Most non-media products make money on a simple principle: pay for the product or service. This is common, understandable, and self-explanatory. But what if there is another revenue stream that similar products overlook?
Besides products and services, non-media platforms have another valuable asset ready to monetize — high-intent audiences. And it’s exactly what the advertising market is willing to pay for. With 15+ years of experience developing the adtech business, I’ve seen success cases and will share their insights with you.
Why Own Retail Networks Become a Trend
Entering the ad game may seem too challenging, but some big players have gone down this path and shown that monetizing audience attention can be a successful side business.
For instance, Uber started by promoting brands on its apps, then added a tool called Ride Offers, which allows brands to buy Uber customers’ attention in exchange for a discount for the next trip. Slowly but surely, Uber is building its advertising division, which shows significantly higher margins than the core business.
Another example is Marriott: last year, the company launched its own media network. The hotel corporation provides selected partners with access to 237 million members of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. Customers receive highly relevant ads from a curated list of partners, and Marriott earns additional profits.
These companies are from different industries, but they share one thing: they have moved beyond providing services and created their own retail media networks. You may argue that it’s easier for huge corporations, but when it comes to monetizing customer attention, scale is no longer such a critical advantage.
What Advantage Niche Players Have
In the traditional advertising model, the most valuable thing is usually traffic volume. However, the non-media industries often work differently: value is determined not by the number of users, but by the quality of their intent. That’s why niche platforms, such as medical portals, CRMs, and professional communities, gain an advantage: their audiences are precisely segmented and ready to make decisions.
Moreover, their customers’ intent is already verified. The audience isn’t made up of random users; it includes actual clients, and their data is confirmed by the use of the product or service. For example, if a customer from the insurance industry uses a niche CRM system, it’s clear that this person’s motivation goes way beyond “being interested in financial products”. For the potential advertiser, this means much lower risk and much higher value of each contact.
As a result, even small companies can generate revenue comparable to, or higher than, that of mass channels, opening a new income source. But to achieve it, they need to choose the right approach.
Programmatic vs. Premium Deals
After discovering new monetizing potential, a non-media platform can go for the most obvious solution — open programmatic. This seems to make sense because a programmatic approach provides instant income with minimal technical effort. The problem is that, along with this solution, comes “noise”: uncontrolled demand, possibly low-quality ads, and reputation risks. So, a platform with a high-intent audience can end up selling its placements for a $10–15 CPM — just like mass traffic.
To earn several times more, companies often choose a different approach — a premium private marketplace. It allows them to work only with high-quality partners (just like Marriott does), providing guaranteed access to the relevant audience at the right time in exchange for a fixed fee.
For example, one of our Epom ad server clients, a British medical platform, achieved a 614% uplift in revenue per advertiser and a 7x higher yield thanks to direct premium deals with advertisers. They offer their partners access to niche premium traffic at a fixed fee of $1,350 (£1,000) per advertiser per month. Also, they ensure ads are useful to the audience — typically promoting medical software, diagnostics, or lab services. Currently, there are 4 advertisers in rotation, each getting approximately 7,000 impressions per month. This approach enabled a medical platform to achieve an eCPM of $193 — at least 7 times higher than with programmatic.
What Software Can Help You Earn More
To generate premium revenue, non-media platforms need infrastructure that ensures traffic integrity, including account verification to prove that customers are real.
Also, monetization shouldn’t disrupt user experience. Ads should be integrated organically into the product; otherwise, they can harm the company’s reputation. Hence, “banner flippers” simply won’t do: you need an ad server as a distribution engine.
Sometimes it doesn’t even require large human resources. Say, in our client’s case, one business development manager was responsible for balancing sales, partnerships, and adops. Creating campaigns, ensuring banner rotation, reporting performance, and adjusting weights currently occupy only 25% of this person’s workload, while generating an additional $5,400 per month.
Achieving premium revenue through direct deals is a realistic path for many non-media platforms with an active audience. But it becomes possible only when the right infrastructure is in place — one that provides full control without compromising the user experience.
