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Unlocking Retail Media is the essential podcast for leaders and marketers navigating the rapidly evolving world of retail advertising. We move beyond day-to-day operations to explore the strategic future of the industry, covering major investment trends, the shift to hybrid marketplace models, and the existential disruption posed by Agentic Commerce. Host James Avery brings in top industry veterans and visionary founders to analyze how ground-breaking technology is transforming customer journeys, influencing product catalogs, and forcing retailers to rethink on-site, in-store, and digital media strategies to remain competitive in the modern age.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: [00:00:00] Everything is social right now. We know what's happening within the moment because of TikTok and other social platforms. So those partnerships will be crucial to that location-based first-party data targeting, and I think brands are excited for that
James Avery: Welcome to Unlocking Retail Media, the podcast where we explore the evolving world of retail media from data strategy to monetization and everything in between.
This is where we break down how retailers can build smarter data-driven media networks by aligning with what brands truly need from scalable ad solutions and meaningful metrics to cross-channel attribution and programmatic strategy. Welcome to Unlocking Retail Media. Today, I'm really excited to have somebody who I think has one of the most interesting seats in the retail media landscape because she sits between the brand, the retailer, and the data.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan is the EVP and Global Head of Retail and Commerce Media Networks at Acxiom. Acxiom has been in the data and identity business [00:01:00] forever, before retail media was even a term anyone was using. And then you put that inside Omnicom, which is working with some of the biggest brands in the world.
So Elizabeth kinda gets to sit in this spot where she's seeing what the brands actually want, what the data actually enables, and how retail media networks actually need to show up to make it all work. That perspective is really valuable right now because the industry is at this interesting moment where it's not enough to just launch a network anymore.
Brands are asking harder questions, measurement's still kinda messy, but the data layer is where this all kinda gets decided. So we're gonna dig into all of that, what brands are actually asking for, where the data and identity piece fits in, what the agency role actually looks like in the re- in retail media today, and where this is all headed.
Elizabeth, really glad to have you on. Thanks for doing this.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: So happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me, James. Let's dive in.
James Avery: And we both just turned our fans off for the audio. Yeah. So we're, we're now gonna, we're gonna suffer in heat together. I'm in North Carolina, where it's always 94 degrees, but, uh, still, still a little toasty.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: That, [00:02:00] that, that's goals for me. My sister actually just moved to South Carolina, Bluffton area. It's beautiful.
James Avery: Nice. Come on down to Raleigh sometime. We'll show you around.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Ooh, Raleigh is beautiful, too.
James Avery: Yeah.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: I know. Um- I'm a Long Islander, so I'm close to the beach and close enough to the Manhattan to enjoy both worlds.
James Avery: Yeah. We're close to the beach. We're, we're only about an hour and a half away from Manhattan, but you have to get on a plane and then and then get there.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Yes. I'm taking a train. Planes, trains, and automobiles. There we go.
James Avery: Yeah, exactly. So before we dive in, give us, like, the quick version. What's your ... Give us a little bit about Acxiom, the, the, the role, your role there, and, and what kind of, uh, what kind of brought you here.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of people ask me this all the time: "How come you left the brand side or the publishing side to go agency side?" And when this opportunity came to light about a little over a year and a half ago, a dear friend of mine that I'm sure most people know, Amy Owen, she's been my partner on [00:03:00] many, many accounts over the years, whether it was my job at AccuWeather or Marriott.
So we, we've collaborated. So she said, "There's the perfect job for you, Elizabeth. You're sitting at what you love, data, technology, but you'll be running retail and commerce for the entire ecosystem here and the brands that we work on." And I said Wow, sounds amazing. Let me know more. So I met the team, fell in love.
I work for Sean Mazze. He's absolutely incredible. We're at a very unique point here within Acxiom, and being now at the largest global ad agency, Omnicom, um, we're able to service our clients from that end-to-end commerce experience. So, um, sitting within the data arm of Acxiom is why we're very well positioned to win, um, with first-party data, with the solutions that we're driving in market.
