Short reads for short attention spans

Retail media stacks up as full-funnel necessity for brands in 2025

Retail media has evolved beyond performance marketing. 2025 is seeing brands treat retail platforms as full-funnel environments. Driving awareness, consideration and conversion through first-party shopper data, on-site display, off-site programmatic and connected-TV tie-ins. Major retailers are building closed-loop attribution systems, giving advertisers visibility from impression to sale.

Why it matters:

• Retail media is becoming a core channel that connects brand and commerce.
• For media planners, this means new buying strategies, creative formats and measurement frameworks.
• Expect competition for retail inventory to intensify as advertisers chase measurable growth in a tighter economy.

Further reading at Retail Media Insiders:

Retail Media Spend Outlook for H2 2025: Strategic Insights and Trends

AI accelerates tech giants’ dominance of the ad market

A recent Wall Street Journal report highlights how Meta, Google and Amazon are tightening their hold on global ad spend, collectively controlling over half the US market. Powered by advances in AI targeting, automation, and recommendation systems. Yet, according to the IPA’s Les Binet, brands are over-indexing on direct-response performance at the expense of long-term brand building and upper-funnel investment.

Why it matters:

• AI is boosting short-term efficiency but amplifying the industry’s over reliance on measurable clicks and conversions.
• Binet’s latest research re-emphasises the 60/40 rule: sustainable growth demands at least 60% of spend on brand.
• Media planners should balance automation-driven performance buys with human-led strategy and creative brand investment.

Further reading at WSJ:

AI Is Accelerating Tech Giants’ Dominance of the Ad Market

Half of B2B marketers report an AI skills gap

Marketing Week reports that while three-quarters of B2B marketers say AI is now central to their strategies, half admit their teams lack the skills to deploy it effectively. Financial literacy, data capability, and experimentation were cited as the most urgent gaps.

Why it matters:

• The ability to integrate AI into everyday marketing workflows is fast becoming a differentiator between growth and stagnation.
• For in-house teams and agencies alike, closing the skills gap is key to improving efficiency, targeting and creative personalisation.
• Marketers should prioritise training and come to our AI event in London.

Further reading at Marketing Week:

B2B: Financial literacy ‘critical’ to secure investment