Stories from the trade marketing trenches
Short stories about the everyday problems of brands, agencies and retailers in retail media, and how to fix them.
For brands
Why are we paying twice for the same retail media adaptation?
Duplicate adaptations happen when nobody can see that the same key visual, the same products and the same size were already briefed to an agency. Paying twice is a visibility problem, not a people problem.
Why do retail media artworks need three rounds of rework?
Most rework in retail media isn't creative. It happens because the agency built the file against a spec that was wrong, out of date or never sent.
Which pack shot is the right one? Managing product images across retailers and channels
A wrong pack shot gets into market when product images live in folders and email attachments instead of being tied to the EAN of the product actually on shelf.
For agencies
What should a retail media creative brief include? An agency's checklist
A usable retail media brief gives the exact size and unit, bleed, safe area, colour profile, call to action, the master files with fonts, the pack shots, the deadline and who approves. Missing any one of them usually costs a round of rework.
Where are the open files? Why agencies lose hours before the design even starts
Before an agency can adapt a key visual it needs the master open files with linked images and fonts, plus the right pack shots. When those come scattered across email threads and drive links, the first hours of every job go on searching.
How do agencies manage 40 retail adaptations in one week?
A big retail adaptation job fails when forty touchpoints arrive as one email but are approved, chased and delivered one at a time. The agency needs to see the whole job, deliver shared files once and negotiate the deadline for everything together.
For retailers
Why do brands keep sending the wrong file size? Retail media specs that actually get used
Brands send wrong-size files because the retailer's spec reaches the agency second- or third-hand, or not at all. If the spec is published once at the source and travels with every brief, it gets followed.
The flyer goes to print Thursday: how retailers stop chasing late creative files
Retailers end up chasing late files because they can't see who is producing each sold space, what has been delivered and what is still missing until the print or go-live deadline is close.
How can retailers sell more retail media space to brands?
Mid-size retailers leave retail media revenue on the table because brands can't see what spaces exist, what they look like and when they're free. Inventory sells when it's published, specified and easy to brief.