Quad Acquires In-Store Digital Media Provider

Marketing experience company Quad has acquired Dart Innovations, a North Carolina-based in-store digital media solutions provider, as part of its “ongoing commitment to innovation and product development,” the company said in a news release. 

The investment expands Quad’s suite of products and services, and enables brands and marketers to offer consumers an integrated purchasing journey, whether they are at home, online or in a physical store.

Combining digital media with brick-and-mortar locations has been heralded as the next iteration of retail media by many industry leaders and forecasters. Quad says the strategic intersection of physical and digital expands the “brand-to-shopper experience” beyond e-commerce to innovative, on-screen engagement at the store shelf.

“Physical stores are poised to be the next major digital media channel,” Eric Ashworth, president of Quad Agency Solutions, said in the release. “Dart’s technology and the systems and people that support it allow us to deliver targeted ads on digital screens at the most critical moment in any purchase decision: right at the store shelf. This is a trifecta of benefits for retailers, CPGs and their consumers.”

With digital screens positioned right next to products, Quad will provide CPGs a prime opportunity to deliver relevant promotions, share key product information and point to adjacent product options.

The U.S. Department of Commerce says that even with the explosion of e-commerce, more than 85% of all retail sales in the U.S. continue to be made inside retail environments, and that number rises to nearly 90% for grocery, according to 2022 insights from marketing research company Insider Intelligence.

“Quad’s investment in this digital media solution for store environments is grounded in industry data that shows the emerging benefits of retail in-store media,” Ashworth continued.

“We had been looking for a company that could take Dart’s solutions to a broader market while continuing to innovate and take these offerings to the next level,” Dart founder Kenny Olson added. “When we learned about Quad, the breadth and depth of its portfolio and its commitment to its people and culture, we knew that this was the right place for us. 

Dart, which was founded in 2015, has been deploying its technology and services with various clients, including CVS Pharmacy, The Home Depot and Procter & Gamble brands. Quad says it will continue to develop the Dart system and “prove its concept with a regional grocer” while integrating the solution into its connected offerings, per the release.