For the third March in a row, I boarded a flight from Heathrow bound for Las Vegas. Nearly 11 hours later, I stepped off the plane, nodded hello to the Sphere, and got in a taxi headed toward Mandalay Bay at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip to meet my colleagues from SMG North America.
I was headed to Shoptalk, the annual retail trade show where upwards of 10,000 people descend on Las Vegas to discuss the industry’s challenges and opportunities. While it was my third time at the conference, it was—excitingly—the first time I had been invited to speak.
That’s because this year, Shoptalk debuted The New Market stage, a track dedicated entirely to shifting consumer behaviours and the evolving ways marketers are reaching them. Retail Media is a huge part of this, obviously, as we know retailers’ first-party data and assets—both in-store and online—represent major opportunities to reach consumers, particularly at the point of purchase.
I took the stage on Thursday for a panel discussion with Adam Constantine, Founder & CEO of ACE Creatives; Molly Hop, EVP & North America Lead for Havas Market; and Joe Laszlo, Head of Insights at Shoptalk. Our topic? “The Agency of Tomorrow.”
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our industry is evolving. The truth is, agencies are no longer just about “making ads and planning media spend.” That transactional world is over. The convergence between brand media, a retailer’s own marketing, the importance of retail media to a retailer’s P&L, and the evolving role of agencies in this shift has a seismic impact on the role of an ‘agency.’ Should we even be called ‘agencies’ anymore?
Structure drives results, and what we’re seeing—especially in the US market—is a lot of silos and walls within retailers, brands, and even agencies. These silos create a world where you can’t plan holistically. Within brands, retail media teams, brand teams, and merchandising teams often aren’t talking to each other. We, as partners, must break down these own silos, as must retailers and brands, to encourage seamless planning and integration.
Ultimately, the consumer sees one thing from a brand. They don’t see different messages from different teams. To enable truly omnichannel campaign planning, organisations need to change their internal structures—starting with better communication.
It is my view (and I know not everybody’s) that the funnel is an outdated concept. We’re now always one click away from purchase, so what was once considered brand-building can now also drive sales. Just five years ago, if you wanted to drive fame, you’d book a TV slot. Today, you’re thinking about how to use first-party data to target your audience across CTV, social, and beyond. The agency of tomorrow will help brands navigate this landscape, determining which channels, or combinations of channels, best deliver on client goals.
The ingredients are all there. We can now target consumers effectively in an omnichannel way: show them a YouTube ad, engage them on social, connect as they enter the store, give them a product experience, and follow up afterwards. But what we’re not doing enough of is bringing creative minds into the conversation to think about how to use all these touchpoints to craft compelling experiences.
Therefore, why aren’t we talking more about the art of retail media? How can we create emotionally resonant experiences along this highly technical path to purchase?
This is where I see the agency of tomorrow: a client’s partner that acts as the orchestrator of seamless, engaging customer experiences. We need to break down silos within retailers’ organisations, blend technical capabilities with creative excellence, and help clients restructure their teams to enable true integration.
The opportunity is enormous. How do we build brands using retail media? That’s the question that will define the next chapter of our industry.
Thanks for having me, Shoptalk! Until next time.
