In this episode, I share snippets of my recent livestream with Andreas Reiffen, CEO and co-Founder of Pentaleap, to unpack one of the most debated topics in retail media today — Real-Time Bidding (RTB). Once dismissed as a messy, low-quality relic of early programmatic advertising, RTB is now being reimagined as the key to unlocking retail media’s next phase of scalable growth.

Note: I encountered unfortunate technical difficulties during my livestream with Andreas, resulting in choppy video and audio. I've done my best to use palatable snippets in this podcast, but regardless the audio quality is not perfect, please accept my apologies.

Andreas shares why he believes RTB will soon connect fragmented retail media ecosystems, make it easier for brands to access budgets at scale, and even open the door to programmatic innovation in the B2B sector. We cover everything from onsite vs. offsite ad opportunities to how retailers can tap into new revenue streams while maintaining control over their inventory.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:00:00] – Introducing the debate: Why RTB still carries baggage in retail media

[00:01:00] – How real-time bidding connects platforms like Google and The Trade Desk directly to retailer inventory

[00:02:00] – Andreas’s bold prediction for how much retail media could eventually run through RTB

[00:03:40] – Exploring whether RTB can expand beyond onsite ads to offsite display and video

[00:05:00] – How retailer-led ad networks are evolving with RTB at their core

[00:07:45] – The surprising role RTB could play in B2B commerce and professional buyer targeting

[00:10:00] – Segmenting audiences and optimizing bids for professional vs. consumer shoppers

[00:11:00] – Wrapping up: Why RTB might finally be ready to scale responsibly in retail media

Links & Resources

• Rather than linking to the livestream replay which has choppy audio, here's the transcript of our conversation - Real Time Bidding: Retail Media's Savior Or Saboteur?
• Follow Andreas Reiffen on LinkedIn
• Read my article Some Retailers Want to Power Other Retailers' Ad Businesses. Will It work?
• Read my article for The Drum Why the arrival of advertising in AI Search may not be the catastrophe many fear
• Read my article Best Buy Wants To Become An Ad Platform, Not Just Another RMN
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn