel for retail media more broadly (particularly in the US market)? What are you optimistic about? What major challenges do you see?
Retail media continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments in advertising, and in the US market, we’re seeing increasing demand for solutions that combine scale, precision and accountability.
I’m particularly optimistic about the maturation of the ecosystem. We’re moving toward greater interoperability, more standardised measurement, and better integration with broader media strategies. This is making retail media more accessible and more valuable to a wider range of advertisers.
At the same time, there are challenges the industry will need to address. Fragmentation remains a key issue. Advertisers are navigating multiple platforms with varying standards and capabilities. There’s also a growing need for consistency in measurement and attribution so brands can compare performance more effectively across networks.
We see these challenges as opportunities to simplify, integrate and deliver more transparency for DG Media Network’s partners – and it’s one of the reasons we joined the IAB.
What is Dollar General looking ahead to in terms of next moves for its retail media offering?
Our focus is on continuing to enhance the accessibility, scalability and performance of DG Media Network.
That includes expanding our partnerships and integrations to make it even easier for advertisers to activate our audiences within their existing workflows. We’re also investing in advanced measurement capabilities and more sophisticated audience segmentation to help brands drive even stronger outcomes.
Importantly, we’re committed to developing in a way that stays true to our customer-first approach. As retail media continues to evolve, we see DG Media Network as playing a key role in connecting brands with one of the most important, and often underrepresented, customer bases in the country.
