Retail Media Breakfast Club

Last week I shared some of the hallway chatter from the RampUp conference. And in this episode, I’m emptying the rest of my notebook. One theme kept surfacing everywhere I turned: data collaboration. It wasn’t just a buzzword on stage; it was the real factor determining which retail media networks are winning brand budgets, which ones are falling behind, and who gets invited back next year.
I walk through five of the most interesting insights — from how major CPG brands are scoring retail media networks against Google and Meta, to why platforms like DoorDash are climbing rapidly in media investment priority. I also unpack the growing push for self-service tools, the surprising complexity behind ad serving infrastructure, and what makes a customer event like RampUp genuinely impactful.
If you work in retail media, brand marketing, or commerce media strategy, these observations offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the industry is evolving right now (and where the next wave of investment is headed).

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:12] – Why data collaboration was the defining theme across sessions, panels, and hallway conversations at RampUp.
[00:43] – How major CPG brands are using structured scorecards and investment matrices to rank retail media networks.
[02:37] – Inside the panel I moderated: how DoorDash moved from a small test budget to a priority media channel for brands.
[05:45] – Why CPG brands are pushing retailers toward self-service media platforms and how data access is driving that demand.
[07:30] – The hidden operational complexity of retail media networks, including why some organizations run multiple ad servers.
[09:03] – What LiveRamp’s RampUp event gets right—and why it’s becoming a blueprint for industry customer events.

Links & Resources
My RampUp hallway convo recap from last week: "We're All Holding Our Breath"
Read my related articles:Inside Mars's Retail Media Investment Matrix
Retail Media's Next Challenge: Proving Real Results
Dark Search, Broken Signals, and What Comes Next for Retail Media

Join me and Jordan Witmer from Salt XC at 11am ET Tuesday March 17, for our next LinkedIn Live on Sponsored Product Ads: shelf space or ad space?. We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!
Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Last week at the LiveRamp RampUp conference, I moderated a panel with DoorDash Ads’ Peter Giordano and Nestlé’s Nicole Lesinski. The conversation revealed something that a lot of retail media networks have been wondering about: how big CPG brands actually decide where their retail media dollars go.

In this episode, I break down Nicole’s candid explanation of how Nestlé ranks and evaluates retail media networks (using a structured grid that compares retailers not only to each other but also to giants like Google and Meta). I also unpack why measurement and incrementality are still major hurdles internally at even the largest brands, and how new testing approaches are helping teams make the case for more commerce media investment.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – I recap a panel I moderated at LiveRamp’s RampUp conference with DoorDash Ads and Nestlé’s frozen division.
[01:05] – Nestlé’s “rank and stack” approach: how the company evaluates retail media networks using a capability and scale grid.
[01:32] – Why retail media networks are actually competing with Google and Meta for budget (not just other retailers).
[02:15] – The pressure inside large CPGs to justify every media dollar with clear sales attribution.
[03:09] – DoorDash’s “ghost ads” incrementality testing method and why it matters for internal credibility.
[04:48] – How DoorDash moved from “pennies” in Nestlé’s budget to becoming a leader in their retail media investment.

Links & Resources
Follow Nicole Lesinski, Director of Ecommerce Strategy at Nestlé, on LinkedIn
Follow Peter Giordano from DoorDash Ads on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:“We’re all holding our breath” [Recap of RampUp 2026]
Brands demand retail media standards. Retailers say it's too hard. Do they kind of have a point?
Why Brands Are Building Their Own Operating Systems On Top Of Retail Media
Inside Mars's Retail Media Investment Matrix
Challenger Brands: Being Heavy On  Sponsored Products Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Join me and Jordan Witmer from Salt XC at 11am ET Tuesday March 17, for our next LinkedIn Live on Sponsored Product Ads: shelf space or ad space?. We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!
Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

In episode 2 of this four-part Agentic Commerce Expert Series (sponsored by Mirakl Ads), we explore how AI is quietly reshaping the way consumers shop online, and why that shift could fundamentally change the role of the product detail page (PDP). As more shoppers use LLMs like ChatGPT to research products before ever visiting a retailer’s site, they’re increasingly landing directly on a single product page with their decision already made. That means fewer browsing moments, fewer signals, and potentially big implications for retail media.
I’m joined once again by Amelia Van Camp, Head of Agentic Commerce at Mirakl, to unpack what this new “AI-shaped” shopping journey means for retailers and brands. We discuss why the PDP might effectively become the new homepage, how retailers can design better onsite experiences for these shortened journeys, and why tactics like sampling, loyalty programs, and smart product adjacencies could become more important than ever.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – I introduce the idea that in an AI-driven shopping journey, the product detail page may effectively become the new homepage.
[01:00] – I share my own shopping experience researching a product in ChatGPT and going straight from research to a PDP and checkout.
[02:25] – Amelia explains why retailers should rethink PDPs as “mini homepages” when traffic comes from LLMs and AI assistants.
[03:06] – We discuss designing the ideal shopper journey when a customer lands directly on a product page.
[04:27] – I talk about opportunities like upsells, sampling, and post-purchase engagement without overloading the user experience.
[05:11] – Amelia explains how shorter journeys could disrupt traditional retail media signals and why experimentation is essential.
[06:40] – We explore why loyalty programs may be making a comeback in an AI-driven commerce environment.

