We’ve all heard the buzzword 'omnichannel' tossed around, but what if it’s the wrong way to think about digital commerce? In this episode, I dive into fresh research from the Digital Shelf Institute and share my take on why focusing on channels misses the bigger picture: the consumer journey.

From digitally influenced sales, to the rise of insurgent brands and even Unilever’s bold experiment in creator-driven marketing, I’ll walk you through the insights that are reshaping how brands need to think about growth, organizational design, and the future of commerce. Whether you’re at a scrappy startup or a global powerhouse: success comes from building organizations that think digitally first.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[00:19] - Why 'omnichannel' puts the focus on the wrong thing
[01:36] - The rise of digitally influenced sales and Walmart’s 68% growth stat
[03:24] - Why silos between sales and marketing no longer work
[05:01] - The quiet advantage small brands hold over big CPGs
[07:15] - Unilever’s bold shift to creator-led marketing
[09:18] - Shared goals and KPIs as a driver of cross-functional success
[10:26] - The bigger question: how to design organizations that think digitally first

Links & Resources

• Download new research from The Digital Shelf Institute, Reinventing the Organization for Omnichannel Success: Beyond ‘Where Ecommerce Sits’
• Read Jason Goldberg's article on ShipStation, No, Your Goal Should Not Be “Omni-channel” (And What You Should Focus on Instead)
• Follow Jason Goldberg on LinkedIn
• Read my article Brands Are From Mars, Retailers Are From Venus
• Check out Bain & Company's 2024 Insurgent Brands
• Read How Unilever is Spending Half its Budget With Creators by Mike Shields
• Read my article What Unilever's New CEO Isn't Saying About Retail Media
• Read my article What It Actually Takes to Build a Retail Media Federation
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been sitting down with Cody Tusberg, EVP of Connected Commerce and Retail Media Services at Acosta Group, to dig into some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in retail media. We started by exploring the inner workings of retailer organizations and how brands can navigate those dynamics. Then we talked about data normalization and how to make sense of multiple performance signals across platforms.

In this third and final episode in our series, Cody and I tackle one of the trickiest questions facing brands today: how do you manage a multi-retailer RMN stack effectively? From connecting media investment to sales, to reframing attribution, to holding retailers accountable for performance, we dig into the frameworks and strategies that can help brands succeed in an increasingly converged retail world.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[1:01] – Is it realistic to connect retail media investment back to total sales across multiple retailers?
[2:26] – Why perfect attribution isn’t the goal and what brands should focus on instead.
[3:28] – Thinking beyond ROAS: cost of acquisition, lifetime value, and internal modeling.
[4:12] – Best practices for comparing performance data across retailers.
[5:35] – Orchestrating trade spend, shopper marketing, and retail media to work together.
[6:32] – Why a hub-and-spoke model helps brands scale retail media execution.
[7:27] – How some brands are holding retailers accountable for performance.
[8:36] – Looking ahead: why the lines between trade, shopper, and retail media will continue to blur.

Links & Resources

• Part 1 of this series Brands Are From Mars, Retailers Are From Venus
• Part 2 of this series Growth Beyond Amazon: Retail Media's Broader Opportunities
• Follow Cody Tusberg on LinkedIn
• Read my article Brands demand retail media standards. Retailers say it's too hard. Do they kind of have a point?
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Choosing the right retail media agency can be a make or break decision, but most brands are asking the wrong questions. In this episode, I called on several seasoned brand leaders who’ve been through the agency selection process to get their insights.

We spoke about the often-overlooked factors that truly matter when choosing an agency partner: finding the right people (not just credentials), spotting agencies that adapt to your workflows, avoiding the trap of big-name prestige, and making sure the pitch team you meet is actually the team you’ll work with. Whether you’re evaluating agencies right now or know you’ll need to soon, this conversation will help you cut through the noise and make a smarter decision.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[00:58] - AJ Patel on why validating agency references is more important than polished case studies
[02:19] - Ben Galvin explains why adaptability to your tech stack can make or break a partnership
[04:31] - Darren Silverman warns against being dazzled by big-name agencies that aren’t the right fit
[05:19] - Ash McMullen highlights the importance of knowing who you’ll actually be working with
[06:12] - Jyoti Malik shares how immersive, scenario-based conversations reveal true agency fit

Links & Resources

• Follow AJ Patel, SVP of Global Growth at U Beauty on LinkedIn
• Follow Ben Galvin, Senior Director of Omnichannel, Retail Sales & Ecommerce at Monster Energy on LinkedIn
• Follow Darren Silverman, SVP of Digital, Commerce and Media at Petmate on LinkedIn
• Follow Ash McMullen, Head of Ecommerce at Advantice Health on LinkedIn
• Follow Jyoti Malik, Senior Director of Ecommerce at Belkin on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Retail media federations sound like a no-brainer: retailers pooling their audiences and inventory to attract bigger ad dollars while keeping their unique value intact. But in reality, making federations work requires solving some thorny technical, governance, and cultural challenges.