But also I'm bringing in the best skills and, um, people within the ecosystem and outside of the ecosystem, really those builders of the networks [00:04:00] from all different versions and technology partners to really curate, um, a team that goes out to market to support the brands. Uh, it's exciting for me to work across multiple brands and helping them fuel top-line revenue, um, whereas in my past life, I've only worked for one brand at a time.
So this has been such an amazing opportunity to really look under the hood and support the industry.
James Avery: And, and tell me about-- And so, like, the Acxiom side of it, like, I'm, I'm familiar with Acxiom because I, you know, came from more traditional ad tech. Acxiom's been around a long time. I think a lot of people in retail media probably aren't as familiar with the name, right?
Like, they're, you know, they're-- if they're coming from a, you know, retailer background, right? Like, this is, this is probably a new thing to them. So what-- like, where, where does Acxiom kinda sit in, in the ecosystem?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Well, Acxiom is a 60-year-old company, right?
James Avery: Um, they- Oh, I didn't know it was, I didn't know it was that old.
I thought it was, like, 20 years old.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: No, no. They have, um, an amazing history of [00:05:00] working with 93% populace of all brands across the industry, even, um, seven out of 10, um, financial companies. So the most highly regarded, most, you know, secure data we are responsible for, whether that be identity, Real ID, um, data monetization, curation.
Uh, yeah, we have been doing this a very long time, and it's so crucial for my division now to really be supporting and sitting within the growth area of the company.
James Avery: Yeah, that sounds awesome. And you're, and so, like, you're at Acxiom. It's part of Omnicom. You're kind of in the, uh, you're kind of sitting between a lot- Mm-hmm
of these pieces, right? The brands going through the agency, the, the data layer, the retail media networks. Uh, you know, what, what's, uh, what's kinda unique about, about where you're sitting?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: I get the foundation, right? We all know that what makes commerce and retail media networks foc- focus and drive revenue is through [00:06:00] their loyalty programs, first-party data solutions.
So sitting at Acxiom is just a no-brainer of how we support, um, that from the beginning. But my group also is responsible for the building of media networks and also the management in-house, plus data monetization. So we're really, um, servicing that end-to-end solution. And now sitting in the larger organization of Omnicom, helping service our clients and connecting them to the right partners, whether they need clean room solutions or technology advancement, we're really in a strong position to win for our clients and have them have that end-to-end experience with measurement, um, and just the best identity for their networks.
James Avery: Yeah, I mean, 'cause really it comes down to it when we, you know, whenever we're talking to a retail media network or the new, like, you know, commerce media networks, it's kinda like the one non-negotiable is that you have to have good first-party data. I was gonna say, a lot of retailers don't... Like, [00:07:00] they have it, but they don't know what to do with it, right?
Well- They don't know how to leverage it ...
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: for example, I came from Marriott. I built their media network through COVID and beyond, and what I've loved about working, they, uh, we were the first travel media network to come into the space, right? And then quick follow was United and, uh, these other great travel and hospitality companies.
And- The wonderful thing about that is because you'll have that one-on-one experience, so whether you're in a flight, um, you'll have that undivided attention where you can really capture your audience and make sure that you're driving the right outcomes if your data is correct. So it's been really exciting for us to work across the industry in all the verticals.
For example, we are working with Reach TV in connecting their Travel360 journey through data, and it's, it's very exciting. Um, we, we struck that partnership with them, um, right before the new year.
James Avery: Yeah, that's ... I didn't think about that. That, that makes a lot of sense. Um, when you, when you think about the [00:08:00] first-party data, like retailers obviously have, you know, pretty good valuable first-party data.
Where, where are the cases where, you know, the brand data is really valuable, or this external data, right, like the AccuWeather data is really valuable? Um, 'cause I kinda think, you know, like an on-site, right, if you're doing a, you know, you're doing promoted listings on a search, it's like you- Mm-hmm ... you pretty much, you know, I went and searched for ketchup, like I'm gonna buy ketchup, like, but where, you know, is it, is- do you think it's a lot more on the off-site?
