ADNOC Distribution has found another use for its vast network of fuel stations, convenience stores and digital services: advertising.
The UAE mobility retailer has launched Engage by ADNOC, a retail media network that allows brands to reach customers through ADNOC Distribution’s apps, websites, service stations and Oasis convenience stores.
It is not simply a collection of digital screens beside fuel pumps. Engage combines physical advertising spaces with first-party customer information, artificial intelligence and campaign measurement tools.
For advertisers, the pitch is straightforward. Reach people while they are travelling, refuelling, buying coffee or opening the ADNOC Rewards app—and see whether the campaign led to measurable activity.
Advertising Moves From the Sofa to the Station
Engage by ADNOC stretches across both digital and physical environments.
A customer could first encounter an advertisement through the ADNOC Rewards app or one of the company’s online platforms. The same campaign could later appear on a screen at a service station or inside an Oasis by ADNOC store.
That creates a connected advertising journey rather than a single roadside impression.
Traditional outdoor advertising usually tells brands how many people may have passed a particular location. Engage aims to go further by connecting ad exposure with customer behaviour, store activity and transactions within ADNOC Distribution’s wider retail ecosystem.
The company describes Engage as the UAE’s first full-funnel retail media network operated by a mobility and convenience retailer.
ADNOC Has the Audience Advertisers Want
The scale behind the platform is difficult to ignore.
ADNOC Distribution says its UAE network serves close to 700,000 customers every day and processes more than 250 million transactions annually. Around two-thirds of fuel transactions in the country take place across its network.
Engage also draws insights from more than 2.7 million ADNOC Rewards members.
That combination gives advertisers access to a frequent and highly active audience. People may only visit a shopping mall occasionally, but many drivers stop for fuel, food, drinks, vehicle services or electric charging as part of their normal routines.
Those repeated visits make the network particularly useful for campaigns that need more than broad awareness. Brands could potentially reach an audience several times across different parts of the same journey.
AI and First-Party Data Sit Behind Engage
Engage is supported by ADNOC Distribution’s AI and Digital Transformation programme.
The platform uses first-party data, analytics and artificial intelligence to help brands identify relevant audiences, deliver campaigns and measure performance.
This matters because digital advertising is becoming harder to build around third-party tracking. Retailers, payment providers and loyalty platforms hold something advertisers increasingly value: direct relationships with customers.
ADNOC Distribution already knows when and how customers interact with parts of its own network. Engage turns those interactions into an advertising product.
The company says audience information will be handled according to applicable privacy rules and customer consent requirements. That caveat is important. First-party data may be valuable, but the platform’s credibility will depend heavily on how transparently that information is collected, grouped and used.
The Platform Wants to Measure More Than Impressions
Engage is designed to show whether advertising produces a business result, not merely whether someone may have seen a screen.
ADNOC Distribution is working with several technology, media and data companies to build those measurement capabilities.
Publicis brings advertising and media expertise. Pyxis, a subsidiary of International Holding Company, contributes AI capabilities. LiveRamp supports privacy-conscious data collaboration and measurement, while Network International adds spending insights.
Combining advertising performance with transaction information could help brands understand whether a campaign influenced purchases or customer activity.
That is the bigger promise behind retail media. The advertisement appears close to the point of purchase, while the network collects enough information to connect the two.
It sounds obvious. Pulling it off accurately is another matter.
ADNOC Distribution Is Building Revenue Beyond Fuel
Engage also fits into ADNOC Distribution’s push to earn more money from non-fuel services.
The company already operates convenience stores, car washes, food and beverage services, vehicle inspection centres and other retail offerings. Advertising adds another layer without requiring ADNOC Distribution to sell more fuel.
Its non-fuel retail business recorded more than 14% year-on-year gross profit growth in 2025.
ADNOC Distribution expects Engage to produce more than $25 million in cumulative gross profit during its first five years. That would make the platform a meaningful new revenue stream, although still a relatively small part of the company’s broader operations.
The more interesting detail is that the company can scale the advertising network using infrastructure and customer relationships it already owns.
Every app session, store visit and station screen becomes potential media inventory.
Fuel Retailers Are Starting to Look Like Technology Platforms
Engage reflects a wider change in how physical retailers see themselves.
A fuel station is no longer limited to fuel sales. It can operate as a convenience store, restaurant stop, vehicle service centre, EV charging location, loyalty platform and now an advertising channel.
ADNOC Distribution has already introduced AI-supported services across parts of its business. Engage brings that digital strategy into marketing technology.
It also places the company in competition with a different group of businesses. The platform will not only compete for retail spending. It will compete for advertising budgets normally directed toward search engines, social platforms, outdoor media companies and large e-commerce retailers.
Whether brands shift meaningful budgets toward Engage will depend on campaign performance. Reach alone will not be enough. Advertisers will expect accurate targeting, clear privacy protections and evidence that ads influence real purchases.
ADNOC Distribution has the locations and the customer traffic. Engage is an attempt to turn both into something advertisers can buy.