In this episode of Retail Media Therapy, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis unpack a week packed with developments across AI search, retail media innovation, and marketplaces.

Key Topics in This Episode:

AI platforms are reconsidering advertising

AI search platforms are taking different approaches to monetisation.

Perplexity is stepping back from ads to protect user trust, while Google is experimenting with ads inside AI search results. At the same time, Criteo has announced the ability to run performance advertising within ChatGPT, signalling that retail media could become an early monetisation layer for AI interfaces. Criteo’s integration with ChatGPT and tests by Target’s Roundel suggest retailers and ad tech platforms are moving quickly to connect retail media demand with AI environments.

Argos launches a marketplace with Mirakl

Argos, owned by Sainsbury’s, has selected Mirakl to power its new marketplace.

Marketplaces allow retailers to expand product assortment rapidly, attract long-tail sellers, and layer retail media monetisation on top. Mirakl’s growing ecosystem - including marketplace tools, advertising capabilities and AI integrations - is helping retailers accelerate this strategy.

Wickes launches a DIY retail media network

UK home improvement retailer Wickes has launched its own retail media network, joining the growing list of non-grocery retailers monetising their audiences.

DIY retail media comes with unique challenges:

• Longer shopper journeys
• Lower purchase frequency
• Greater need for education and content
• A mix of B2C and trade customers

This means awareness, inspiration and video content may play a bigger role than pure conversion advertising.

Key Takeaways

• AI platforms are still experimenting with how advertising fits into AI search experiences

• Retail media players are already moving into AI environments

• Marketplaces remain a powerful engine for retail media growth

• DIY and home improvement retail media networks require a different strategy from grocery or FMCG

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Retail Media Therapy – EP38

Open Letters, Big vs Small Networks & The In-Housing Dilemma

Welcome back to the couch. In this episode of Retail Media Therapy, Viv and Colin tackle three topics that are dominating boardrooms, conference stages and LinkedIn threads:

1. The measurement obsession in retail media
2. Whether size really matters for retail media networks
3. The rise of in-housing – and what it means for brands

Expect metaphors. Mild football confusion. And a lifetime supply of Berocca at stake.

🧨 Topic 1: An Open Letter to Bayer on Measurement

After comments from Bayer’s retail media lead suggesting retail media must improve measurement before budgets increase further, Viv responds with an open letter.

The central question:

Why are we holding retail media networks to a higher measurement standard than the rest of advertising ever faced?

Key discussion points:

• Retail media now commands 25% of some brand media budgets
• Calls for “holistic measurement” and cross-retailer comparisons
• The industry's obsession with incrementality
• Whether measurement is genuinely the blocker - or just the latest conference cliché

Colin’s take?

No TV network in history was ever asked for perfect incrementality modelling before getting a budget.

Viv’s take?

We’ve confused efficiency with effectiveness.

And yes, there may be aspirin involved.

📏 Topic 2: Does Size Matter in Retail Media?

Two case studies spark the debate:

• A UK Co-Op retail media network launching with ~500 stores and 1 million members
• Australia Post launching a network with limited rollout
• 
  

So how big is “big enough”?

Is scale essential?

Or is audience quality and retailer relationship what really matters?

Key considerations:

• CPM economics at smaller scale
• Regional strength vs national reach
• Specialist audiences vs mass audiences
• The myth that “more networks” equals “too many networks”
• 
  

Conclusion?

Size doesn’t automatically determine value. Relevance does.

🏠 Topic 3: In-Housing – Retail Media’s Next Shift

In-housing is accelerating – particularly driven by retail media.

Why?

• Speed requirements
• Exponential growth in creative demand
• Cost pressure
• Need for commercial alignment
• AI enabling scale
• 
  

Colin shares examples including:

• P&G dynamically optimising sponsored products every 15 minutes
• Arla’s “The Barn” in-house model
• L’Oréal’s Retail team moving to 100% programmatic in-house
• 
  

But it’s not all upside.

Viv raises the key risks:

• Talent churn
• Cultural clash
• Creative stagnation
• Owning underperformance internally
• 
  

The likely answer?

Hybrid models. Keep strategic creativity external. Bring operational scale closer.

💡 Episode Takeaways

• Retail media measurement is improving – but the narrative is exaggerated.
• Smaller networks can still offer meaningful value.
• In-housing is accelerating – but managing talent and performance is complex.
• The future likely belongs to hybrid models.
• 
  

🛋️ Join the Conversation

Is measurement really retail media’s biggest problem?

