Bought for work, sold across three storefronts
Staples Media Network: Ad Formats & Agency Support
RMIQ plans product ads, email and basket-building placements across Staples, Quill and Staples Business Advantage, split by consumer and business buyers.
Staples Media Network (SMN) is the retail media network of Staples, Inc. It sells ads on Staples.com, Quill and Staples Business Advantage, now marketed as Staples Business. Together they reach buyers from one-person businesses to enterprises, and SMN's nine format families run from sponsored product ads to B2B paid social.
Written by Jim Grace, Senior New Business Director, RMIQ
Solo desk, small office, procurement team
One network, three buyers: who orders on Staples.com, Quill and Staples Business Advantage
Staples sells its network on the range of buyers behind it: "Staples, Quill, and Staples Business Advantage combined mean you have access to a comprehensive set of customers, from solopreneurs to enterprise businesses." A May 2026 Staples job posting lists all three as SMN's onsite media.
Staples.com
Individuals and small businesses
Staples says Staples.com "is designed for small businesses or individuals who value great deals and a curated assortment."
- Formats that meet a buyer building an order: Sponsored Product Ads at the top of search and Add to Cart Solutions "to build basket"
- In RMIQ's plan: the products a small buyer reorders, grouped with their own goal
Quill
A Staples subsidiary
"Quill.com is a subsidiary of Staples, Inc.," and Staples' 2026 hiring text lists it among SMN's onsite media.
- Formats on Quill: set by SMN's planners for each plan
- In RMIQ's plan: Quill gets its own line in the brief, and in the report if SMN reports it apart
Staples Business Advantage, now Staples Business
Enterprise procurement
Staples Business "facilitates integration with over 170 purchasing platforms" for enterprise customers, and its accounts come with "reporting, controls, approval workflows and site-level insights." With approval workflows, the person who orders and the person who signs off can differ.
- Formats that reach business buyers off Staples' sites: Paid Social and Audience Extension, the two SMN aims at B2B buyers
- In RMIQ's plan: products bought on Staples Business accounts, with a goal set apart from Staples.com sales
The steps follow the order of Staples' own sentence, from the solo desk to the procurement team.
Reach, traffic and enterprise buying
38 million reachable shoppers across Staples Media Network, and the enterprise accounts behind them
Staples counts its reach across all three storefronts, and its enterprise buyers order through more than 170 purchasing platforms.
- 38M Reachable shoppers "Across our networks," in Staples Media Network's own count.
- 19M Monthly site visits Staples Media Network's own figure.
- 170+ Purchasing platforms Staples Business integrations for enterprise customers.
- 9 Ad format families Onsite, email and offsite, from sponsored products to B2B paid social.
From the search box to a buyer's social feed
Staples Media Network ad formats, from the top of search to B2B audiences off site
SMN lists nine "full funnel ad solutions." Targeting follows "custom targeting rules" or "off-the-shelf and machine learning audiences," and offsite display runs on Staples' first-party data.
Sponsored Product Ads
"Boost your products to the top of search results," says SMN. Pentaleap, which named Staples as a client in 2024, ranks them with Staples' own relevance scores, per its case study.
On-Site Advertising and On-Site Video Ads
SMN sells display "in highly visible placements across the website" and "brand, category, and product videos across Staples websites."
Add to Cart Solutions
SMN pitches these placements to "reach shoppers in the final stage of their shopper journey with relevant products to build basket."
Email Ad Placements
"Tell your story directly to Staples' customers through email."
Programmatic Display and Paid Search
Programmatic display uses "Staples' first-party cookie data to reach customers across the web," and paid search aims to "drive sales to specific products and boost brand performance through search."
Paid Social and Audience Extension
The two formats SMN aims at business buyers: "Target B2B customers as they browse their favorite social media sites," and "find the B2B customers you are looking for" with Staples' custom audiences.
Specs, rates and the format mix come from SMN's planners, built around your products and buyers.
One inbox, then a planner by category
Buying Staples Media Network: an inquiry inbox, category planners and a quarterly rhythm
Every SMN plan is built with Staples' own team, from the first inquiry to the quarterly review.
An inquiry inbox
SMNinquiries@Staples.com, backed by "dedicated Account Managers and a team of media planners, AdOps support people, and data analysts."
Planners by merchandising category
Staples' 2026 postings describe media managers working "for vendors aligned to merchandising categories," and planners who work with "external agency partners."
Annual plans and quarterly reviews
SMN's team supports "annual planning, quarterly reviews, forecasting, and regular vendor check-ins."
