Perspectives: Not all media is created equal; particularly Retail Media.
Cartology launches new planning tool to optimise data-led Retail Media planning at pace
Tony Prentice, Cartology
2024 was the year that I came into the world of Retail and more specifically Retail Media and it is unlike any media business that I’ve been a part of. As the year draws to a close, I’m staring straight into 2025 and unsurprisingly the big thing on my mind is how we continue to elevate Retail Media effectiveness for brands.
In 2024 in media, the cookie crumbled, then it didn't. Effectiveness was (and still is) the term on every media professional's lips. The advertising landscape became more fragmented than before, and seemingly, everyone became a Retail Media player. It was a year of plenty of momentum and market change. But what's always been at the heart of that change, and the value that is so unique to Retail Media is Customers.
Media connects with customers, but let's be clear - not all media is created equal. If we look at some of the big challenges that have consumed advertisers in 2024, the centrepoint has been customers and in particular how the challenging economic environment has impacted customer behaviour.
Before I came into this world, it was a bit of a head scratcher as to why Retail Media was bucking all of the advertising trends. But now on the inside, it’s really clear to me. Retail Media is search, social, BVOD, point of sale, retail out of home, digital and more. It is the power of all mediums underpinned by a customer franchise, with end to end measurement like it’s not been experienced before.
So where does that take us for 2025 with Retail Media expected to continue its surging growth and customers in the driving seat?
The customer centric nature of Retail Media will continue to drive its momentum, fuelling significant uptake worldwide. I recently spent three days at Grocery Shop - a global grocery conference in Las Vegas, talking and hearing from our global counterparts, tech partners and brands and the opportunity for Retail Media was really clear. There were a few really prominent themes that shouldn’t stay in Vegas that I’ve got a take on:
Measured not modelled
There is a consistent appetite for Retail Media effectiveness that isn’t going away. Brands want to know what they’re getting and want proof that it works, tying back to their overall marketing plans and building a case for future investment. They want proof that Retail Media is unlike any other media.
And it is, the difference being, with Retail Media, we’re not focussed on modelling what might happen, we’re pushing a measured approach based on what actually happens, with both campaigns and critically, with customers.
Retail Media can demonstrate the results that brands can achieve, and without plugging it too much, we’ve seen a new level of effectiveness come through in our Campaign of the Year Awards delivering anywhere from +21% increase in total sales year on year and +42% growth in online sales to +34% new-to-brand customers and 40% repeat purchase rate.
In 2025, measurement is set to go deeper as Retail Media networks globally focus on meeting those brand needs. But it isn’t about Retail Media providers handing over a pool of datapoints on campaign effectiveness. It’s about identifying the right datapoints that will shift the dial for brands. It’s about measuring what really matters and generating rich insights. Quality over quantity. Taking the datapoints we have to measure campaign success and turn into deep insight for informed future planning. That’s where we’re going to see Retail Media at its best. Used to target, inform, measure and optimise and making it really clear and easy for brands to see the impact of their investment. And it starts with measuring what’s actually happening, not modelling what might.
Proliferation and fragmentation
What we’re experiencing now with customer behaviour and more specifically, media consumption is that there is an ongoing challenge for brands in how to connect with customers, where to connect and the role of channels as customers have so many different media platforms in play.
In the US, the Retail Media market to date has been largely digital and has seen massive proliferation, with brands on the receiving end of the challenge to buy across platforms. When Cartology was established, it started with our physical footprint, our stores, and then connected the journey online and now, the Australian market is really ahead of any other market in its omnichannel offering.
Not too dissimilar to the US, we’re seeing a lot of new players come into the space and together, we have a duty to take brands on the Retail Media journey and continue to educate them on the role of Retail Media as a channel in its own right. No matter what market you operate in, with the space changing so rapidly, there’s an ongoing need to ensure brands have the confidence they need to maximise the platform through a deep understanding of customers and capabilities. The future belongs to those who can navigate this complex landscape with precision and clear objectives.
Retail Media is no longer a bottom of the funnel solution
The Retail Media space of 2025 encompasses all platforms from social to audio, BVOD to Out of Home, and in-store to online stores and we will continue to see the blurred lines of the marketing funnel as brands connect end to end across these platforms with their target customers. The right Retail Media platform can blur that line, achieving the holy grail of brand and trade happening in concert with each other. We heard it at Grocery Shop with global FMCG brands quick to note that Retail Media is now recognised as a full-funnel, multi-channel solution for brands and for Cartology in particular, we’ll be heavily leaning into the full funnel focus in 2025, connecting brands end to end like we’ve never done before.
2025 will continue to be led by the customer and Retail Media will work harder than ever to connect brands to the right customers.
But what am I most energised about? I’m excited to sit in the room with our clients - sales and marketing - together, talking about the challenges that Retail Media can solve. Media owners have been trying to blur the line forever and nobody has been able to do it well. But Retail Media will.