Bernstein-Rein Advertising

Retail brands of every size, from regional newcomers to international names, are the clients of Bernstein-Rein Advertising. The agency uses shopper data to decide who a campaign should reach and what it should say. The agency has been active for about half a century and brands its method Retailigent. Unusually for an agency, it also owns and runs a retail brand, so its advice comes partly from its own trading experience.

Shopper data for targeting

Analysis of attitudes and behavior is the starting point. The agency uses data science to identify the customers who are worth the most to a retailer, working beyond conventional market segments. Campaigns are then built around the messages, timing and locations that those customers respond to.

Price, convenience and personal connection

The agency tracks how shoppers balance price against convenience, quality and a personal connection with a brand. It argues that this value mindset shapes consumer behavior in lasting ways, and it keeps watch on how demand moves so that its clients can adjust their offer quickly.

Brand purpose as the story

The agency treats brand purpose as the thread that runs through the whole customer experience. Its team works to uncover the motives behind a customer's choices, the openings in a market and the qualities that make a client stand out. It then turns those findings into the story a brand tells.

Running a retail business as a credential

The agency says that no other US agency it knows of has launched and operates its own retail brand. It describes this as a source of practical knowledge about building loyalty, raising average spend, drawing people into stores and converting online interest. Its InsideOut Retailing approach, it says, is what lets it see the trade from both sides.

Clients and reach

Its clients are retail companies at every stage, from regional start-ups to global brands. The agency says it follows each client's journey from the first online click to the store, and that it applies the same commitment to a small regional chain as to a large international one.