Do you think it's still on on-site, but maybe in the, like, more display native of off-site? Or kinda where, where do you see the highest value for, for brands?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Well, I see it on on-site and off-site. So you want to make sure, for example, if you're working on a b- on a brand that's in the travel space, you have, you have to know your customer.
You don't want to show them the wrong ad while they are through that journey. Yeah. So you have to ensure that it's enhancing their experience, right? As you said, "I'm gonna buy ketchup." Well, I'm not gonna, you know, perhaps show a KFC [00:09:00] advertisement in the Ritz Carlton perhaps. Maybe. Right. I don't know, but you want to tailor the experience for on-site for the customer that you know through that first-party data.
And then in regards to, um, off-site You know, sitting within the largest global ad agency, we're able to tailor, you know, not only brands, but connect them through clean rooms as well as activation for off-site, and that's really tells the story of, you know, you're making top-line re-revenue, but you're hitting audiences, especially through Acxiom enhancements.
We have many partners that there are brands that, you know, may not have, um, a big enough audience, so they're collaborating their data or adding other partners to that so they could have a stronger off-site presence.
James Avery: Yeah, that makes sense, and this kind of, like, this kind of leads into something else I wanted to talk about, which is really the, the agency role in retail media- Mm
which I think is, is kinda changing a lot, right? It's, uh... I think it used to be pretty straightforward. You're like, "Well, the agency's, you know, [00:10:00] buying from me," right, if I'm running a retail media network. But, but I think with everything you're describing is a lot more around, you know, everything from orchestration to, to, uh, you know, facilitating off-site buys.
Like, give me, can you give me, give me a little bit more about, like, what's the... Like, how do you think that agency role is changing in, in retail media?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Especially for my role, it didn't exist before I got here. I have a unique perspective and, you know, the support of our leadership to really think about- What our brands need, right?
We're here to service them, the model, because retail and commerce media is just exploding. There's over 240 media networks. There are a few in verticals that we're working on right now are yet to be annou- announced, so there are more verticals coming. So that in itself is challenging for the brands who are out there trying to bring it, get those dollars, and then, um, just the agencies themselves having to collaborate how- what is the best way forward.
So I think [00:11:00] why my organization is so important because it connects that end-to-end experience, like you said, but we're really looking at from the buy and sell lens, but beyond that, the curation of the data, helping with the technology solutions. A lot of brands don't want to bring that in-house because that's not their main line of revenue.
James Avery: Right.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Um, whether it's, you know, a grocery. So they're relying on their agency partners to kind of bring that in-house to support the overall customer journey where they might not be able to scale or hire those large teams.
James Avery: Yeah, it's kind of a good middle ground, too, for as it's not... You're not totally outsourcing it.
You're actually- Right ... in-housing it with a partner, right? Right. It's kinda like the similar to the Kemble pitch in a way, uh- Yeah ... where we're like, you know, we're not, you know, it's not totally outsourced, but, you know, you're, but you get to own it. But yeah, you're gonna need some help. You're, you know, it's not gonna be, you're not gonna run the thing yourself.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: I think partnerships are so crucial because you don't wanna create your own tech from the [00:12:00] brand side in certain cases. It just will cost millions if not billions of dollars in some infrastructure, so depending how large your organization is. So, um, choosing the right partners like Acxiom, like Omnicom to support that.
And, you know, with partnering with us comes with a depth and breadth of partners that we trust and rely on. My group itself does a quarterly review of all our partnerships to help, because the media networks are so nuanced, they have different channels, and what works for one might not work for others. I, I see many times that people are, you know, using a playbook from another media network, but that might not work for them-
James Avery: Right
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: based on either the restrictions they have, the stakeholders, the goals that they have as a company in itself. So what works from one might not work for the other.
James Avery: Yeah, no, 100%. Like I think, and that's the, that's kind of the fun thing about retail media- Mm-hmm ... compared to like the, the publishing business.
You know, the traditional ad tech was so much more of, hey, it's, it's pretty much the same for just about everybody. You've got websites, and you're putting ads [00:13:00] on it, and, and in retail it really does, you know, it's, you can have such a different, where you have like a Home Depot where there's not a big loyalty program, and there's a ton of, you know, purchases in store.
