Agility versus scale: navigating retail media challenges with SMG

Agility versus scale: navigating retail media challenges with SMG

In this episode, Ollie Shayer, fresh to his role as SMG’s senior director of global strategy and innovation talks to Colin Lewis from Internet Retailing about the tension between agility and scale in retail media – and the opportunities it can present.  Many larger, omnichannel retailers enjoy massive shopper reach but can face legacy and structural barriers to innovation. Smaller, more agile pureplays can be more flexible, but lack the scale. Ollie unpacks what these contrasting models mean for media innovation, customer experience and brand partnerships, as well as the white spaces to explore and what brands should expect from an agile versus scaled RMN.

Beyond ROAS: the holistic approach to measuring retail media impact

Colin Lewis from Internet Retailing is joined by Marie-Clare Puffett, Industry Development & Insights Director, IAB Europe and Bianca Hall, senior insight director at SMG to explore why ROAS alone isn’t enough to capture the full impact of retail media.  Delving into the importance of measuring incremental sales and long-term brand-building efforts, our podcasters explore what other KPIs need to be measured, how customer lifetime value (CLV) should be considered in the broader strategy for growing brand loyalty and consumer retention – and how the time is now for retail media to be considered part of the wider media mix for marketers.

Adapt or be left behind: why agencies must embrace retail media now with Omnicom Media Group

Retail media is rewriting the rules of brand engagement -– and agencies that fail to evolve risk irrelevance. In this episode, Colin Lewis from Internet Retailing is joined by Prateek Gupta, MD ecommerce and retail media at Omnicom Media Group and Uche Ofili, director of agency relationships at SMG who issue a clear call to action: agencies must move beyond traditional media buying and embed themselves in the commerce-driven future.  Together they explore why many agencies are lagging behind, the consequences of staying passive and how those who invest in retail media capabilities – from measurement to creative to tech and omnichannel implementation are gaining a strategic edge. This is a frank look at the fork in the road: lead the retail media.

Future Trends: the deepening role of AI and automation in retail media with Ocado

In this episode, Jack Johnson, head of retail media and data at Ocado and Katie Streeter Hurle, SMG’s chief strategy officer, join Colin Lewis from Internet Retailing to uncover how AI and automation continue to transform the retail media ecosystem – from campaign delivery to personalisation at scale and beyond.  With Ocado leading as a digital-first retailer and SMG powering data-driven media strategies across the UK’s leading grocery environments, the pair share insights on the evolution of tech-led advertising and its implications for brands, retailers and media planners alike. They discuss real-world applications of automation, the growing demand for operational efficiency and how smarter technology is enabling media to be not only faster, but more effective.

HFSS and the retail media opportunity: navigating compliance with creativity with Pladis

In this episode, Colin Lewis is joined by Michele Dainty, shopper marketing director UK&I, Pladis Global and Helen Johnson, managing director of Capture, to look at how retail media presents a powerful, compliant opportunity for high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) brands to remain visible, relevant and strategically positioned in the shopper journey ahead of HFSS ad rule changes on 1 October 2025.  The discussion covers how to drive brand impact without traditional channels, how retailers are adapting their ecosystems and why smarter audience targeting and owned media partnerships may be the key to success in the HFSS era.