Retail Media Breakfast Club

Kiri Masters
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Daily

10 minutes of expert insights every weekday. Your morning ritual for staying ahead in retail media.

  1. 1d ago

    The UK Takes A Run At Retail Media Aggregation

    Retail media has a fragmentation problem. We have better dashboards, better reporting, and better measurement than we did a few years ago. But media buyers are still being asked to navigate an ever-growing number of retail media networks and walled gardens. In this episode, I look at what’s happening in the UK, where two major retail media aggregation plays launched over the summer: RMX by Plan-Apps from SMG and the dunnhumby network alliance, involving Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis and Waitrose. I also share snippets of a conversation from the Retail Media Therapy podcast with Co-op Media Network’s Dean Harris about why these platforms are emerging now, and why the real driver may have less to do with retailers wanting to collaborate and more to do with what advertisers and agencies increasingly expect. But there’s a bigger question underneath all of this: what is retail media aggregation actually for? Is the value simply having one place to buy across multiple networks, or is it about being able to reach a particular audience in one place? And if competing retailers put their audiences into the same marketplace, do we risk turning retail media audiences into commodities and pushing CPMs down, just as programmatic advertising did to publisher audiences? That tension could determine whether retail media aggregation becomes a genuine solution to fragmentation or creates an entirely new set of problems for retailers. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [00:00] - Why retail media federations have suddenly become a much bigger story in the UK [01:35] - Dean Harris on the advertiser pressures driving retail media aggregation [03:18] - Why media buyers increasingly want simplicity, not another retail media platform [04:49] - The real value of aggregation: buying audiences across an entire retail sector [07:17] - The programmatic lesson: could retail media aggregation drive CPMs down? [08:19] - The strategic risks retailers need to consider before joining an aggregator [10:04] - What the publishing industry's history can teach us about retail media consolidation Links & Resources Listen to the full Dean Harris episode of Retail Media Therapy with Viv Craske and Colin Lewis.Subscribe to Retail Media TherapyFollow Dean Harris, Head of Co-op Media Network, on LinkedInRead my related articles:How Alliances Could Solve Retail Media's Fragmentation ProblemMeet The First Retail Media Federations & ConsortiumsWhat It Actually Takes to Build a Retail Media FederationCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episodeI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    The UK Takes A Run At Retail Media Aggregation

  2. 2d ago

    Trip Report: Retail & Commerce Media Activations in Australia

    After living outside Australia for around 15 years, I’m experiencing retail and shopping here with fresh eyes. And one thing that has really caught my attention is just how much retail media is showing up in the physical world. In this first Trip Report, I’m taking you on a quick tour of six retail and commerce media activations I spotted around Perth. From Commonwealth Bank and Coles, to JB Hi-Fi, David Jones, Australia Post and digital out-of-home media in shopping centres. This isn’t about declaring one market “better” than another. Instead, I’m looking at what’s happening on the ground and using it as a source of inspiration for what’s possible in retail media around the world. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [02:22] - Why I’m starting these retail media trip reports, and why the goal is inspiration, not declaring one market better than another [03:08] - Commonwealth Bank’s surprisingly expansive retail media network, spanning branches, ATMs, its app and its Brighter magazine [05:14] - How Coles 360 is using in-store screens, loyalty data and programmatic capabilities to make physical retail media more measurable [06:15] - JB Hi-Fi’s transition from screens used for product demos to a more sophisticated, programmatic retail media network [09:06] - David Jones’ Amplify network and the use of AI cameras to track views and dwell time [10:00] - Australia Post turns parcel pickup infrastructure into an advertising opportunity, including a clever Vinted integration [12:00] - The scale of digital out-of-home media inside Australian shopping centres and how local screens connect to a national network Links & Resources Retail media in Australia was worth just over $2 billion AUD in FY25oOh!media operates Australia's largest retail out-of-home network, reaching ~43% of all footfall in the country and covering venues that capture ~46c of every retail dollar spent in shopping centres.The outgoing Managing Director of Unified Retail Media at Epsilon, Adam Skinner, wrote a farewell post on LinkedIn last week, recounting the various eras he has lived through in his retail media career starting at the early days of CitrusAd.Read my related articles:In-Store Retail Media Evolved Differently in Europe. Here's Why.Did we overcook in-store retail media measurement?The retailer magazine: commerce media's most defensible surface?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: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    Trip Report: Retail & Commerce Media Activations in Australia