How big is big enough?

Would you in-house retail media?

Lie down on the couch and let us know.

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Iceland Retail Media’s 5,000 Screen Rollout & The Future of Measurable In-Store Media

This week on Retail Media Therapy, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis sit down with Adam Smith from Iceland Retail Media to unpack one of the most ambitious in-store retail media projects in the UK.

Iceland isn’t just refreshing its network - it’s rolling out up to 5,000 in-store screens across in under a year. And they’re not just adding screens - they’re transforming measurement.

• Iceland Retail Media relaunched in 2025 after restructuring its agency model.
• Screens have been part of the business for years - but this rollout takes them to an entirely new level.
• A fast-moving, privately owned business means rapid execution.

• Every major UK retailer is investing in in-store screens - the question is how well they measure.
• Iceland chose to double down on screens as a core channel of its retail media strategy.
• The rollout could become one of the largest non-London-centric in-store networks in the UK.

Adam describes the ambition as bringing “clickstream media to bricks and mortar.”

Key elements include:

• Real-time in-store impression measurement
• Dwell time tracking
• Viewable impression data
• Closed-loop attribution linking media exposure to EPOS sales

The goal? Prove that £1 spent in-store can outperform £1 spent elsewhere.

Instead of cameras or facial recognition:

• Iceland is using millimetre-wave sensors
• Tracking is based on water-content scanning
• Each shopper is anonymised via temporary RFID tagging
• Fully GDPR compliant
• No personal identification or ongoing tracking

This approach delivers measurable impressions without compromising shopper trust.

The data doesn’t just power media measurement. It also enables:

• Live footfall tracking
• Customer flow mapping
• Hotspot identification
• Smarter merchandising decisions
• Better labour planning

Retail media becomes infrastructure - not just advertising.

A standout example with McCormick:

• AB test: stores with screens vs. without
• Non-promoted EDLP product
• 10% sales uplift
• Category share increase
• Clear link between impressions and sales

And this isn’t just a one-off - this level of reporting is now standard for Iceland suppliers.

Installing thousands of screens is no small task:

• Overnight installations in live retail environments
• Infrastructure challenges
• Store team coordination

Retail media isn’t just marketing - it’s operations.

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Episode 36 – Is ChatGPT Getting Greedy? Diageo Gets Data-Savvy & AI Traffic Explained

In this episode of Retail Media Therapy, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis dive into three of the hottest topics shaping retail media, marketing, and advertising right now.

First, they unpack the launch of ChatGPT advertising, questioning whether reported $60 CPMs are sustainable — or whether they’re a deliberate premium strategy driven by FOMO, brand signalling, and future valuation considerations.

Next, the conversation turns to Diageo’s retail media strategy, where the global drinks giant positions retail media networks as a full-funnel channel. From leveraging retailer first-party data to activating campaigns offsite via CTV and sponsorships, Diageo shows how retail media can connect brand building directly to purchase behaviour.

Finally, Viv and Colin explore the rise of AI-driven shopping traffic. With millions of referrals now flowing from AI tools to marketplaces, they debate whether this represents net-new demand or potential cannibalisation — and why RFM-based targeting could be the key to turning AI disruption into growth.

A must-listen for anyone working in retail media networks, marketing strategy, or digital advertising.

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The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Making Retail Media Work Inside and Outside of JBPs

In this continuation of the Show Me the Money special, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis tackle one of the toughest challenges facing brands today: extracting real value from retail media spend locked inside Joint Business Plans (JBPs).

From FMCG vs CPG debates to Beatles metaphors (John, Paul, George & Ringo = marketing, shopper, digital & ecommerce teams), the episode unpacks why retail media budgets are fragmented, hard to track, and often inefficient.

Viv and Colin explore how brands can regain control, align media spend to business objectives, and negotiate smarter retail media agreements that go beyond “promised spend” toward measurable impact.

This episode is a practical guide for brand, sales, and marketing leaders navigating the tension between commercial commitments and media effectiveness.