You know, then you can have, uh, somebody like a Costco where everything is, you know every single purchase 'cause it's membership-based, right? And so all these different, you know, differences between each retailer, they're, they're a lot of fun.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: It is fun, and it keeps the industry moving and growing, especially with AI and curation and first-party data.
I think that, um, while people are nervous about that word, I think we should all be embracing, especially retail and commerce. And if, if, if the brand, if the brand doesn't have a strategy yet, they should think about where their place is within their organization because some people, obviously they want to put ads on their pages, but they don't know how to do it.
They don't know which technology partners to utilize, and that's crucial for the success of top-line revenue and, um, and the partners that you choose will, you know, either make or break your [00:14:00] experience.
James Avery: Yeah. So I think, I think we're both in the business of creating, uh, more retail media networks, right? I think there's...
You hear about new ones every, every day. You're getting, you know, probably 50 this year. There's, you know, commerce media, retail media. You know, how are, how are brands kind of dealing with and thinking about this kind of, you know, explosion of, of new commerce media networks?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: I, I love that question because what we're gonna be seeing more of is more collaborations of the networks, whether that's through third-party connections and technology partners connecting them, or f- the first-party data being j- conjoined together.
So, um, I think that's something you'll see. But I think we'll also see, uh, revenue of ad extension. I think that, you know, maybe the travel media networks will say, "Let's build an ecosystem where if I'm low on digital out of home, we'll do a rev share." We're not there yet, but that's where we're going, and I think that's gonna be a way where [00:15:00] I think the agencies and the Axioms of the world are going to play a big part of that.
I don't like to call it consolidation, but I also call it collaboration, and I, I recently said that in the DRUM interview. Um, we love to use a lot of buzzwords, but I think it's more of partnerships and, you know, this is what happens like- If this is what makes the, the industry move forward and makes our lives have more standardization.
James Avery: Yeah. No, I, I totally think, I think we're seeing the same thing, where it's just the, if there's like retailers that can join together, they're- it's gonna work better for the brands. It's gonna be a little more standardized. And I do think the, the benefit is, like, unlike in the, like, ad network days, like you're not, you're not being commoditized because you still own your first-party data, and you still, you still have like a physical store.
You have a loyalty program, and you have all these assets where it's not- you're not kinda just being like commoditized away, so you can really do like a, like something interesting where you're kind of, you know, like an [00:16:00] alliance, like collaboration versus, versus like a, you know, network kinda play.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Like, I love what Par Bender from CVS did.
He did a partnership with Reddit.
James Avery: Yeah.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: They don't even h- they don't have to be like-minded or similar retailers. They could be partners that are gonna be extension of their solution or helping to enhance the customer experience. So I really, um, was happy when I saw that early in the year, 'cause that's- I think that's the first step of these partnerships.
James Avery: Yeah, I think Reddit is like an under... It's still kind of an underserved part of the ad market. Like, so there's a lot of value. I think there's still a lot of value in, in, uh, to be found in Reddit. Um, so I think you'll see more retailers doing that. Uh, but 100% agree. That was, it was, it was brilliant
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: call Th- there I, I'd love to see s- some social media platforms like TikTok connect with, you know, my travel company.
I think that would be very interesting.
James Avery: Yeah. So what else, like, when you think about brands, so brands have, [00:17:00] you know, obviously there's kind of the fragmentation piece, but what are, what are else-- what are the other things brands are looking for, right? 'Cause a lot of people we have listening to this are, you know, running a retail media network or launching a retail media network, and at the end of the day, it's only successful if the brands wanna spend money there.
So like, what are, what are the top things you're hearing from brands about, you know, what they want back from a retail media network?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: So of course they want measurement. They want to make sure, you know, retail media networks are set up for measurement because of the brands that are sold within. So I'd like to like reset for people, 'cause sometimes people are like, "What's the difference between retail and commerce media networks?"
So I'm like, "Elizabeth giving 101 class," but retail media networks are selling things within their stores and their properties, where commerce media networks are not selling anything, but they have that first-party data to drive advertisers to want to run on their owned and operated. Um, so they're both unique, and they both have great first-party data.
So first thing they [00:18:00] need to do is make sure that they get their data right so that they could talk to their customer in the right way. And there are so many other messagings that are going on. So from the data, you have to look at the technology So you're running- you have your data all set up, you're running the right tech, you're making sure that these ads have...
I don't wanna see, uh, the same ad 100 times. Right. You don't want it to be disruptive to the brand experience, 'cause then you'll lose a loyal member. So I always like to say, you know, "What's your go-to-market strategy, and how are you enhancing the customer?" Because without those two things, you're not gonna do well off the bat, and then you're not gonna see advertising dollars.
So, uh, brands want to partner and be on media networks where they know that they're gonna be heard, there's emotion, and they're targeted correctly.
James Avery: Yeah. Makes sense. Yeah, I mean, I definitely, I don't wanna see a, uh, KFC ad while my plane is taking off, 'cause then I'm just gonna be thinking about that I'm, I'm hungry, and I'm gonna eat this airplane food instead of, instead of, uh, some fried chicken.
So yeah, there's definitely [00:19:00] brand risk in getting it wrong. So I think this is, this is good. This is like the, thinking about the retail media versus commerce, right? 'Cause a lot of people, I think, don't, don't fully understand the distinction. Uh, but I 100% agree with you that it's, you know, we, we think about it the same way, which is if you're, you know, if it's all endemic, if it's, you know, you know, I'm selling products that, you know, I'm already selling for you, but I'm gonna help you sell more of them.
Uh, when you, when you think about the commerce side, especially with, like, the Marriott experience, like, what, you know, who are the, who are the perfect brands for those kind of networks, right? If I'm, if I'm out there starting a new hotel or airline or, you know, one of these other different commerce, you know, media networks, like, who, who should I be going after?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: You have to go after, one, the endemics of that whole travel journey. So whether, how did you t- Do you need an Uber to get to the airport? That, that's a clear and easy connection. And many of the travel media networks have, you know, tier-one partnerships. They're aligned to an air- airline, [00:20:00] they're aligned to, you know- A total car
a rental car.
James Avery: Yeah, yeah.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Yeah. J- just like the retail media networks, the commerce, travel, financial media networks have those partners that they could enhance and collaborate more through advertising, and smarter, that is. But, um, as a customer, so when I think about myself as a customer, what do I like to see?
Well, Elizabeth travels differently as a mother compared to a business traveler or when I'm just traveling with my husband. So when I think of how I could smartly target it, enhance that experience, imagine being on a flight and you know five women have booked a ticket together and they're going to a bachelorette party.
Right. Wouldn't it be nice to surprise and delight them with a bottle of champagne? So I think there's, there's so much more than advertising. You can do experiential opportunities, um, through that journey, whether it, you know, we know, you know you're [00:21:00] traveling, the Knicks are playing, you know, and maybe you want to go to a pre-party.
Maybe there is, uh, you wanna make sure they're getting places safely, so an Uber ad would, or a Lyft ad would be perfect in that situation. So think about what events go on within travel, um, and hospitality. There's so many conferences. Um, even so, I went to a conference earlier in the year, there were ads in the bathroom.
That was a first, but, you know, a little risky. I liked it though, 'cause it was ... It reminded me, and I thought of that. So, and here we are talking about it months later.
James Avery: It's funny, I'm always impressed when I see, like, actually well, well-run, like, targeted ads. Mm-hmm. And it's like, like, I think somebody who does this really well is the Vegas Airport Like, they just, whenever, whatever that big show is, like they do a good job of selling it out.
So it's like you're coming into, like, Shoptalk, and there'll just be like a giant, like, Shopify banner, and I'm like, "This can't be what normally is run in an airport," right? Like, Shopify can't be, like, the target, you know, buyer for [00:22:00] these airport ads. Or, like, Datadog when you're going to, like, an AWS conference, and so I think they always do a really good job of that.