  3. 3d ago

    Ace Hardware's RMN Upfront Home Run

    Last Thursday, Ace Hardware took over Wrigley Field in Chicago for the first upfront from Redvest Media, its roughly year-old retail media network. I wasn’t there myself, so I called my friend Tom Limongello, host of The Middlemen Podcast, who was on the ground. I wanted to know what was happening beyond the press releases: who Ace put on stage, what the retailer was really trying to communicate, and what advertisers were saying afterwards. We dig into what Ace’s executive lineup reveals about the growing integration of retail media with the broader business, why audience innovation and weather targeting matter to Ace’s advertisers, and how partnerships like DoorDash are helping the retailer reach new customers. We also talk about why retail media networks may need to think differently about upfronts, vendor days and industry events — and why creating an experience that makes advertisers want to believe in the retailer could be a powerful part of the pitch. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [01:29] - How Ace is integrating retail media with merchandising and the broader business [03:21] - Why Redvest’s new brand and custom audience capabilities could enable better test-and-learn [04:31] - The message behind Ace’s executive presence and its growth investment [07:00] - Why advertiser trust is becoming critical for a newer retail media network [09:21] - Why weather targeting suddenly matters to Ace’s advertisers [12:00] - How DoorDash is helping Ace reach new customers, particularly Gen Z [14:30] - Why Wrigley Field may be a smarter retail media pitch than another industry conference Links & Resources Check out The Middlemen's interview with Ace Hardware's Molly Hjelm: When Campaign Results Aren't Enough — Molly Hjelm, RedVest MediaSubscribe to The MiddlemenFollow Tom Limongello, host of The Middlemen Podcast, on LinkedInFollow Molly Hjelm, Corporate Vice President and Head of Retail Media at Ace Hardware, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Ace Hardware's RedVest Media: Notes From My Interview With Molly HjelmIs Retail Media Kidding Itself?Bring the "Retail" back to Retail MediaCheck 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: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    Ace Hardware's RMN Upfront Home Run

  4. 4d ago

    Is Retail Media Kidding Itself?

    Are retail media networks trying too hard to become media companies? In this episode, I’m sharing a thought-provoking piece from Mike Shields of Next in Media that asks whether the industry’s push toward off-site, full-funnel media is actually the right strategy for most retailers. Plus the tension between putting the “retail” back into retail media and chasing bigger brand budgets through CTV, DSPs and the open web. I also share some of my own thoughts on where retail media is heading, including the very different economics of on-site versus off-site advertising, why brands are demanding more measurement than the industry may be able to provide, and whether closed-loop attribution is sometimes creating more problems than it solves. If you’re thinking about the future of retail media networks, this is a debate worth paying attention to. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [00:43] - Why retail media’s off-platform push is really about accessing bigger brand budgets [02:00] - The debate over whether retail media networks should become full-fledged media companies [03:15] - Why “putting the retail back in retail media” is such a provocative idea [04:20] - The case for making specialist retailer data actionable beyond the retailer’s own ecosystem [06:24] - My thoughts on the different economics of on-site and off-site retail media [08:06] - Why the industry’s obsession with measurement may be creating a prison of its own making [09:18] - The attribution problem: when retail media sales add up to more than the brand’s actual P&L Links & Resources Check out Mike Shields' original piece hereSubscribe to Next in Media by Mike Shields, a newsletter and podcast covering the media and advertising business.Follow Mike Shields, founder of Next in Media, on LinkedInThe Trade Desk: The retail media guide for off-site growthListen to Molly Hjelm, corporate Vice President and General Manager of RedVest Media at Ace Hardware, on this week’s episode of Next in Media. Read my related articles:Whoever Owns the Budget Determines What Retail Media Is Allowed to BeHow Can RMNs Tap Upper-Funnel Brand BudgetsRetail Media's Measurement Problem: It's Not Just the RetailersRetail Media Buyers Say They Want Transparency, Then Ask for ROAS'Not 100% altruistic': ad measurement veteran on what retail media is really optimizing forI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    Is Retail Media Kidding Itself?

