Inside Fashion Marketing by Zalando Marketing Services

Zalando Marketing Services GmbH
  • 4.5 (2)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Biweekly

Retail media isn’t just an option—it’s the driving force behind brand growth. As the landscape evolves, brands must go beyond reach and clicks to create real customer connections. Content-driven commerce is on the rise, blending inspiration, entertainment, and shoppable moments to shape the love brands of tomorrow through customer-centric marketing. Join Heike Lari, Director Partner Marketing & Consultancy, as she shares insights from partners and internal experts—while also exploring collaborations beyond Zalando. Tune in for bite-sized insights on how to future-proof your retail media strategy and drive lasting success–brought to you by Zalando Partner Marketing Services, Zalando’s 360-degree marketing unit. Find us at https://partner.zalando.com/services/marketing

  1. Jun 25

    The future of retail media tech: AI, agentic commerce, and first-party data at Zalando

    In this episode of *Inside Fashion Marketing*, you will discover exactly how artificial intelligence, advanced self-service platforms, and robust first-party data are transforming modern retail media from basic sponsored product listings into a powerful, full-funnel e-commerce growth engine. Host Heike Lari (Director Partner Marketing and Consultancy at Zalando Partner Marketing Services) sits down for a fascinating chat with Diaa Abdallah, VP Tech at ZMS, live from the e-commerce and retail tech hub of Berlin, Germany. Together, they pull back the curtain on how Zalando builds its innovative marketing technology entirely in-house to serve brands across Europe. Diaa brings over a decade of performance optimization and audience targeting experience from his time at Amazon to explain how ZMS slices and dices data from 53 million active customers to deliver highly personalized ad experiences. The duo dives deep into the tangible tools empowering brands today, ranging from flexible MaxCPC steering controls for premium products to cutting-edge AI features that generate creative assets in seconds. They also tackle the massive macro shifts impacting the global marketing landscape, exploring the rise of agentic commerce, off-site AI integrations (like ChatGPT ads), and how retailers are securely guarding their data while building conversational tools like the Zalando Assistant. Whether you are looking to maximize your short-term Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) or understand the downstream impact of long-term brand awareness campaigns, this episode provides a comprehensive playbook for the future of digital commerce. Key Takeaways From This Episode: **In-House Tech & Self-Service Innovation:** Learn why ZMS relies on entirely proprietary, in-house engineering to build highly intuitive self-service tools that give brands ultimate campaign flexibility. **Granular Control via MaxCPC:** Discover how automated algorithms work hand-in-hand with manual controls, allowing brands to adjust what they pay per click based on whether a product is a premium item or a discounted asset. **Unlocking First-Party Data safely:** Understand how millions of daily customer transactions and page views are utilized to build highly tailored audience segments, resulting in significantly higher click-through rates (CTR) and campaign performance. **The Rise of Agentic Commerce:** Diaa shares his expert view on the dual trend of AI commerce, integrating off-site with popular AI platforms while enhancing internal, conversational shopping experiences. **Bridging Digital Tech with Real-World Experiences:** Discover how ZMS transcends traditional retail media by connecting online campaign tech with physical event spaces to build comprehensive, end-to-end consumer memories. **The ZMS "Steerco" Culture:** An inside look at Zalando's collaborative internal environment in Germany, which focuses on inclusion, team consensus, and empowering individual engineers to rapidly prototype natural-language data solutions. **Explore Zalando Partner Marketing Services:** https://partner.zalando.com/services/marketing

  2. Apr 30

    From Inspiration to “I do”: How Pinterest turns trends into real-world events

    Pinterest turns wedding inspiration into real-world impact - blending cultural insight, creativity, and commerce.

    From Inspiration to “I do”: How Pinterest turns trends into real-world events

  3. Mar 12

    How Karl Lagerfeld x Paris Hilton achieved a 123% sales uplift

    What happens when a heritage brand meets a cultural phenomenon?

    How Karl Lagerfeld x Paris Hilton achieved a 123% sales uplift

  4. Feb 26

    The 2026 retail media playbook

    Retail Media is everywhere. But the basics? Often blurred. In this season opener, Heike Lari breaks retail media down to its core. What it is, who it’s for, and why it’s a full-funnel growth engine, not just a lower-funnel sales tool. From ROI vs. ROAS to awareness, consideration, and conversion - this episode gives you the shared language and KPI clarity every brand needs. Check out our website for more insights.

    The 2026 retail media playbook

  5. 12/18/2025

    Kiri Masters on what’s next in retail media: US vs. Europe & the 2026 edge

    Tune in to our last episode of the 2025 season to hear Kiri Masters - retail media industry expert, columnist, and podcast host of "The Retail Media Breakfast Club" - discuss all things retail media with us. Heike and Kiri talk about what has changed in the past year in the retail media sphere, what we might see coming in 2026, and differences between the US and Europe.

    Kiri Masters on what’s next in retail media: US vs. Europe & the 2026 edge

  6. 12/04/2025

    Crocs on turning entertainment into engagement at every touchpoint

    Crocs and ZMS turn inspiration into impact - fusing cultural pulse, bold storytelling, and live moments at our Brand Experience Hub. Dive in with Yann Le Bozec, Group VP & Head of Marketing at Crocs, as he reveals how entertainment-led campaigns spark true connections and scale brand love. The most recent example he brings: Their collaboration with The Elevator Boys.

    Crocs on turning entertainment into engagement at every touchpoint

  7. 10/23/2025

    Unlocking next-gen growth with AI-powered retail media and Google

    Join us for a landmark episode as ZMS welcomes its first ever media partner on the show, Dr. Jannika Bock, Managing Director Retail at Google Germany! She joins our host Heike Lari to unpack how the ZMS-Google collaboration is supercharging growth for fashion and beauty brands. This conversation decodes the new era of AI-powered full-funnel activation, covering how they master the complex path from YouTube awareness to on-site conversion. Tune in to see how combining ZMS's customer insights with Google's powerful AI creates smarter, more effective off-site campaigns.

    Unlocking next-gen growth with AI-powered retail media and Google

  8. 07/24/2025

    ZMS turns 10: A decade of retail media innovation

    Step into a decade of transformation with Joanna Rogers, Managing Director of Zalando Marketing Services, and Andreas Antrup, former ZMS MD and host of this podcast, and now MD Zalando China, as they join Heike Lari to celebrate 10 groundbreaking years of ZMS. From sketching Sponsored Products on a whiteboard to leading full-funnel, insight-driven campaigns for over 50 million customers - this episode unpacks how ZMS grew into a powerhouse of retail media innovation, cultural creativity, and customer-centric storytelling.

    ZMS turns 10: A decade of retail media innovation
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Retail media isn’t just an option—it’s the driving force behind brand growth. As the landscape evolves, brands must go beyond reach and clicks to create real customer connections. Content-driven commerce is on the rise, blending inspiration, entertainment, and shoppable moments to shape the love brands of tomorrow through customer-centric marketing. Join Heike Lari, Director Partner Marketing & Consultancy, as she shares insights from partners and internal experts—while also exploring collaborations beyond Zalando. Tune in for bite-sized insights on how to future-proof your retail media strategy and drive lasting success–brought to you by Zalando Partner Marketing Services, Zalando’s 360-degree marketing unit. Find us at https://partner.zalando.com/services/marketing

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