Last week, I had a great time catching up with friends old and new at the Path to Purchase Institute’s Retail Media Summit in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. Retail and commerce media is a fast-evolving space, and events like Retail Media Summit allow us to come together to celebrate wins and discuss still-to-be-made areas of progress and growth.
The sessions were packed with insights (special shoutout to the Hello Products/ Happy Products session), and it was great to hear perspectives from both brands and retailers. But one thing stood out across the board: brands and retailers are still struggling to speak the same language.
Marissa Jarratt, EVP and Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer at 7-Eleven, put it perfectly when she shared how much of the work behind Gulp Media, 7-Eleven’s retail media network, is about educating brands on what works an what’s actually possible.
I overheard the same sentiment multiple times throughout my time in Chicago, both on stage and from conversations during networking breaks. Brands need education on what’s possible, and it’s up to retailers to take a collaborative approach at every step of the process.
Some RMNs are already doing a great job here, building customer-focused, insight-led campaigns that really deliver for brands. But others are clearly struggling. There were moments where the disconnect between what a brand needs and what a retailer is offering was pretty stark.
In-store marketing remains a huge opportunity. Over 80% of sales still happen in-store, but too often, brands don’t fully understand how to tap into this part of the RMN offering. Whether it’s confusion around measurement (“we always track linked sales—how do we do that in-store?”) or skepticism about certain formats (“how does an 8-second audio spot drive sales?”), there’s work to be done building out holistic, connected commerce campaigns.
When retailers properly communicate with brands, retail media magic happens. SMG operates Boots Media Group in partnership with Walgreens Boots, the top health and beauty retailer in the UK. In response to the rise of “dupe” culture, BMG and Estée Lauder Companies launched an insight-led campaign to reignite brand loyalty. Using Boots’ first-party data, they identified that shoppers were trading down but still valued ELC’s quality. The campaign leaned into this “boomerang brand” insight, reminding shoppers of the power of premium. The ‘BeaUty Days’ activation put customers at the heart of a bold omnichannel campaign across 26 touchpoints. With influencer partnerships and a digital store takeover, the campaign delivered 50 million impressions and a double-digit sales uplift—over half from new or lapsed shoppers—securing great feedback and a second brief from ELC.
When retailers prioritize innovation and communication, repeat investment from brands follows.
Marketing isn’t getting any simpler. Brands need guidance from their agencies, their RMNs, or industry experts. Retail media shouldn’t be just another headache to manage. If RMNs want to unlock bigger budgets and drive real growth, they need to act like true media partners. That means giving brands smart advice on channels, creative, and strategy, not just selling ad space.
Because if the value proposition isn’t clear, brands will spend their dollars somewhere else.
How SMG can help
As pioneers in connected commerce for 16+ years, SMG has partnered with dozens of major retailers across verticals and countless global brands to drive profitability and shopper engagement.
SMG helps retailers become media owners through consultancy, white-label services, and technology. Our consultants evaluate Media Networks and provide data-driven acceleration plans. Our white-label service embeds experts within retailers to build and optimize Media Networks. Plan-Apps, SMG’s commerce media operating system, optimizes media orchestration, performance, and measurement for retailers and their advertisers.
