Emily Wilhoit

Retail media has officially moved from “emerging channel” to enterprise priority. U.S. spend alone is projected to exceed $60B in 2025 (eMarketer). And yet — many brands still approach it transactionally. Effective retail media now demands: • Sophisticated, data-driven alignment in order to leverage retail media to drive more profitable sales within existing retail channels • Cross-channel strategy across retail, programmatic and owned • Cohesive brand identity across platforms • Creative tailored for retail environments This is not media buying. This is strategic brand building at the digital shelf. Retail media isn’t an extension of the plan — it is the plan.

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"𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲" That's how Scott Brinker describes the challenge facing marketers today as AI fundamentally reshapes our industry. After mapping the martech landscape from a few hundred tools to over 15,000, Brinker has seen it all. But he's clear: "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴." 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 While we've been waiting for martech consolidation, the opposite happened. AI hasn't simplified our stack – it's created new complexity. But here's what's different: for the first time, technology is becoming easier to use even as it gets more powerful. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 "𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡'𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐰": 📈 Technology changes exponentially 📉 Businesses change logarithmically Sound familiar? That growing gap between what's possible and what we can actually implement is hitting every marketing team right now. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 The early wins aren't flashy, but they're real: ✅ 𝐁2𝐁 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬: AI agents prep sales materials, research leads, and create personalised outreach the moment leads qualify ✅ 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬: Cold email sequences, ROI calculators, and research briefs that nobody had time for before ✅ 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬: Finally breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and service 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠... Get ready for a fundamental shift. The predictable seat-based pricing we've relied on? It's giving way to consumption and outcome-based models. We'll need to forecast AI usage like IT teams forecast cloud costs. The maths isn't hard, but the mindset shift is significant. 𝐌𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮 Where are you feeling that "ferry pulling away" tension most acutely? Is it the gap between AI capabilities and your team's ability to implement them? Budget pressures from new pricing models? Or something else entirely? The opportunity is massive, but so is the risk of being left behind. The good news? You don't need to transform everything at once. Start small, align cross-functionally, and begin building the governance frameworks you'll need. Scott Brinker, Editor-in-Chief of chiefmartec and VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot. Andrew Birmingham 🕵️‍♂️ at Mi3Australia https://lnkd.in/gptJk3Vs #MarTech #AgenticAI #MarketingStrategy #DigitalTransformation #MarketingOps #AI #MarketingLeadership

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Brands must take the lead in embracing data minimization, guiding their agencies to prioritize contextual and environmental signals over invasive personal data collection. With privacy regulations tightening globally—from GDPR and LGPD to the CCPA and Maryland’s MODPA—relying on excessive data hoarding is both legally risky and not in line with what consumers want. Instead, brands should focus on signals that truly drive performance. A consumer’s interest in cooking or sports is often enough to build brand affinity and drive conversions, proving that privacy-conscious, context-driven advertising isn’t just compliant—it’s more effective. https://lnkd.in/eWPJXWMi

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Personalization isn’t about channels or platforms. It’s about giving customers what they actually want. In this episode of Here’s the Deal, I share the marketer’s checklist for data activation, from unifying your data to optimizing campaigns in real time.

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Search is shifting fast. AI chatbots/ agents are expected to cut traditional search engine use by 25% by 2026, SEO is becoming GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, or Zero Click or LMFAO (my personal fav). Our experts Bobby Knapp and Alexander Liss break down what this shift means for marketers: - AI search pulls from 6–7 sources (not just the top 3 like old-school search) - Earned media and user-generated content are more influential than ever - Content needs to match user intent AND drive action - New frameworks like llms.txt (think robots.txt, but for large language models) are emerging How ready is your brand for the GEO era? Here's an easy way to get started: Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini what they know about your brand or products. You might be surprised by what shows up (or doesn’t). Full read here: https://lnkd.in/gEZekJQ4 #AI #GEO #ContentStrategy #DigitalMarketing #SEO #ZeroClick

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