Um, I mean, obviously that's pretty, you know, easy targeting, right? It's like what conference is in town that week. Uh, but I think the same-
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Location, right? So when you're thinking about not even travel, you're thinking about, um, localized partners, so Ticketmaster perhaps and, um, Live Nation if they have advertising solutions.
Like, what is local, right?
James Avery: Right.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: What restaurants are nearby or... So it's by location. It's by, um, the customer experience and what they're doing, so, uh, that lifesty- end lifestyle. So the, so it, it's really the journey of the customer and that you know through your first-party data.
James Avery: Yeah, and that's, it's interesting.
I love the, uh, the champagne idea is great 'cause it reminds me of, you know, I think something we're starting to see more in retail is this, like, full-size sampling, where it's kinda like, okay, like you order, you, you do an U- Uber Eats order, and, you know, based on targeting it's like, "Let's go ahead and just [00:23:00] send them a bag of the new Doritos," right?
It's not a sample bag, it's just the, the full bag, right? But we think it's worth it because of how we've done targeting. That'd be a great, you know, for whoever the champagne partner is for Delta, right? And you're like, okay, Delta is part of this champagne partnership, right? Like, we're gonna, anybody who's on their honeymoon is gonna get a free bottle of your champagne, like, on- Right
the flight, right? It's like look at, that's a great, like, branding opportunity, right? That, like, today is, like, just being, you know, you know, most of the champagne you don't even see the name of it 'cause they just pour it in that little plastic cup and, like, give it to you, you know?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: For sure, and when you're, when you're thinking about, like, those experiential moments, what's happening?
Everything is social right now. We know what's happening within the moment because of TikTok and other social platforms. So those partnerships will be crucial to that location-based first-party data targeting, and I think brands are excited for that.
James Avery: Yeah, yeah. I mean, all it takes is a couple people, one person posting about their free champagne on Delta, and it's great.
You know, takes off, and then [00:24:00] that's this viral moment for both people and I'm sure pays for all the free champagne they gave away along
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: the way. Yes. Champagne, beauty- You know, free concert tickets 'cause we know your location. So I think that's, that's the future, more experiential, more social and collaboration.
James Avery: Yeah. So thinking about... I know we've, we've been talking a lot about travel, so how do you think about this globally, right? 'Cause you're, you're not looking at this just from like a US basis. Like, what do you, what do you kinda see differently, uh, in the US versus the rest of the world in, in retail media and commerce media?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: I think a lot more technology-driven, um, solutions. I think, you know, um, when we're thinking about retail media, they're, they're very much into, um, you know, chats and LLMs and other solutions. So it's coming here, and I think a lot of what I said is, you know, being done, but also being part of Acxiom, we have to make sure, you [00:25:00] know, all these regulatory and privacy compliance i- is different based on location.
So we're very focused on making sure we're up to date with everything that needs to happen as we're planning or, you know, strategizing across these markets.
James Avery: Yeah. I'm sure there's quite a, there's quite a privacy and legal team over there, uh
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Yeah. They're- they've become my best friends-
James Avery: Yeah ...
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: whether they like it or not.
James Avery: How, how do you think about, um, like if you're a, uh, global brand thinking about all the different opportunities across all the different countries, like is that just a different kind of similar level of fragmentation? Do you think we'll see, you know, cross-market, uh, kind of, uh, partnerships as well? Or do you think, you know, is it different, different groups in different countries are buying media, and they're not really gonna look to buy like a global campaign?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Well, I think it depends on the brand and what the messaging is for those campaigns. Um, typically, you know, what's trending in one market is very different than another market. Wouldn't it be [00:26:00] nice if we just ran one type of creative across everything? That's not how it works.
James Avery: Yeah.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: That would, that would be boring for all of us.
James Avery: What are you, what are you, like, personally most excited to, uh, kinda dig into in the next, the next 12 months?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Personally or work-related?
James Avery: Well, now I'm, now I'm interested in both.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Okay. Well, it is summertime, and we're already planning for back to school and those, you know, revenue dollars. So I'm really excited about just making sure that our clients are having that end-to-end experience through whether it's, um, supporting them through the data, the technology.
