The Iconic rebrands and expands retail media business as ICONIC Media
The Iconic rebranded its retail media unit as ICONIC Media on 21 July 2026, days after Myer launched its own network. The new brand pulls onsite ads, customer insights, influencer, offsite, creative, OOH and physical activations under one roof led by Joshua Nunan, with the self-service platform up 160% YoY in H1 2026 and Sponsored Products averaging 390% ROAS.
Where the rake sits
The Iconic keeps the ad revenue and the margin on creative and campaign services because it does the enrichment itself - the platform, the insights layer and the creative team all sit inside ICONIC Media. The rake is owned rather than on loan; the source does not break out ICONIC Media revenue in absolute terms, only the 160% YoY growth and 390% Sponsored Products ROAS.
What happened
- Rebrand announced 21 July 2026, days after Myer launched its own retail media network on 17 July 2026 (Marketing-Interactive).
- WPP Media forecasts Australia's retail media market to grow 19.5% to A$2.3 billion in 2026, the country's fastest-growing ad channel.
- The Iconic's self-service ad platform recorded 160% YoY revenue growth in H1 2026, with Sponsored Products averaging 390% ROAS.
- More than 280 brands active on the self-service platform; more than 420 brands worked with on broader campaigns over the past year.
- ICONIC Media consolidates onsite ads, customer insights, influencer, offsite, creative, OOH and physical activations under one brand, led by Joshua Nunan, director of platform media and services.
- Recent campaigns include Nike's 'Outrun the Delivery Van', influencer work with Polo Ralph Lauren, onsite for PayPal and an integrated flyer campaign with Uber.
Who is involved
Australia/NZ online fashion and lifestyle retailer; the data asset is first-party customer shopping data used to sell advertising placements to more than 1,500 brand partners through its rebranded ICONIC Media retail-media unit.
Reported 160% year-on-year revenue growth in its advertising solution in H1 2026, supporting more than 290 brands with average ROAS of 390% on sponsored products; parent-level 1H 2026 NMV A$401m and revenue A$270m.
The reading
THE ICONIC does the enrichment: it combines its own onsite advertising platform, first-party customer data and creative/campaign services under the ICONIC Media brand, operated in-house by the platform media and services team.
The decision the substrate is pointed at is a fashion or lifestyle brand's next placement - which product to promote to which customer at which stage of discovery - and ICONIC's shopping-intent data is only reachable inside its inventory, which is what makes the placement worth buying.
Nothing about individual customers crosses to the brand advertiser. What crosses is a placement plus performance metrics (ROAS, halo attribution); the first-party data stays inside ICONIC and is inseparable from the inventory, matching the Simon Media retail-media ruling.
Not determinable from public facts: 160% growth and 390% ROAS look strong, but without a benchmark for what non-endemic advertisers pay elsewhere it is not possible to say whether ICONIC is pricing the placements fully.
Why it matters
The Iconic is following the Simon Media pattern - advertisers cannot buy the shopping-intent data at any price, only placements against it - and by rebranding under ICONIC Media it is making the capability stack (self-service platform, insights, creative, OOH) visible as its own, not a partner's. Worth contrasting with Myer's simultaneous launch and the crowded field of Cartology/Coles 360/Hammer Media/PetAds/Amplify: the substrate is similar across Australian retailers, so the question is which of them climbs the stack furthest before the ad budget settles.
The argument this deal tests: Understanding Digital Advertising Platforms and Data’s Role
Related deals
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- Best Buy and Amazon expand Fire TV pact, opening Insignia TV ad inventory to Best Buy Ads via Amazon Ads tech2026-09-23
- Circana and DoorDash partner to bring third-party incrementality validation to DoorDash Sponsored Products and Brands2026-09-02
Sources
- marketing-interactive.com — primary
- adnews.com.au — party background
- mi-3.com.au — party background
Announced 2026-09-24 · Added to the register 2026-09-24