  5. Aug 27

    Here’s where Amazon is spending its own advertising budget

    Amazon already captures roughly 40% of every dollar spent online in the US, yet it continues to grow at an impressive pace. So I wanted to look at a question we don't hear nearly enough: where does Amazon spend its own advertising money? Because while Amazon gives brands advertising recommendations every day, I think its own media plan may be the more interesting lesson. In this recap of my recent article for The Drum, I dug into three years of Sensor Tower data to see where Amazon is putting its advertising dollars, which channels are getting the biggest investment, and how its mix is changing. I also look at the shift from desktop display to video, why Amazon is willing to pay more for potentially fewer impressions, and what advertisers can learn from the company's approach to emerging channels. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [02:09] - Breaking down Amazon's $2.7 billion US advertising spend in 2025 [03:54] - Why Amazon's media plan looks surprisingly conventional [07:23] - How Amazon can measure Meta impressions against actual Amazon purchases [08:00] - What Amazon is actually advertising, from AWS and Prime to devices and the retail store [09:10] - The striking gap between Amazon's rising ad spend and relatively flat impression growth [10:20] - Why Amazon is shifting dramatically from desktop display into video [12:15] - The three habits I see in Amazon's media buying strategy Links & Resources Read my full article on The Drum: The best advertising advice Amazon gives isn't in a slide deckCheck out Sensor Tower, who measure the full digital consumer journey, from mobile apps to web, ads, gaming, and beyond.Follow Ross Walker, Head of Retail Media @ Acadia, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Have Retailers Lost Discovery to AI for Good?Some Retailers Want to Power Other Retailers' Ad Businesses. Will It work?Amazon Q2 Earnings: What Industry Experts Say About Power Buying, Ad Overload, and AI ThreatsCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episodeI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    Here’s where Amazon is spending its own advertising budget

  6. Aug 26

    The Revenge Of The Catalog Team (Amazon Sponsored Prompts, Part 2)

    Advertising has always been the glamorous side of ecommerce, while product catalog maintenance, reviews, inventory, and other operational work have often been underfunded. But with Amazon’s Sponsored Prompts, that relationship is changing dramatically. This is Part 2 of my Sponsored Prompts series (check out Park 1 here), I’m digging into why your advertising account is now downstream of everything happening in your operations, and why content is no longer just an input to your ads; it is the ad.  I’m also taking a closer look at product reviews, reporting limitations, bidding, and what Sponsored Prompts could ultimately mean for retail media teams. There are some legitimate concerns here, particularly around review manipulation and transparency, but I also see a fascinating upside: Sponsored Prompts could become a surprisingly powerful form of consumer research, as they could reveal the questions, objections, and selling points that actually convert. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [01:37] - Why your advertising account is now downstream of operations, including inventory, reviews, commercial terms, and product content.  [03:18] - How Sponsored Prompts turns product content and backend inputs into the ad itself.  [05:13] - Why fake and manipulated product reviews could become an even bigger problem when reviews are effectively being used as paid ad copy.  [09:26] - Amazon advertising: bidding still works the same way, but advertisers now have less leverage at the auction level.  [10:15] - Why Sponsored Prompts reporting is still surprisingly basic, and what Amazon’s slow rollout might tell us about the ad format.  [12:49] - The unexpected upside: how Sponsored Prompts could uncover consumer questions and selling points that brands didn't realize they were underselling. Links & Resources Check out Part 1 of my Amazon Sponsored Prompts series: Billed for the Ad Before the Ad Exists: Amazon Sponsored PromptsLadi Fagbola, an ecommerce account director at the agency Monks, articulated a cool follow-up from my post this weekFollow Ladi Fagbola on LinkedInRead my related articles:Billed for the Ad Before the Ad Exists: Amazon Sponsored PromptsWhat it means for retail media when AI chat has only 2 ad slotsAmazon Unboxed 2025: Key Announcements & Takeaways for Brand AdvertisersRetailer AI Assistants: Are Shoppers Actually Using Them?Walmart's Sparky AI Assistant: A Late Mover with Early PromiseCheck 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: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    The Revenge Of The Catalog Team (Amazon Sponsored Prompts, Part 2)

