Right now, retail media is the topic we get asked about the most here at Econsultancy. Particularly amongst our FMCG learning clients.

If you’re currently wrestling with how to make the most of the retail media opportunity, why not watch our recent webinar on the subject, now available on demand.

It’s no surprise that shopper marketing, media and ecommerce teams are still getting to grips with the subject. A look at the trade press and the announcements, launches and partnerships keep coming – whether it’s clean rooms and social advertising (e.g. Tesco and Albertsons now working with Pinterest, or Dollar General with Meta), new network launches (from the likes of Macy’s, Asos and Ubereats), new ad formats (such as Walmart exploring in-store demos and radio), more CTV tie-ups for targeting and measurement (see Best Buy and Kroger now working with Hulu) or just growth of the sector in general (eMarketer predicts Walmart ad revenue growth will outstrip Google, Meta and Amazon this year).

Breaking down silos

Retail media is a complex landscape with many challenges. Retailers are pondering the optimum level of on-site promotion and personalisation, and to what extent they may want to commoditise their first-party data for off-site targeting.

Advertisers see a number of retail media networks that often exist as walled gardens. Do they have the expertise to use self-serve solutions? How is success measured and compared between networks? What does strategy look like – at a platform level (there are omnichannel retailers, pureplay brands, q-commerce and marketplaces to consider, as well as off-site media channels), at a technology level (with partners, DSPs, clean rooms etc.) and when it comes to product portfolios, promotion calendars and shopper profiles?

Increasingly, FMCG commercial teams are needing to consider the full omnichannel retailer proposition – including negotiating terms around online promotion, not just in-store placement. So, there’s a big opportunity for these organisations to bring their sales people up to date on the retail media opportunity and ultimately develop more effective relationships with their end consumers.

As explored in Econsultancy’s Retail Media Best Practice Guide, responsibility for this new type of media might not be entirely clear in FMCG businesses. Retail media ad budgets may get drawn from digital budgets, shopper marketing, trade or traditional media.

John Ridgway, Senior Director, Ecommerce Marketing, Martech and Portfolio, PepsiCo, when interviewed for the guide, emphasised the importance of bringing teams together.

“Set yourself up for success by designing processes and workflows that can break down the silos that often exist within a company. Have that collaboration across the team, think customer journey, get everyone together and be willing to test,” he said.

A toolkit for upskilling your team

For Econsultancy members we are building a blockbuster range of resources for those organisations looking to upskill their teams on retail media (and plenty of other topics within ecommerce, data and customer experience).

Our 60-page Best Practice Guide, authored by Neil Perkin, was published last week and is packed with practical guidance on planning, execution, and measurement. It includes interviews with buy-side and sell-side specialists with experience in this field.

A 3-course retail media elearning plan within Econsultancy’s Skills Cloud platform helps  upskill at scale, with a focus on planning ad investment, and activating sponsored product and display ads (contact us to learn more).

And now launched for those that have completed the 3-course plan is a learning simulator, testing retail media instincts in an imagined scenario, to engage learners in a controlled environment, and gain feedback along the way.

 

We’ll also continue to cover the space, as we have done in recent months, in our Digital Shift webinar, articles and briefings, and at our Econsultancy Live event in November.

So, we hope you make the most of our resources in this fast-moving area, or get in touch if you want to chat with one of our analysts.