Budget: Last year, depending on the category, brand and retailer, a brand typically saw a budget split of 80% (search) versus 20% (display), with 2023 ad spend expected to shift even more toward display. My recommendation is to make that shift to more display tactics gradually, as these capabilities mature and come out of beta.
Mature partners: If the retailer has partnered with an established technology to run the display offering, research that company, too. The more mature that platform is, the more confident you can be in that offering.
Search is still king. And will continue to be.
New stuff is fun. Audiences are fun. First-party data is the supposed backbone for these new offerings. But we have to continue servicing existing demand and recognizing the powerful role search continues to play on the path to conversion.
As retail media offerings mature, we will start to see more in-store connections and activations that are traceable to audiences, digital and physical, whether at a cohort or individual level. When that fully happens, I will gladly come back and revise this. But in the meantime, I’ll keep searching.
