Retail Media’s Growing Clout Isn’t Making Everyone Happy
A ton has been written about just how big retail media has gotten, and how quickly spending has grown. Well, not everyone in advertising is always happy when a relatively new sector starts throwing its weight around.
Not only are retailers using their own shelf space as leverage in selling retail media ad space, but now retail media budgets are starting to impact how agency reviews are handled - and what decisions ultimately get made. According to Ad Age, not everyone is thrilled.
Reviews have already become complicated by the fact that some of the biggest ad-selling streamers are also massive media spenders as well (see this Variety report). Now, how much agencies spend with a particular RMN can also impact what accounts they might win. It’s not ideal, but it’s also not clear what would remedy the situation. Years ago, media agencies use to maintain conflict shops (remember Maxus?). Maybe it’s time that this concept was reintroduced in a more modern way?
In the meantime, retail media spending just keeps humming along. At the Smartly Advance event in New York on Wednesday, several executives predicted that it could soon account for 20-25% of all digital media dollars. So the power of these new media entrants is only going to swell.
Other News:
Inside agency review backroom dealmaking—why retail media commitments are creating tension -Lindsay Rittenhouse [Ad Age]
Amazon Wields New Influence in TV’s Upfront Sales Haggle Through Massive Media Account Review - Brian Steinberg [Variety]
There’s a point of diminishing returns’: Why retail media’s reckoning is said to be on the horizon - Kimeko McCoy [Digiday]
In-Store Retail Media: Definitions and Measurement Standards [IAB]
Instacart focuses on diversifying tech, brand partners to fuel growth - Catherine Douglas Moran [Retail Dive]