In this episode (part three of my retail media alliances series), I dive into what it really takes to build a successful retail media federation. From data clean rooms and identity spines to governance frameworks and cultural hurdles, I explore both the infrastructure and the mindset shifts required to make collaboration work. I’ll also share examples from industry leaders and discuss why some retailers remain skeptical, even as advertisers push for scale and simplicity.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[1:00] - Breaking down the technical foundation: data clean rooms and identity resolution

[2:15] - How Snowflake and Bridge are powering privacy-safe audience activation

[3:45] - A fictional example: targeting health-focused millennial moms with cats

[5:00] - Governance challenges: who owns the data and what can be done with it

[6:30] - Why retailers resist losing control of first-party data

[8:00] - Balancing advertiser demands for scale vs. retailer protection of assets

[9:30] - Why brands need simplicity, not added complexity, from federations

[10:45] - Amazon’s play with Macy’s and retailer skepticism around “letting the fox in the henhouse”

[12:15] - The biggest barrier? Retailers’ cultural instinct to hoard data

Links & Resources

• Part 1 of this series How Alliances Could Solve Retail Media's Fragmentation Problem (Part 1)
• Part 2 of this series Meet The First Retail Media Federations & Consortiums 
• Read my article The Other Side of the Story: Why Retailers Struggle with Media Measurement & Standardization
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Last week’s big announcement from Best Buy caught my attention. Not just because of its splashy branding moves with gaming and sports, but because it hinted at a more collaborative model for retail media. Could this be the beginning of federations and consortiums reshaping the retail media landscape?

In this episode, I dive into part two of my series on retail media alliances. From Europe’s pioneering Valiuz alliance, to Rippl's breakthrough partnership with Hy-Vee here in the U.S., I explore the real-world models that are already proving federations can work. I also break down why consolidation may be the lifeline smaller networks need, and the critical challenge of measurement standardization that could make (or break) these collaborations.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[00:36] - Lisa Valentino’s vision for Best Buy as a network beyond retail
[02:22] - Why fragmentation makes the current retail media model unsustainable 
[02:52] - Valiuz in Europe: a federation covering 80% of French households
[03:15] - Rippl’s U.S. breakthrough with Hy-Vee’s RedMedia
[04:00] - Regional consortiums empowering smaller grocers
[05:11] - Why scale matters: the challenge for long-tail RMNs
[07:09] - The measurement problem: why standardization is both the biggest hurdle and the biggest opportunity

Links & Resources

• Part 1 of this series How Alliances Could Solve Retail Media's Fragmentation Problem (Part 1)
• Read my article for The Drum Inside Best Buy’s first ad showcase as it makes a major play for retail media budgets
• Info about Valiuz retail media solutions
• Article by Grocery Dive about Hy-Vee & Rippl
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Amazon may dominate the retail media landscape, but is your brand missing growth opportunities by focusing too narrowly? In the second installment of this 3-part series, I’m joined once again by Cody Tusberg, EVP of Digital Commerce and Retail Media Services at Acosta Group, to explore what it really takes to win in retail media beyond Amazon.

We dive into why shoppers’ habits demand a broader channel strategy, how to evaluate which retail media networks (RMNs) deserve your investment, and what smaller or emerging networks can offer that the big players can’t. You’ll also hear insights on overcoming operational complexity, proving ROI without clean attribution, and how to turn retail media into a true growth lever within joint business planning.

Whether you’re a brand leader trying to expand your retail footprint, or simply want to understand how the landscape is evolving, this episode will give you a fresh perspective on the opportunities that lie outside of Amazon’s shadow.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[0:35] - Why brands should look beyond Amazon and Walmart in retail media
[1:10] - Shopper behavior data that reveals untapped opportunities
[2:12] - How to evaluate which retail media networks deserve investment
[3:01] - The operational challenges of expanding to new retailers
[4:00] - Measurement, ROI, and dealing with fragmented attribution
[5:15] - Advice for smaller brands with limited resources
[6:10] - Bringing retail media into joint business planning conversations
[7:17] - Shifting from “stick” penalties to “carrot” incentives in retail media spend

Links & Resources

• Read Part 1 of this series Brands Are From Mars, Retailers Are From Venus
• Follow Cody Tusberg on LinkedIn
• Read my article Brands demand retail media standards. Retailers say it's too hard. Do they kind of have a point?
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Too often, retail media performance gets boiled down to a single number: ROAS. But is that really enough to guide smart investment decisions? In this episode, I share another highlight from the Retail Media Tech Jam livestream with Tom Limongello and Scott Messer from The Middlemen podcast. Together, we unpack why relying solely on ROAS can be misleading, and what metrics and insights media buyers should be demanding instead.

