In our latest media owner spotlight, we delve into Global's recent collaboration with HEMA and Kruidvat, two iconic Dutch retail brands. These partnerships strengthen Global’s position, making their retail portfolio one of the largest and most diverse digital out-of-home networks in the Netherlands.
We sat down with Mink Zwolsman, Digital Lead at Global, to learn more about this newly expanded retail network.
Could you describe your network in a few sentences?
At Global, our goal is simple: to reach everyone through out-of-home advertising. With the addition of HEMA and Kruidvat, our retail network now covers the entire customer journey—both indoors and outdoors. Our shopping street screens are strategically placed in the busiest retail areas, reaching all passersby, including hard-to-reach audiences such as light TV viewers.
Their digital screens, prominently placed in shopping windows on high-traffic retail streets, are the perfect complement to our existing portfolio. By integrating these networks, alongside our highway monopoles, our screens in supermarkets, shopping centers, train stations, and petrol stations, we now offer the largest and most diverse DOOH network in the Netherlands. This makes it easier than ever for brands to connect with their audiences at the right time, in the right place, and in the right mindset.
What types of screens do you have, and where can they be found?
Together, HEMA and Kruidvat bring over 1000 additional digital screens to our retail portfolio. Positioned in the most visited shopping streets of the Netherlands, they create a new and powerful touchpoint in the customer journey: right before the moment of purchase.
What audiences can brands reach via this expanded network?
Because the screens are placed in shop windows, they capture core audiences: people heading into the store and passersby walking along the street. This unique placement ensures massive reach across diverse target groups, all in a shopping state of mind that might be interested in your brand or product. Although both networks share the same strengths: top A-locations, massive weekly footfall, and high visibility in a retail mindset environment, they serve different strategic purposes:
- Kruidvat currently functions primarily as a sales network. With our screens as the only digital touchpoints in-store, the focus lies on endemic advertising — brands sold directly inside the store. This makes the network ideal for point-of-sale campaigns, offering strong visibility to nearly 1,000 suppliers whose products are found on Kruidvat’s shelves.
- HEMA on the other hand, can be used as a branding and sales network. Brands use it for both awareness and driving sales, even if their products aren’t sold in the store. The power here lies in the passersby, who are a perfect reflection of society.
What do you wish more digital buyers knew about OOH?
We wish more digital buyers fully appreciated the power of digital out-of-home in driving both reach and impact, especially when integrated with their wider media mix.
When combined with social and online video, digital out-of-home acts as a powerful amplifier. Our research with Kantar/Memo2 shows that adding out-of-home to the media mix not only increases unique reach, but also boosts critical brand and performance KPIs, including brand preference, consideration, and purchase intent.
For instance, digital out-of-home played a key role in Nivea’s recent cross-media campaign across TV, social, online video, and DOOH. It stood out with a 21% reach of the target audience and delivered 6% unique reach—six times higher than social and online video combined (1%). The campaign drove strong results on essential brand KPIs, including a 58% uplift in purchase intent and a 50% increase in brand preference. DOOH was especially powerful in engaging the younger 20-40 demographic, confirming its unique strength in driving both reach and impact (Effect study Global & MeMo2, 2023).
How do you see DOOH in the Netherlands evolving over the next year?
The future of retail media and digital out-of-home in the Netherlands is incredibly promising. Digital is becoming an essential part of omnichannel strategies, especially as new data from BRO and soon NMO are integrated. These data sets provide deeper insights and enable cross-media planning, as well as further advancing how DOOH campaigns are measured alongside other channels like online video and social media.
Sustainability is also playing a larger role. Brands, retailers, and networks like Global are all focusing more on responsible, environmentally-friendly initiatives and campaigns that align with consumer expectations. With its low CO2 emissions, digital out-of-home is not only effective but also future-proof.
Why did you choose Vistar as a partner?
We partnered with Vistar Media to enhance our programmatic offering and make our extensive network more accessible to digital buyers. Vistar's robust technology and expertise in the programmatic DOOH space allow us to streamline sales, offer greater flexibility to advertisers, and unlock new opportunities for brands to connect with our audiences efficiently.
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