Buyers are putting more weight on first-party data. In the IAB's September 2026 outlook update, 48% of brand and agency buyers named publishers with first-party data among the ad types getting more of their focus this year.
Follett's campus store websites are that kind of source. Follett's 1,000+ campus and digital stores draw 61M+ online site visits a year, and their websites sell course materials, apparel, tech and supplies. Follett Media Network (FMN) makes that audience available inside a programmatic plan, on the stores' own sites and across the open web.
What follows covers how it works and how to set up a first test.
Onsite: ads on 900+ campus store websites
Onsite programmatic reaches visitors to Follett's 900+ school websites on bkstr.com. Ads can run across the site:
Home page
Category pages
Search pages
Product pages
Textbook pages
Information pages
These are shopping pages. A visitor on a product or textbook page is looking at something to buy for school, so the ad sits next to a purchase decision.
For high-visibility moments, onsite programmatic can sit alongside FMN's direct native banners. The home page banner draws 1.6 to 5.1 million monthly views, and My Offers tiles, which appear on every page, draw 2.3 to 7.7 million.
Offsite: Follett's first-party audience across the web
Offsite programmatic targets Follett's first-party site visitors across 1.1M+ websites and 173K mobile apps, and the program is optimized to identify the customers most likely to purchase.
That adds Follett's first-party audience to a broader plan, on websites and apps beyond the campus store sites.
More than students
FMN's wider audience includes parents, alumni and fans as well as college students. Programmatic reaches Follett's first-party site visitors, so if parents, alumni or fans matter to the brand, name them in the brief and ask FMN what a programmatic line can reach.
Buying options: private marketplace or direct
FMN sells digital banners through a private marketplace or direct.
A private marketplace works like an open auction with a guest list. In the IAB UK's definition, "a publisher restricts participation to select buyers/advertisers." It is still an auction, so buyers bid on the inventory, but only invited buyers can take part.
Direct buys are arranged with FMN and suit placements a brand wants to own for a set period, such as a native banner during the start of term.
Both can sit in one plan: direct for the placements that matter most at a given moment, programmatic for reach around them.
Target by school, and match digital to in-store
Both onsite and offsite programmatic offer school-level targeting. A brand can run nationally, or focus on the schools in its markets, the schools where it sells, or the schools where it is running something on the ground.
That last option is where campus retail media differs from a standard audience buy. The same schools that see a brand's display ads can carry its in-store signs, inserts in register purchases and web orders, sampling or a tabling event. A student can see the brand on a phone in the morning and in the store that afternoon.
What is reported
The media kit lists impressions, clicks and click-through rate for direct onsite ads, and revenue, click-through rate and conversion for online marketing. Confirm with FMN which of these your programmatic line will carry, and agree it before launch, along with how often you will see results in flight. FMN offers real-time campaign performance tracking and customized reports.
How to set up a first test
A first test does not need the whole network. A simple setup:
Pick a goal and one primary metric, such as click-through rate or online conversion.
Choose a set of schools that matter to the brand.
Time the flight to an academic moment. The spring semester typically begins in mid to late January, and the fall semester in late August or early September.
Decide between onsite, offsite or both, and between private marketplace and direct.
If budget allows, add in-store media at the same schools.
Agree the reporting and the comparison point before launch.
The result is a read on the campus audience that can shape the next plan.
Start a campus programmatic test
Get the FMN media kit for placements, audiences and specs, or book a short call with Vinny to set up a first test.
Get the media kit | Book a call with Vinny
Sources
IAB, "IAB Raises 2026 U.S. Ad Spend Forecast to +12.3% YoY Growth," press release, Sept. 10, 2026.
IAB UK, Jargon Buster, "Private marketplace."
Coursera, "When Does College Start? Key Dates for Fall and Spring."
Follett Media Network media kit and website.