I'm excited personally, um, within the organization to begin collaborating with our other partners across Omnicom, so that's really exciting. There's a lot of opportunity, and it's good for business, and I think it's good for the [00:27:00] industry, um, because Acxiom is powering and supporting many of the brands across Omnicom, and I'm excited to meet all the people.
There's so many more people to meet. I'm a people lover, so, um, a lot more collaboration to be had.
James Avery: Awesome. And then last, last is, we like to do this for, you know, a lot of the, a lot of the people listening are on the, you know, retailer side. What's, what's one piece of advice you'd give to a retailer who's, who's kind of at the beginning of this, you know, how do we figure out our first party, you know, first party data journey and, uh, you know, network?
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: This is my favorite question, and you're, you're coming from the lens, and I, I kind of touched on it earlier in our conversation, but you're working for a highly matrixed organization or brand. There are so many different teams involved across the channels that you'd like to activate on, and on top of that, there are strategy and data and technology teams.
It has to roll up from the top and be init- [00:28:00] an initiative across the company because if it's not and it's not, um, you don't have that stakeholder alignment, you'll be wasting a lot of time back and forth. And I think the best thing you can do is, um, to make sure it's coming and all the stakeholders are aligned across the organization to make it more of a collaborative.
You know, not one team can solve this. You'll see a lot of reorgs within these brands saying, "Oh, you should run m- marketing, and the media network should sit together," or you're constantly seeing those reorgs happening- Yeah ... in the last five years. Um, I think just people who are focused on making the brand better and making the experience better should just get in the room and collaborate.
It's not that easy, but you could have us come in and, um, you know, share on our best practices, and that would make your life easier. But I think that stakeholder alignment is key, [00:29:00] or you're gonna be spinning your wheels for several years.
James Avery: Yep. Yeah, 100%. I think-- I, I noticed this the other day when we, you know, we work with a bunch of retailers, where the ones who are the most successful are usually the ones that have some sort of direct line to the CEO.
Right, and sometimes that, you know, and sometimes it's through a CDMO or it's through somebody else, but where the CEO is, like, taking a direct interest in this is gonna work. Like, and then, 'cause that, you know, something's always gonna block success along the way in these big organizations, but you have to have, if the guy on top or gal on top, like, wants it done, then you can tend to get there.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: And I also think it comes from the CEO, but also the connection of teams. If, if, if you have a digital leader who's running merchandising who does not want advertisements on certain channels, have that discussion- Right ... from the beginning instead of don't fight over inventory. Say, what is gonna make this customer experience better?
And that could be, okay, we'll run one ad, one marketing, [00:30:00] and then our credit card. You know, you don't have to take 100% inventory for the media network, and I think that's where, um, people get too caught up- Yeah ... and the brands get, you know, the, the leaders get too caught up because there's enough shine for everyone, but the most important person to me is the customer- Right
and keeping that customer.
James Avery: So- Yeah, I had the, I had the exact same conversation with somebody recently where they were talking about, you know, the credit card has to be number one, and I was like, "Well, we, we know who already has it." Right. We, there was data. Like, what's the value of when I log into, if I log into Marriott and then I see an ad for the credit card I already have, like, that's, that's not helpful to anybody, right?
And so there's just, you know ...
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: I, I think that these are the things that are working themselves out. I think there's a lot of trial and error across all the verticals, and I think this is one of the biggest industries to have grown in such a quick amount of time. Really, what, uh, it, we're, it's scheduled, according to eMarketer, I think, to hit 170 billion in the next year [00:31:00] or two, so- Yeah
that's taking over certain channels. I think that's incredible. Yeah. There's so much to learn and still grow, so I think there's a big opportunity for even, like, students out, coming into the industry and interning, and they, they should definitely think about being in commerce.
James Avery: 100% agree.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Yeah.
James Avery: Awesome. Well, Elizabeth, this has been great.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: Thank you so much for having me. It was so fun.
James Avery: Awesome. Thanks for tuning in to Unlocking Retail Media. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe and share this show with your network. We'll be back soon with more insights to help you navigate the future of retail media.
See you next time