The Measurement Gap
Today, many consumer brands still rely on clicks, views, and last-touch attribution to measure success. But for retail-driven businesses, most conversions don’t happen online – they happen in stores. That creates a fundamental gap in measurement.
Marketers are left asking a critical question: How do we prove digital media drives real-world behaviors like store visits and sales?
The answer isn’t more impressions or more clicks. It’s a smarter, data-led, omnichannel approach that connects media exposure directly to foot traffic and purchases.
The Shift from Demographics to Behavior
Behavioral data sits at the center of this shift. It’s often far more predictive of purchase intent than traditional demographic targeting alone.
While demographics tell you who a consumer is, behavioral signals reveal what they actually do – where they shop, what locations they visit, and how they move throughout their day. These real-world actions provide a much clearer picture of intent.
The opportunity for marketers isn’t just access to this data – it’s knowing how to activate it effectively.
It starts by building audiences using tangible signals such as store visitation patterns, competitive locations, proximity to retail, and lifestyle movement trends. From there, those audiences can be activated programmatically across channels including CTV, mobile, display, and streaming audio.
Unifying that strategy across channels — rather than managing siloed buys — is where the real impact happens. Consistent messaging, controlled frequency, and centralized optimization create a cohesive consumer journey that drives action, not just awareness.
Turning Mobility Data Into Measurable Results
In partnership with Arity, Matter launched a campaign for Suerte Tequila that highlights how powerful this approach can be.
Using Arity’s mobility insights, we built three custom audience segments based on real-world behaviors and intent: brand fans, active seekers, and high-propensity tequila buyers. These segments allowed us to reach high-value consumers in real time across multiple channels, whether they were engaging with content at home or near retail locations.
Unlike traditional targeting, this strategy directly connected digital exposure to physical outcomes. By leveraging 50M+ anonymized U.S. driver profiles, we identified customers who were most likely to purchase tequila, frequented liquor stores and lived within a 15-mile radius of priority stores.
The results:
- 7.9% Increase in Brand Awareness
- 93% Increase In Incremental Foot Traffic
- 114% Increase In-store case sales
Read the full case study here.
Why This Approach Works
What made this strategy successful wasn’t just better targeting, it was better alignment between data, media, and measurement.
By focusing on intent behaviors, activating audiences consistently across channels, and measuring outcomes like store visits and sales rather than clicks, the campaign connected digital investment to real business impact.
The key takeaway for marketers: when you optimize toward real-world behaviors instead of vanity metrics, media stops being just awareness — and starts becoming a true growth driver.
An Agency Partner to Elevate Your Retail Brand Performance
At Matter we believe marketing programs should do more than just generate impressions – they should drive real-world outcomes. By combining mobility data with an omni-channel approach, we help brands reach high-intent audiences and measure what truly matters: foot traffic, sales, and incremental growth. Ready to drive incremental growth for your brand? Let’s talk!