Monthly numbers, quarterly reviews, vendor tests
What SMN reports back: monthly reports, quarterly reviews and Staples' own audiences
SMN promises "sophisticated measurement, brand & business insights, quarterly business reviews/monthly reports." Agree the attribution window and test design at the start, so the reports answer the questions your plan set.
Audiences built on Staples' data
Staples' 2026 hiring text asks for experience "activating campaigns using first-party data (CRM) and audience-led targeting strategies," so ask for results by audience targeting segment.
A sponsored-products test, reported by the vendor
Pentaleap reports that in Staples' evaluation of its ranking, vendors' return on ad spend rose "between +389% and +477%" and sponsored click-through rate by "+123% to +933%."
Hiring text, a campaign and a new banner name
Hiring, a B2B campaign and a renamed banner: what Staples showed about SMN in 2026
Staples spent 2026 putting more behind its network and its business buyers.
May 20, 2026
Staples "continues to invest aggressively"
A Staples media planner posting says the company "continues to invest aggressively in the growth of its retail media network," naming "onsite media (Staples.com, Staples Advantage, Quill), and emerging retail media offerings."
September 23, 2026
A bigger B2B push
Retail Dive reported Staples' "Hard vs. Easy" campaign and a focus "shifting more into the B2B realm," with Staples "touting its work with an estimated 75% of Fortune 500 companies."
As of November 2026
Staples Business Advantage is now Staples Business
Staples' About page and staplesadvantage.com now say "Staples Business" and point to StaplesBusiness.com, a shorter name for the enterprise storefront SMN reaches.
What slows a vendor's first plan
Getting heard in a managed network: tiers, a relevance gate and three banners to brief
No published self-serve route
A brand that wants to run its own sponsored products finds no console, login, API, auction or minimum spend on SMN's page. Every plan starts with an email to SMN's team.
Support scaled by vendor tier
Tier-1 vendors get "best-in-class service" and tier-2 and tier-3 vendors "scaling support," so a smaller vendor does better arriving with its plan drafted.
A relevance gate on sponsored products
Staples, quoted in Pentaleap's case study: "Products that we consider to be less relevant are prevented from showing up through a sponsoring." A weak listing does not climb on budget alone.
Three banners, one undivided goal
Staples.com serves individuals and small firms, Staples Business serves enterprise accounts with approval workflows, and Quill sits in the same network. One plan for all three treats different buyers as one.
Brief, buyer split, report reading
RMIQ as your Staples advertising agency: the brief, the buyer split and the report reading
RMIQ supports Staples among its specialty retail networks. On SMN, Staples' team activates the media, and RMIQ works on the brand's side: the brief, the buyer split, the keyword work and the report reading.
A brief per buyer
RMIQ splits your assortment by the buyer each product sells to, from Staples.com's individuals to Staples Business' procurement accounts, and writes one brief for SMN's planners with a goal for each group.
Keyword work on sponsored products
RMIQ's homepage describes agents that optimize "each product's keywords, bids, and budgets." On SMN, RMIQ turns that keyword work into recommendations for the sponsored products in your plan, which SMN's team activates, starting with the top-of-search slots.
Formats matched to each buyer
Product ads and add-to-cart placements for buyers filling a cart, email for Staples' customers, B2B paid social and audience extension off site. RMIQ proposes the mix; SMN's team builds the plan.
Monthly reports, read by buyer group
RMIQ reads SMN's monthly reports and quarterly reviews against each buyer group's goal, and brings the questions to the next review.
RMIQ results, Darey Brands on Instacart
"More than doubled our revenue": Darey Brands with RMIQ
Darey Brands put its existing retail media spend in RMIQ's hands. In its own words, RMIQ more than doubled its revenue on that same spend within the first two months.
Darey Brands
Specialty dairy, on Instacart- ROAS increase in under 2 months: 75%
- Attributed Instacart sales: 2.5x
- New-to-brand Instacart revenue: 2.7x
"In the first 2 months Retail Media IQ more than doubled our revenue on our existing retail media ad spend," said Matt Gorella, Senior Brand Manager at Darey Brands.
Read the Darey Brands story
Top-of-search slots, reviewed keyword by keyword
A keyword review for the Staples sponsored products in your SMN plan
SMN sells sponsored product ads that lift a listing to the top of Staples search. RMIQ agrees the audit's scope on your call, starting with the products you sponsor on Staples.
- Each keyword in scope gets a verdict: continue, adjust spend or stop. RMIQ briefs SMN's planners on the verdicts.
- How much of your keyword portfolio needs action. In Pentaleap's case study, Staples' relevance score keeps less relevant products out of sponsored slots.