  7. Aug 25

    This Agency Abandoned MTA, Here's Why

    There’s a particular kind of vertigo that comes from watching a podcast you started get better without you. I launched the Ecommerce Braintrust podcast back in 2017, and while I’m no longer running it, I still listen because the team at Acadia is in the trenches every day doing the work. A recent conversation between my old Acadia colleagues on measurement really got me thinking about a question I hear from brands all the time: if every advertising platform says it’s winning, why don’t the business results reflect that? When Meta, Google, Amazon and retail media networks all claim credit for conversions, the numbers can quickly become impossible to reconcile. In this episode, I share snippets from a recent Ecommerce Braintrust episode that dig into the idea of “engine inflation,” why multi-touch attribution is struggling in 2026, and what brands should be using instead to understand what is actually driving incremental growth. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [00:00] - The measurement problem every advertiser is wrestling with: when every platform claims to be winning, why don't the business results add up?[01:45] - Introducing “engine inflation” and why platform-reported revenue can exceed actual business revenue.[03:56] - Why multi-touch attribution isn't coming to save us and why Acadia has moved away from MTA.[04:52] - The three-pillar measurement framework: media mix modeling, incrementality testing, and platform optimization.[06:15] - Why the growth of retail media networks makes a holistic view of total media spend increasingly important.[08:34] - Why measuring Amazon and Walmart simply by retail media network and ad type can produce the wrong conclusions.[09:46] - How defensive branded search can look incredibly efficient while doing very little to drive incremental growth. Links & Resources Listen to the full Ecommerce Braintrust episode: The 2026 Measurement Crisis: Why Your Media Efficiency is Probably a Lie With Sally Kazin and Ross Walker - Episode 438Subscribe to Ecommerce Braintrust on Apple PodcastsFollow Sally Kazin, Head of Analytics @ Acadia, on LinkedInFollow Ross Walker, Head of Retail Media @ Acadia, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Retail Media's Measurement Problem: It's Not Just the Retailers'Not 100% altruistic': ad measurement veteran on what retail media is really optimizing forAs Retail Media Spending Soars, Brands Face A Measurement CrisisThe Other Side of the Story: Why Retailers Struggle with Media Measurement & StandardizationCheck 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: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    This Agency Abandoned MTA, Here's Why

  8. Aug 24

    Billed For The Ad Before The Ad Exists: Amazon Sponsored Prompts

    When Amazon unveiled Sponsored Prompts at Unboxed, I initially dismissed them as a clever but relatively minor addition to Alexa Shopping. But after digging into Andrew Bell's deep analysis of the underlying patent, I realized this format represents something much bigger and potentially far more disruptive. In this episode, I unpack why Amazon's new AI-powered ad format flips decades of digital advertising on its head by charging advertisers before the persuasive content is even generated! I explore what that means for brands, legal teams, product claims, customer reviews, and the future of retail media. This is Part 1 of a two-part series examining one of the most important shifts in AI advertising that brands should already be paying attention to. This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop Timeline [00:15] Why Amazon Sponsored Prompts seemed simple and why I completely underestimated their impact. [01:30] How Sponsored Prompts fundamentally reverse the traditional advertising model. [03:18] Why Amazon's "charge first, generate later" approach is unlike Google's dynamic advertising. [05:15] The legal and brand risks of AI-generated answers built from reviews and Amazon's own data. [06:00] Why advertisers may be shifting from buying attention to influencing AI-generated persuasion. [08:22] Is Sponsored Prompts the future of AI advertising or just an experiment? Links & Resources Last week, Andrew Bell did a massive deep dive into the patent behind Sponsored Prompts which changed my thinking about how they will work (Disclosure: Bell is VP of Research at ReFiBuy, a company I advise).Read my related articles:Amazon Unboxed 2025: Key Announcements & Takeaways for Brand AdvertisersRetailer AI Assistants: Are Shoppers Actually Using Them?Walmart's Sparky AI Assistant: A Late Mover with Early PromiseI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

    Billed For The Ad Before The Ad Exists: Amazon Sponsored Prompts
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About

10 minutes of expert insights every weekday. Your morning ritual for staying ahead in retail media.

Information

  • Creator
    Kiri Masters
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    303
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Kiri Masters
  • Show Website
    Retail Media Breakfast Club

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