What’s the True Power of Retail Media? Aligning Brand and Retailer Goals.

In a recent conversation with one of our new partners, a critical question was raised: “What are you really optimizing for? Is it just about improving a single campaign, or are you leveraging retail media to drive comprehensive business growth?”

This question touches the core of a retail media revolution that’s been quietly transforming the way successful brands operate over the past year. It’s no longer enough to simply optimize for ROAS or basic ad metrics—retail media is now a strategic engine that can fuel long-term business success.

At Bluebird, we’ve been working closely with leading brands to redefine the purpose of retail media. It’s more than a tool for boosting short-term sales—it’s a way to achieve your most critical business goals, whether you’re competing at Walmart, Target, Amazon, or any other major retailer.

What Are You Really Trying to Achieve?

Success is only as good as the goals we define. As we’ve partnered with brands to unlock the full potential of retail media, we’ve identified two categories of objectives that are often overlooked when building a retail strategy:

Brand Goals –

These are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to your brand’s long-term health and profitability. Retail media is one of the most powerful tools available to achieve them, including:

• • Glance Views/Brand Searches: How visible is your brand? Are customers seeking you out specifically, or are you getting lost in the noise?
  • Cost per Acquisition (CPA): How efficiently are you acquiring new customers through retail media?
  • Basket Size: How much are consumers purchasing in a single transaction? Retail media can influence upsell and cross-sell strategies.
  • Total Organic Sales (TROAS): Are your retail media efforts translating into long-term organic growth, beyond paid advertising?
  • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): While still important, ROAS is only one piece of the puzzle.
  • Share of Shelf: How much physical or digital shelf space is your brand commanding versus competitors?
  • Purchase Share: What percentage of category purchases is your brand capturing?
  • Purchase Orders (POs)/Stock Outs/Inventory: Are your retail media efforts aligning with stock levels to ensure you're not overselling or experiencing stock outs?
  • Profit/Margin: Are you optimizing your campaigns to drive not just revenue, but profit?
  • Repeat Purchase/Loyalty: Is your retail media strategy fostering customer loyalty and repeat purchases?

Retailer Goals

Equally important are the objectives of the retailer. To succeed, your retail media strategy needs to align with what your retail partners are trying to achieve, such as:

• Vendor Agreements: Are you delivering on the promises made in your vendor agreements?
• Incremental Shelf Space: How can your retail media strategy drive opportunities for more shelf space, both online and in-store?
• New Store Placement: Are you leveraging retail media to unlock placement in new stores or geographies?
• Quarterly Business Review (QBR)/Vendor Negotiations: How are your retail media efforts influencing vendor negotiations and QBR discussions? Are you demonstrating enough value to secure better terms?
• Added Value Unlocks: Retail media can unlock new value for both you and the retailer, from better placement to additional promotional opportunities.
• Category Growth: Ultimately, your retail media should be contributing to the growth of the overall category, which aligns your brand’s success with the retailer’s priorities. 

  

Retail media is a tool to drive whatever business goals you have, either the brand or retailer.

Why Most Brands Are Underutilizing Retail Media

Too many brands are still stuck in siloed thinking, optimizing retail media campaigns without a larger strategy in mind. The real opportunity lies in aligning your media spend with your broader business goals and the goals of the retailers you're working with.

If you’re only chasing short-term metrics, you’re leaving significant growth on the table. Retail media is not just about immediate sales—it’s about driving business outcomes that matter, like increasing basket size, reducing cost per acquisition, boosting profit margins, and ensuring repeat purchases.

The Bottom Line: Align Media with Growth

We get it. It's fiercely competitive out there and succeeding on platforms like Walmart, Target, and Amazon requires more than just a good product. It requires a cohesive strategy that meets your brand’s goals and aligns with your retailer’s priorities.

Retail media is not just an advertising tool—it’s a powerful business growth engine. Our Chief Media Officer, Jacob Snelson will tell you, "Retail media is a tool to drive whatever business goals you have, either the brand or retailer". As you navigate the complexities of retail partnerships, don’t lose sight of the fact that retail media is fundamentally rooted in retail itself. This means understanding your retailer’s goals and crafting your retail media strategy in a way that aligns with those priorities.

At Bluebird, we specialize in aligning retail media efforts with both brand and retailer goals. Whether it's driving incremental shelf space, increasing organic sales, or optimizing purchase share, we’re here to help you unlock the full potential of your retail media strategy.

Are you ready to elevate your retail presence and grow with purpose? Let’s start a conversation!