- Projected ROAS and sales upside, delivered in 3 business days. RMIQ then tracks them in SMN's monthly reports.
See a sample RMIQ keyword audit
An anonymized RMIQ audit of one brand's paid search, with each keyword sorted into scale, rebid and pause lists.
RMIQ's keyword audit covers Walmart Connect, Target, Instacart and more; RMIQ agrees its scope with you after the audit call.
When you download, RMIQ receives your email and may contact you about an audit. Privacy policy
Vendors selling to people who buy for work
A fit check for vendors weighing Staples Media Network
SMN suits vendors that
- Sell to business buyers as well as individuals, and want B2B paid social or audience extension beside onsite ads.
- Are ready to plan a year ahead with a managed team.
- Sell in a merchandising category that SMN's media managers cover, with listings strong enough to pass the relevance score Staples described in Pentaleap's case study.
Questions for SMN's account team
- Which vendor tier your account sits in, and what service comes with it.
- What SMN's inquiry team quotes for rates, minimums and specs on each of Staples.com, Quill and Staples Business.
- Which banners each format runs on, and whether Quill and Staples Business are reported apart from Staples.com.
- How SMN's 38 million reachable shoppers split across Staples.com, Quill and Staples Business.
Words to bring to an SMN planning call
Terms behind an SMN plan, and the US networks to weigh beside it
- Audience targeting Glossary How SMN's custom audiences pick who sees an ad.
- Onsite and offsite ads Glossary Ads on Staples' sites, and SMN's ads beyond them.
- One agency for business buyers and shoppers Agency For vendors that sell to business buyers on Staples and to shoppers on other retail networks.
Networks to compare with SMN
What vendors ask before an SMN plan
Staples advertising agency FAQ
What is Staples Media Network?
Staples Media Network (SMN) is the retail media business of Staples, Inc., a privately owned company. It sells ads across Staples.com, Quill and Staples Business Advantage, now marketed as Staples Business, in nine format families from sponsored product ads to B2B paid social. Brands reach it through SMN's managed team.
Which sites does Staples Media Network cover?
Staples names three: Staples, Quill and Staples Business Advantage, covering one-person businesses up to enterprises. A May 2026 Staples posting names all three as SMN's onsite media. Quill is a Staples subsidiary, and the B2B banner now calls itself Staples Business.
Can Staples Media Network reach business buyers?
Yes. Two of SMN's nine format families, paid social and audience extension, are aimed at business buyers off Staples' sites. On site, Staples Business serves enterprise accounts that link to more than 170 purchasing platforms, with approval workflows. Off site, audience extension uses Staples' proprietary custom audiences to find B2B customers.
Is there a self-serve way to buy Staples ads?
SMN is a managed network. Buying starts with an email to SMN's inquiry address, SMNinquiries@Staples.com, and its account managers and media planners set plans and terms with each brand. An agency such as RMIQ arrives with the brief drafted, and Staples' team activates the media.
What ad formats does Staples Media Network offer?
Nine families across onsite, email and offsite: Sponsored Product Ads, On-Site Advertising, On-Site Video Ads, Add to Cart Solutions, Email Ad Placements, Programmatic Display, Paid Search, Paid Social and Audience Extension. The last two are aimed at business buyers.
Can an agency manage Staples Media Network campaigns for a brand?
Yes, working with SMN's team. Staples' planners work with outside agencies and act as "a day-to-day contact for vendor partners, media agencies" and internal teams. RMIQ, a retail media agency, writes the brief, splits the assortment by buyer and reads SMN's reports, while Staples' team activates the media.
Staples pages, postings, press6 sources
Each source is listed with the date it was published; pages that show no date are marked with the date they were read.
- Staples, Inc., Staples Media Network page on staples.com, no date shown, read November 1, 2026, and its Internet Archive capture of November 1, 2023
- Staples, Inc., About Us page on staples.com and the Staples Business site staplesadvantage.com, no date shown, read November 1, 2026
- Staples, Inc., Media Planner, Retail Media Network job posting, May 20, 2026, and Media Manager, Staples Media Network job posting, 2026, both read on Mediabistro
- Pentaleap, Staples case study, no date shown, first archived December 12, 2024, read November 1, 2026; Pentaleap modular platform release, PR Newswire, September 3, 2024
- Retail Dive, Staples' chief marketer on a bigger B2B push, September 23, 2026
- RMIQ, Darey Brands case study, August 31, 2026; Walmart Connect ads guide, modified March 18, 2026; homepage and case studies listing, read October 2026; keyword audit page, read October 26, 2026
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