Links & Resources
Part 1 of this series: Discovery Has Moved Upstream. Here's What That Means for Retailers.
Download Mirakl's agentic commerce white paper: Why marketplaces & dropship platforms win in the agentic commerce era
Follow Amelia Van Camp, Head of Agentic Commerce at Mirakl, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Why OpenAI's Ad Network Should Concern RMNs
‘Dark Search’ Is Making AI-Facilitated Commerce Look Smaller Than It Really Is
While We Debate What's 'Really' Agentic, Retail Media's Foundation Is Already Shifting

Join me and Jordan Witmer from Salt XC at 11am ET Tuesday March 17, for our next LinkedIn Live on Sponsored Product Ads: shelf space or ad space?. We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!
Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Today I'm recapping a recent article I published on The Drum and digging into some of the ethical dilemmas emerging inside the retail media industry. The conversation was sparked by a very public campaign from my former boss, Jared Belsky, CEO of Acadia, challenging agencies to return media rebates to clients. If traditional media has ethical gray areas around incentives and transparency, what does the retail media version look like?
Retail media has built its reputation on transparency, performance measurement, and closed-loop attribution. But as the dollars grow and the ecosystem matures, new tensions are surfacing. I explore five ethical challenges: from brands funding their own competition to agency incentives, consulting projections, industry echo chambers, and the subtle influence of corporate hospitality. If retail media wants to maintain its reputation as the “cleaner” alternative to traditional advertising, these are the questions the industry needs to confront.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – What are the ethical dilemmas in retail media?
[01:33] – How private label products benefit from retail media systems funded by national brands.
[03:15] – How retail media deals and perks can quietly tilt the playing field toward larger agencies and brands.
[06:36] – Consultants selling the retail media dream: when hockey-stick projections collide with operational reality.
[08:30] – Industry events with retailers, consultants, and vendors, but too few brand voices.
[09:00] – Corporate hospitality and influence: from cabanas at Cannes, to the broader question of where investment should really go.

Links & Resources
My full post on The Drum: Retail media’s dirty laundry: What skeletons are hiding in the closet?
Jared Belsky in Adweek: Why I Returned Six-Figures in Media Rebates To Clients In 2025
Follow Jared Belsky, CEO of Acadia, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Whoever Owns the Budget Determines What Retail Media Is Allowed to Be
Brands demand retail media standards. Retailers say it's too hard. Do they kind of have a point?
Why Brands Are Building Their Own Operating Systems On Top Of Retail Media

Join me and Jordan Witmer from Salt XC at 11am ET Tuesday March 17, for our next LinkedIn Live on Sponsored Product Ads: shelf space or ad space?. We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!
Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

I just got back from LiveRamp’s RampUp conference, one of the most interesting gatherings in commerce media right now. If you work in retail media, data collaboration, or advertising measurement, this event has become a must-watch moment for where the industry is heading. In 2026, the big theme running through the conference halls was offsite retail media and the role of first-party data. But the real insights came from the hallway conversations.
I grabbed a few industry peers and asked them for their honest takeaways from RampUp. We talked about the AI inflection point everyone is feeling, the uncertainty around agentic AI, the real pace of disruption in retail media, and why data might still be the industry’s biggest missed opportunity. If you want a quick pulse check on how leaders across the ecosystem are thinking about what’s next, this episode gives you exactly that.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – My overview of RampUp 2026 and why first-party data and offsite retail media dominated the conversation.
[01:00] – Ian Simpson (Sensor Tower) shares why the industry feels like it’s at a strange AI inflection point, with excitement, uncertainty, and plenty of unanswered questions.
[02:15] – The vibe shift from two years ago: instead of scrambling to solve the cookie-less future, many companies now feel like they’re “holding their breath” waiting to see what happens next.
[02:45] – Sean Crawford (SMG North America) weighs in on agentic AI and why it’s unlikely to disrupt retail media or shopping behavior overnight.
[04:00] – Nicole Lesinski (Nestlé USA) talks about collaborating with partners like DoorDash and how brands are using data clean rooms to turn insights into action.
[07:00] – Praveen Menon explains how AI could eventually transform media planning, making it possible to test and execute strategies in minutes instead of days.

Links & Resources
Follow Nicole Lesinski, E-Commerce Strategy Lead, Frozen Division, Nestle USA, on LinkedIn
Follow Praveen Menon, former Senior Director of Product Management, Bridg, on LinkedIn
Follow Sean Crawford, Managing Director, SMG North America, on LinkedIn
Follow Ian Simpson, SVP of Innovation & Strategy, Sensor Tower on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Dark Search, Broken Signals, and What Comes Next for Retail Media
Why OpenAI's Ad Network Should Concern RMNs
Rufus Is Already Reshaping How Amazon Shoppers Decide

Join me and Jordan Witmer from Salt XC at 11am ET Tuesday March 17, for our next LinkedIn Live on Sponsored Product Ads: shelf space or ad space?. We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!
Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn