Retail Media Association

Thanks in part to the economic downturn retail media are beginning to be accepted as a real force both in terms of driving trade and improving branding. This acceptance is clearly shown in terms of spending patterns amongst many of the big CPG/FMCG companies and in the use by some of the big retailers. That said, while they are starting to be accepted by those who rely on measurement and data to decide how to apportion their budgets there is still a lot of resistance amongst those who are uncertain about trying what they view as an unproven set of media.

TV may be only measures on the say so of a few thousand households out of millions, but it has been around for long enough that people know where they stand with it. Pioneers may have a great deal of proof of efficacy but it is not generally published. What is needed is a plan. The plan should involve education, PR and innovation.

This begs the question of who should own such a plan and who benefits? The answer to who benefits should determine who will own it. Here are a few thoughts on possible benefits:
1) Retailers will benefit
Retailers are the owners of the media and so improvements in acceptance will lead to more sales for them, which can only be a benefit in the current climate.

2) The supplier base will benefit
As retail media keep the customer better informed at point of sale they inevitably lead to more sales, which will benefit the supplier base.

3) The customer will benefit
The retailer will have an interest in seeing that only advertising useful to their customers is displayed, thus benefiting the customers.

4) The innovators will benefit as their innovations will have more attention and so they will be able to make money out of moving the whole area of retail media forward.

So where are we with respect to benefits? Well it seems that everyone benefits, so no one is a clear candidate to own the necessary work. This suggests the need for an industry body funded by all players in the industry and open to everyone for membership. So far at least two of the major players in the area have expressed an interest in seeing that such a body come in to existence, so watch this space for an official announcement in the near future...

Oh, and if you have any interest in becoming involved in the nascent Retail Media Association send an email to blog at retailmedia.org and we will see it reaches the relevant ears.

P.S. The first two points of benefit are fairly standard for any effective advertising, but the third is different. Because there is benefit to the retailers in long term customer satisfaction this promotes and incentive for the media owners to act as a watch dog for the consumer. A retailer can become a trusted source for advertising and so can curb the excesses in a standard "advertising war" model. A retailer is not interested in their customers spending more over all as that will just lower their revenues down the line as the customer gets hit with interest charges and spend less with the retailer and more on paying for the money they have already spent. No, the retailer's interest is in getting the customer to spend more in their store. This means that rather than shouting ever louder in an escalating battle for space, the suppliers are forced to provide relevant offers and to help the customer as much as they can. This is a much more sustainable model and may well benefit the supplier long term, but...

But even if it doesn't, it will disadvantage the supplier not to get involved if it means that their competitors are the only ones talking to their customers.