Key topics covered:

• Why JBPs are one of the hardest places to unlock retail media value
• The “four Beatles” problem: fragmented media budget ownership
• Why brands often don’t know who is spending what—and where
• The tension between commercial teams committing media and marketers needing flexibility
• A simple 3-part retail media budgeting framework:
• Goal-driven budgeting
• Spending effectively (incrementality & measurement)
• Being “always on”
• How brands can negotiate flexibility, transparency, and insights from retailers
• The rise of joint marketing agreements and retail media-specific JBPs
• Why marketing teams must be in the room - not just sales

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It’s the return of the Retail Media Therapy podcast Celebrity Deathmatch Live edition – this time, live from NRF in New York.

The Retail Media Therapy podcast Celebrity Deathmatch is brought to you by Grace & Co - the marketing and commerce consultancy, alongside event sponsors QSIC and Zitcha.

It's a rowdy Oxford style debate with 3 rounds, where one of our fighters will be for the motion and one will be against the motion – they have to make their point and trash their opposing fighter.

Our fighters are: 

Colin ‘The Crusher’ Lewis

Of Retail Media Therapy Podcast and consultant at Grace & Co

Claire ‘Whiplash’ Wyatt 

from The Trade Desk

Kiri ‘The Killer’ Masters 

Host of the Retail Media Breakfast Club

Sarah ‘The Mauler’ Marzano 

from EMarketer

Your judges are:

Steve Biddle from Zitcha

Mark Walkin from QSIC

And your host is:

Viv Craske 

host of the Retail Media Therapy Podcast and consultant at Grace & Co

Are you ready to do battle?

Round 1 - Colin vs Claire

USA Vs the rest of the world. The USA sucks at Retail Media

Round 2 - Sarah vs Kiri

Agentic commerce: friend or foe to retail media?

The Grand Final - TBC vs TBC

Apocalypse Now: is retail media doomed?

Join the rowdiest, most debauched and most brutally honest event at NRF, and see who wins the debates and survives the insults.

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Welcome to EP33 of the Retail Media Therapy podcast with Viv Craske and Colin Lewis. Retail Media Therapy comes from Grace & Co - the marketing and commerce consultancy.

In this episode of Retail Media Therapy, the focus is on the intricacies of building a successful retail media sales team and effective strategies for maximizing revenue. The discussion reveals:

• The importance of mastering the basics

• Creating compelling sales presentations,

• The benefits of selling media packages to manage margins and simplify decision-making for clients.

The conversation also covers the critical role of sales team management, including motivation, tiering clients, and the crucial distinction between hunters and farmers in sales roles.

Stay tuned for the next episode, which will shift the focus to the buy side and the navigation of JBPs by CPGs and suppliers.

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Welcome to EP32 of the Retail Media Therapy podcast with Viv Craske and Colin Lewis. Retail Media Therapy comes from Grace & Co - the marketing and commerce consultancy.

In this special Crystal Ball Predictions for 2026 episode, Grace & Co team Michael Islip and Lucy Bugler join us to discuss:

Reflecting on 2025: Realities and Surprises

• Amazon DSP's integration of the connected TV world

• Criteo ads in Google 360.

• Slower-than-expected influx of brand budgets

• Consolidation in retail media

Predictions for 2026

Colin Lewis aka "Madam Zelda" turns the crystal ball towards the future.

• The myth of a singular, comprehensive AI solution.

• AI's integration into agencies involves strategic application rather than mass replacement.

• Creativity in retail media campaigns.

• Will Google become a major player in retail media, via AI search?

Wild and Crazy Predictions

• Could Tesco purchase ITV?

• The unlikely but exciting prospect of an Amazon and Walmart merger

• Will retai media hasten the Dead Internet Theory and agents click on retail media ads for rewards?

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Welcome to EP31 of the Retail Media Therapy podcast with Viv Craske and Colin Lewis. Retail Media Therapy comes from Grace & Co - the marketing and commerce consultancy.

In this special holiday episode, we ask the BIG questions:

• Who’s on Santa’s naughty list in Retail Media?

• What do you get the retail media network that has everything (hello Amazon and Walmart)

• Are Colin and Viv being fired?

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Welcome to EP30 of the Retail Media Therapy podcast with Viv Craske and Colin Lewis. Retail Media Therapy comes from Grace & Co - the marketing and commerce consultancy.

In this episode:

• Is Walmart really a retailer anymore and should your board stop thinking like a retailer?

• We deep dive into the huge value of in store screens and how each screen location needs to be considered differently to give suppliers the best opportunities.

• The latest from the Ascendant network event in London

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