You’ll hear us explore the buyer’s checklist for retail media success, from securing log files to evaluating PDP quality scores, and why brands themselves now need to think more like publishers. We also dig into marketplace dynamics, the evolving role of creative optimization, and whether retail media could ever move toward performance-based pricing models.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[00:00] - Setting the stage: why ROAS isn’t enough
[01:19] - Asking the right questions: site lists, log files, and media plans
[02:37] - Understanding retail media as a marketplace
[03:15] - PDP quality scores and their growing influence
[05:20] - Comparing networks through efficiency, not just ROAS
[06:18] - Why creative optimization matters more than ever
[08:04] - Audience question: will retail media move to CPA models?

Links & Resources

• Watch the full Retail Media Tech Jam: The Middlemen X Retail Media Breakfast Club livestream replay on LinkedIn
• Listen to The Middlemen podcast
• Follow Tom Limongello on LinkedIn
• Follow Scott Messer on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Retail media has exploded in recent years, but is it already falling into a dangerous cycle? In this episode, I share highlights from a recent LinkedIn Live I hosted with Tom Limongello and Scott Messer  from The Middlemen podcast. We dove into why retailers are so secretive about their tech stacks, what that means for brand-side buyers, and whether this lack of transparency is slowing growth across the entire industry.

You’ll hear us explore the “retail media doom loop,” how initial revenue gains mask deeper challenges, and why media buyers are begging for clarity. If you’ve ever wondered what’s really happening behind the curtain of retail media networks (or why it matters for your brand) this conversation will connect the dots in a way that  might change how you think about the future of retail media advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[01:18] - Why retailers keep their tech stacks so secretive
[02:00] - Breaking down the “retail media doom loop” and stalled growth
[03:15] - Where true incremental opportunities still exist
[04:28] - Are brands applying enough pressure on retailers to evolve?
[06:07] - Survey results: what 67 brand-side media buyers had to say
[07:30] - What buyers really want from retail media tech providers
[09:15] - Transparency vs. reality: what media buyers say vs. what they do

Links & Resources

• Watch the full Retail Media Tech Jam: The Middlemen X Retail Media Breakfast Club livestream replay on LinkedIn
• Listen to The Middlemen podcast
• Follow Tom Limongello on LinkedIn
• Follow Scott Messer on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Could AI shopping agents fundamentally disrupt retail media as we know it? In this episode, I share highlights from my recent appearance on the Commerce Media Matters podcast with Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn. We explored how the rise of AI-driven shopping experiences might shift consumer behavior away from retailer websites and apps. And what that could mean for retailers, brands, and the value of first-party data.

We dig into big questions: will sponsored product placements lose their relevance if AI agents take over the purchase journey? How will retailers protect their margins when third-party agents aggregate transaction data? And could AI agents actually become the best 'customers' a retailer could ask for? This conversation is part cautionary tale, part roadmap for adapting to one of the most important shifts on the horizon for commerce media.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[00:00] - Setting up the big question: could AI agent shopping disrupt retail media?
[01:23] - The theory: how AI threatens both onsite and offsite monetization models
[03:28] - Why trade marketing remains resilient despite digital disruption
[05:29] - The challenge of data aggregation across multiple retailers
[06:45] - Walmart vs. Amazon: two different approaches to AI agents
[08:00] - Advice for retailers: treat AI agents like VIP customers

Links & Resources

• Listen to the full episode 'How to Master Retail Media with Kiri Masters' on the Commerce Media Matters podcast
• Subscribe to Commerce Media Matters
• Follow Nick Morgan on Linkedin
• Follow Paul Blackburn on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

As a brand, working with retailers can often feel like navigating two completely different worlds. Retailers operate as complex ecosystems where merchants, trade marketing, and retail media teams each have their own goals and agendas. In Episode 1 of this three part series, I’m joined by expert Cody Tusberg, EVP of Digital Commerce and Retail Media Services at Acosta Group, to unpack these dynamics and help brands better understand how to align with retailers.

We dive into why merchants often call the shots, how silos between retail media and trade marketing create challenges, and the common mistakes brands make when they don’t account for a retailer’s internal politics. You’ll also hear how brands can get proactive, build trust, and set themselves up for success when negotiating budgets and planning retail media investments.

This episode is sponsored by Connected Commerce at Acosta Group

Timeline

[01:17] – The role of merchants in retail media and why sales remain their top priority

[02:43] – How divided org structures impact brands and their budgets

[04:36] – The big mistakes brands make when they overlook retailer politics

[05:39] – Why brands should be “nosy” about where their dollars go

[06:20] – How Acosta Group bridges the gap between trade and retail media

[07:36] – The challenge of annual retailer planning cycles vs. real-time retail media optimization

[09:05] – How brand-side silos mirror retailer silos and what that means for alignment

Links & Resources

• Follow Cody Tusberg on LinkedIn
• Read my article Brands demand retail media standards. Retailers say it's too hard. Do they kind of have a point?
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn