Retail Media Breakfast Club

What happens when a retailer decides to build a retail media network, only to discover that its customer data is scattered across multiple systems, disconnected, and difficult to trust? Before they can start selling media, they may need to fix their marketing technology foundations first.
In part two of our Arming the Rebels series, I'm joined again by Anthony Rotio, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of GrowthLoop, to explore why retail media leaders are increasingly finding themselves tackling lifecycle marketing and customer data challenges before they can build their media businesses. We dig into how retailers can bring their data together, why identity resolution is often the biggest hurdle, and how a shared audience operating system can create value for both marketing teams and retail media networks.
We also discuss why retailers should think carefully about the technology partners they choose, how better customer data can help brands access more sophisticated audiences, and why the opportunity goes well beyond simply generating advertising revenue. Could fixing your marketing technology actually be the smartest first step towards building a successful retail media business?

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[00:40] – The hidden challenge facing new retail media leaders: discovering that customer data is scattered across disconnected marketing systems.
[01:54] – Anthony explains why marketing technology sprawl happens and how retailers can start bringing their customer data together.
[03:22] – Why identity resolution is often the biggest hurdle, and how retailers can turn what looks like a three-year data project into something achievable in months or quarters.
[05:22] – Why lifecycle marketing and retail media should operate from the same customer data foundation, sharing audience insights and campaign learnings.
[07:15] – How composable marketing technology is making it possible to create a shared operating layer for marketing and retail media.
[09:07] – A retailer's approach to pitching retail media internally through the value it could deliver to the marketing team first.
[10:16] – The bigger business opportunity: simplifying the technology stack, improving marketing outcomes and unlocking the high-margin growth potential of retail media.
Links & Resources
Listen to part 1: Arming The Rebels Series | Part 1 : What's Holy?
Check out GrowthLoop's new research report: The 2026 Commerce Media Investment Index
Follow Anthony Rotio, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at GrowthLoop, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Are Audiences The Golden Ticket For RMNs?
AI Is Claiming Browsing Behavior. Commerce Media Must Compete On Its Data Advantage
Does Size Matter in Retail Media? It Depends Who’s Buying

I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Amazon is the world’s third-largest digital advertising platform, and consumers actually love its ads. So why does Amazon consistently fail to make marketers’ top five preferred advertising platforms? In this episode I unpack a fascinating disconnect between consumer ad preferences and marketer perceptions, drawing on Kantar’s Media Reactions 2026 research and my recent column for The Drum.
I explore why Amazon Ads may be suffering from an identity problem, how retail media’s reputation is influencing advertiser decisions, and what Amazon needs to do to win over brand marketers beyond its traditional retail media audience. From measurement and trust to creative perceptions and agency incentives, there’s a bigger opportunity here than many marketers realize. Could Amazon actually be advertising’s best-kept secret?

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline

[00:24] – Amazon is the world's third-largest ad platform, but how do consumers and marketers actually feel about its advertising?
[01:42] – Why Amazon is missing from marketers' top five preferred advertising platforms, despite strong consumer ad equity.
[03:00] – TikTok's rapid rise in marketer trust challenges the idea that Amazon simply needs more time to build credibility.
[05:55] – Why Amazon's DSP, Prime Video and advanced measurement capabilities aren't translating into stronger marketer preference.
[07:26] – Amazon's biggest problem: being misfiled as retail media rather than a broader advertising platform.
[08:38] – How retail media's reputation for performance marketing and uninspiring creative is holding back brand investment.
[11:36] – What Amazon needs to do to win over non-endemic advertisers and turn consumer love into marketer trust.

Links & Resources
A version of this piece was published to my column at The Drum on November 3 as Why the world’s third-biggest ad platform can’t crack marketers’ top five. It is reproduced here with permission.
Read my related articles:Retail media is a creative wasteland. So what.
FTC v Amazon: Nothing Changes
Walmart’s Push For 25% Ad Spending Highlights Retail Media’s Trust Problem

Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.
I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

What should retail media networks share with brand partners, and what should they keep sacred? In this first episode of Arming the Rebels, a four-part series for retail media networks that aren't Amazon or Walmart, I'm joined by Anthony Rotio, co-founder and co-CEO of GrowthLoop, to unpack one of the biggest strategic questions facing retailers today: how do you monetize your customer relationships without compromising what makes your business special?
We get into the tension between audience monetization and customer trust, why unique retailer audiences are so valuable to advertisers, and how data governance, audience activation and lifecycle marketing can unlock new opportunities for retail media networks. We also explore what happens when retailers connect the dots across their entire customer data ecosystem, and why protecting the customer experience isn't just nice to have — it's a clear strategic advantage.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline

[00:31] – What's holy about a retailer's audience data, and how much customer access should brands actually get?
[03:45] – Why unique retailer audiences matter to media buyers and how retailers can justify incremental advertising investment.
[04:45] – Speed to first dollar: how quickly retailers can build, activate and monetize audiences.
[06:00] – Connecting retail media and lifecycle marketing to unlock richer customer insights and incremental value.
[09:10] – The surprising audience segments retailers can build using purchase behavior and contextual customer data.
[12:30] – Why retailers need guardrails around self-service audience segmentation and protecting customer privacy.
[14:45] – The Commerce Media Investment Index Report and what advertisers are looking for in retail media networks.

Links & Resources
Check out GrowthLoop's new research report: The 2026 Commerce Media Investment Index
Follow Anthony Rotio, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at GrowthLoop, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Are Audiences The Golden Ticket For RMNs?
AI Is Claiming Browsing Behavior. Commerce Media Must Compete On Its Data Advantage
Does Size Matter in Retail Media? It Depends Who’s Buying

I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

What if the biggest opportunity for advertising in AI isn't just converting shoppers who are ready to buy, but reaching them much earlier in their decision-making journey? Today I'm re-sharing the newest episode from my other podcast, AdGentic, where I was joined by Roger Dunn, Chief Commercial Officer at Thrad, to unpack why brands need to rethink how they approach advertising in AI environments.
Roger brings a fascinating perspective from his 20 years in retail media, and together we explore how advertising in AI is evolving beyond traditional search and sponsored product placements. We discuss the full-funnel opportunity for brands, the emerging formats for AI advertising, the role of retailer and personal agents, and some important questions around brand-controlled information, consumer trust, and where this rapidly evolving channel is headed.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[00:00] - Introducing Roger Dunn, and exploring why AI is opening up an entirely new frontier for retail media and advertising.
[02:38] - What advertisers get wrong about advertising in AI environments
[04:24] - Show and Tell: Why AI advertising opportunities span the full funnel
[06:33] - Why upper-funnel AI advertising could deliver greater incrementality
[08:00] - Could AI conversations shift retail media investment beyond sponsored products?
[09:33] - Who does an AI agent really work for: the shopper, retailer, or brand?
[11:00] - Why brand-controlled information and AI accuracy matter more than ever
[14:28] - What's next for sponsored agents and the evolution of AI ad formats

Links & Resources
This episode is an AdGentic interview that was published on November 3rd, reproduced with permission, originally titled Ads in AI Aren't Just for the Bottom of the Funnel.
AdGentic is part of the ReFiBuy Media Network, and you can subscribe to it wherever you best like to take in this kind of content:Substack Newsletter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Follow Roger Dunn, Chief Commercial Officer at Thrad, on LinkedIn
Roger also writes the AI Commerce Brief, an excellent weekly LinkedIn newsletter that somehow keeps up with the firehose of announcements in this space.
Thrad is an advertising infrastructure platform for conversational AI
Read my related articles:Is advertising in ChatGPT kind of mid?
Amazon is playing agentic commerce chicken. Other retailers should not.
Agentic Shopping Poses an Existential Threat to Retail Media, Part 1 and Part 2 

I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

When Liquid Death's Chief Media and Digital Commerce Officer, Benoit Vetere, says retail media will take more than half of the brand's media spend by 2027, you know he's putting some serious money behind the channel. But what's even more interesting is how he thinks about retail media's role in driving growth, winning shelf space, and getting consumers to try new products. I recently listened to Benoit on The CPG Guys podcast with Sri Rajagopalan and Peter V.S. Bond, and there were so many insights worth unpacking.
In this episode, I share six takeaways from Benoit's conversation that I think brands and retailers need to hear. I get into why even retail media's biggest believers are sticking with the major networks, how Liquid Death's brand fandom can drive shoppers into stores, what nobody has figured out about AI shopping yet, and why retail media doesn't need to be a creative showcase. Plus, I unpack what Liquid Death really wants from retail media networks, including better inventory visibility, audience activation, and stronger merchant partnerships. If you're thinking about where retail media is headed, this is a conversation worth paying attention to!

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[01:29] Why even retail media believers are prioritizing the biggest networks over smaller players.
[04:00] How Liquid Death's brand fandom can drive shoppers into retailers like Walmart for exclusive products.
[06:15] Why nobody has AI shopping figured out yet, and what brands are doing to adapt.
[08:00] Why retail media doesn't need to be a creative showcase to deliver results.
[11:15] How retail media can protect physical shelf space and help challenger brands steal market share.
[12:39] Why retail media technology matters more than retailers might realize.
[15:15] Benoit's retail media wish list: real-time inventory, audience activation, and merchant buy-in.
Links & Resources
Listen to the full CPG Guys episode with Benoit: Liquid Death's Benoit Vatere - Brand Disruption in the Agentic Age
Subscribe to The CPG Guys on Apple Podcasts and YouTube
Follow Benoit Vatere, Chief Media & Digital Commerce Officer at Liquid Death, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Retail media is a creative wasteland. So what.
Drama and deceit in the world of retail media
How Alliances Could Solve Retail Media's Fragmentation Problem (Part 1)
How RMNs & Vendors Can Market Themselves Better
Why RMNs Keep Their Tech Stacks Secret

Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episode
I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn