PRN Opens Retail Media Networks Bridgehead In Europe With 5,000+ Screen Deal Involving Fitness Club Chain

November 14, 2024 by Dave Haynes

Stratacache subsidiary PRN has made its first big move into the European retail media market, doing a partnership deal to sell and manage ads on screens in Basic Fit, Europe’s largest fitness chain.

The deal is PRN’s first retail media contract across the Atlantic, involving more than 5,000 digital signage displays in more than 850 Basic Fit locations in France. Basic Fit has a total network of 1,500 studios and over 4 million customers across Europe.

It’s a logical step for the two parties, as Basic Fit has been using the CMS software of Scala – also a Stratacache company – since 2012.

The media network will spin up Jan. 2025 and will leverage  real-time audience measurement sensor tech from Finland’s Walkbase, which is also a Stratacache company. I have been telling lots of companies about the value of having an integrated solution stack, and not just selling software or hardware that gets paired with tech from other vendors. What Stratacache does – from front end consulting through pretty much the full solutions and services stack – is where it’s at for many larger customers.

“This collaboration will not only elevate the monetization of our network in France but also create measurable value for Basic-Fit, their advertisers, and their members. The decision wasn’t made lightly, but their technology played a crucial role in starting this partnership. Basic-Fit France is a growing market so we found a media-reseller partner that has the scale to grow with us,” says Maurice Ridder, Head of Retail Media, Basic-Fit.

“This partnership is the perfect opportunity for the PRN team to show how we work to effectively engage audiences in order to increase sales opportunities for brands, and extend revenues for network owners,“ adds  Kevin Carbone, CEO, PRN. “Through our retail media expertise and using the in-store sensor, tracking, measurement and digital signage technology of our sister companies, Walkbase and Scala, we will be able to unlock the next-level in-store digital retail media value for Basic-Fit, maximizing the opportunities of the network to the benefit of Basic-Fit, their advertisers and members.”

The mastermind behind all of this, Stratacache CEO Chris Riegel, has been all but living in Europe this year, chasing business and (I assume) M&A opportunities in that region.