The retailer is adding creator campaigns, weather-based activation and richer audience reporting as it builds a more complete media offer for hardware vendors.
Retail Media: Ace Expands RMN With DoorDash Ads
Ace Hardware is extending its retail media offer from campaign activation into deeper measurement, creator marketing and on-demand commerce.
RedVest Media announced the additions at its inaugural 2027 Upfront on 27 August 2026. The network will provide off-site incrementality measurement, new-to-brand reporting and custom audience cohorts alongside new social, influencer and DoorDash advertising options.
Most capabilities are available now, although some require minimum investment or commitment levels. RedVest plans to keep developing its audience library through 2027.
Measurement Moves Beyond Attributed Sales
The expanded measurement suite is intended to show whether off-site campaigns generated sales that would not otherwise have occurred. RedVest will use control groups to estimate incrementality, adding a counterfactual to exposure and attributed conversion data.
New-to-brand reporting will identify customers who have not purchased from an advertised brand. Advertisers can examine conversions against purchase histories extending back up to two years, Molly Hjelm, corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media, told Modern Retail.
“Everybody’s very interested in understanding the true incrementality that would not have happened absent the media,” Hjelm said.
RedVest is also developing an audience library covering customer groups such as DIYers and homeowners focused on property maintenance. The cohorts draw on Ace’s first-party data and can be matched with specific campaign objectives.
Ace says the network reaches more than 80 million Ace Rewards members and over 5,300 US stores. The global store network counts 8,950 locally owned stores.
DoorDash Adds High-Intent Commerce Inventory
Ace vendors will be able to buy Sponsored Ads and Sponsored Brands inside the Ace Hardware storefront on DoorDash. The formats target shoppers while they are assembling an order, including customers seeking products for urgent household needs.
Hjelm said 91% of people shopping Ace through DoorDash had never visited an Ace store. RedVest therefore sees the service as a route to new customers as well as another point of purchase for existing shoppers.
The commerce expansion follows a July integration with Pacvue. Through Pacvue, advertisers can manage Ace campaigns within the same workflow as their Amazon, Walmart and other retail media investments, with unified reporting, automated optimization and budget pacing.
Social and Weather Activation Broaden Reach
RedVest has launched social amplification that applies its audience data and closed-loop measurement to brand creative. Ace’s own social channels can amplify vendor content.
A partnership with Publicis-owned Influential gives advertisers access to Ace-vetted creators for campaigns across Meta, TikTok and Pinterest. The network is positioning creators around project inspiration and product consideration, reflecting vendor feedback that national marketing budgets are moving toward social channels.
Weather-triggered programmatic campaigns will alter their messaging based on local conditions such as the EV index, air clarity, snowfall and rainfall. Potential applications include promoting snow equipment before severe weather or grass seed after heavy rain.
RedVest also introduced RetailerReach, which gives eligible vendors access to Ace and Emery Jensen retailers through banners, email and educational material. Category Driver Campaigns will pool investment from multiple brands around seasonal demand and merchandising priorities, giving participants access to broader reach than individual campaigns may provide.