Advertima, Publicis Media join forces for unified, omnichannel retail media buying

Advertima, a global leader in AI-powered in-store audience data, has partnered with Publicis Media Middle East to unlock a new level of retail media execution: unified audience-based media buying across retail media networks and channels.

The partnership with Publicis Media Middle East aims to activate the demand side by enabling media buyers to activate consistent audience segments in real-time across both online and physical environments, bridging the gap between in-store, onsite, and offsite retail media.

The announcement follows a recent partnership between Majid Al Futtaim’s retail media network, Precision Media, and Advertima to enable the supply side by making unified retail media audiences addressable across Carrefour’s network via Precision Media.

Publicis Groupe Middle East agencies can  use Advertima’s real-time audience capture, segmentation and activation technology to seamlessly plan and buy campaigns across in-store and DOOH networks – leveraging the same audience taxonomies they already use in onsite and offsite retail media channels.

“This partnership is a game-changer for how we activate audiences in the physical world.”

In conversation with Campaign Middle East, Mazen Mroueh, Head of Performance, Publicis Media Middle East, said, “Most audience data solutions on the market fall into three groups, including legacy DOOH audience data tools, CCTV-based setups, and other computer vision systems with dedicated sensors, which are all outperformed by Advertima on different dimensions.”

Benefits of Advertima technology for clients, media buyers, retailers and DOOH networks

Advertima’s computer vision-based AI segments in-store shoppers in real time based on visual, contextual, and affinity attributes.

For media buyers, this means unified planning, execution, and measurement of campaigns that span not only multiple retail media networks but also across channels.

“The benefits extend to our clients through faster campaign delivery times, more agile responses to market dynamics, and improved return on investment.”

For retailers and DOOH networks using Advertima’s technology, it unlocks new demand from one of the world’s leading media groups looking to move beyond traditional DOOH and tap into in-store audiences programmatically or traditionally via direct deals.

Mroueh said, “This partnership is a game-changer for how we activate audiences in the physical world. Being able to use the same audience definitions across retailers and across channels – onsite, offsite, and now in-store – gives our teams unmatched consistency, scale, and efficiency in campaign planning and execution.”

He added, “This consistency translates to substantial time and resource savings for the agency, simplifies data management and platform usage, and ultimately contributes to more efficient and effective campaign results. The benefits extend to our clients through faster campaign delivery times, more agile responses to market dynamics, and improved return on investment, while empowering our teams to concentrate on strategic optimisation and deliver more impactful omnichannel strategies.”

Enhancing data management is also crucial to reduce errors and increase the reliability of audience segmentation. Instead of working with potentially conflicting data sets, Publicis Media gains a unified framework.

“Advertima’s system leverages computer vision to segment in-store shoppers in real-time and directly links those segments to our pre-established online audience definitions, giving us a more accurate and complete understanding of customer behaviour across all touchpoints and improving our ability to deliver targeted and relevant experiences,” Mroueh said.

Training on Advertima technology to maximise measurable campaign outcomes

To effectively adapt to and maximise this new capability, Publicis Media teams will require training and support that goes beyond simply learning a new platform.

Mroueh said, “While Advertima’s technology aligns with its existing online audience definitions, the focus will be on mastering its application within the unique context of physical retail environments. This includes understanding how to leverage Advertima’s real-time in-store audience data for more precise planning and activation.”

The partnership necessitates a shift in mindset – moving from traditional placement buying to a data-centric approach focused on strategic audience planning and buying.

“Training will need to emphasise data strategy, enabling our teams to identify, target and engage valuable audiences, ultimately driving more effective and measurable campaign outcomes,” Mroueh added.

‘Privacy by design at the technical level’

Following privacy-by-design principles, Advertima’s computer vision-based AI does not require shopper IDs and matches these segments to online audience definitions, enabling real-time, cross-channel activation based on aligned audience segments.

Explaining how privacy concerns are addressed, especially across different regulatory environments, Mroueh told Campaign Middle East, “Advertima is privacy-by-design at the technical level. The system does not record or store any images or video, and no personal data is ever processed. All data is computed locally on-device (edge) and never sent to the cloud. The only output is anonymised, aggregated metadata — such as age range, gender, or group composition — with no link to identity or personal traits.”

He added, “Because the system is technically incapable of storing or transmitting pictures, identification of shoppers and any violation of privacy is impossible. That’s why they’re fully compliant with all global privacy laws, no matter how strict they are, including Germany and Switzerland, as well as in the UAE, the UK, and the US — all without technical adaptations.”