Retail Media: A Shift Too Big to Ignore
Let’s break it down. Retail media is when retailers use their owned platforms to offer advertising real estate to brands.
It spans:
- Sponsored banners on webshop homepages or product pages
- Video ads shown near checkout on in-store digital screens
- Audio ads playing over the intercom
- Email promotions featuring brand-sponsored placements
- Physical signage: floor stickers, shelf tags, window displays
Imagine this:
You’re shopping at Altandina, a fictional outdoor brand with both a webshop and immersive physical retail stores. You’re near the thermal jacket rack. On the wall next to it? A branded banner from a sock manufacturer, promoting moisture-wicking base layers to complement your jacket purchase.
Retail is not only using media, but also becoming a media outlet itself—both online and physically.
That’s retail media. And it’s happening everywhere, from screens to shelves to inboxes. For retailers, it’s a new revenue stream. For brands, it’s direct access to high-intent shoppers at the point of decision.
The Hidden Challenge: Context Demands Content
Retail media only works if the content fits the environment, audience, and moment.
Let’s say a trail shoe brand partners with Altandina to run a campaign across:
- Web banners on hiking product pages
- Email placements in Altandina’s weekly gear drop
- In-store signage at the boot wall
- Shelf displays with QR codes linking to reviews
This isn’t one piece of creative. It’s 20+ content variations, at least.
Now multiply that by:
- Store regions (e.g., Patagonia vs. Northern Europe)
- Local weather and seasonal timing
- Product pairings (trail shoes + socks, not snow pants)
- Ad placements (floor vs. shelf vs. screen)
The content burden grows fast.
And most teams are not set up for this pace or complexity.
To meet today’s content demands, retailers must create dozens of ad variations for each product, market and media type.
Retail Media Requires a New Kind of Creative Strategy
More context, more relevance, better results. It almost sounds too good to be true. And it can be, if you don’t have the right content workflows in place.
The biggest threats to success?
- Speed – Campaigns tied to launches, promos, or inventory require rapid creative turnaround.
- Scale – So many placements, sizes, formats, languages, and specs.
- Relevance – An ad in the boot aisle needs to speak to a mountain hiker. Not a beach camper.
For global brands to keep up, they don’t just need more designers. They need a creative engine built for automation, versioning, and delivery across both digital and physical environments.
Storyteq: Scaling Content for Retail Media
This is where Storyteq steps in.
Part of the ITG family, Storyteq helps global brands and retailers meet the high demands of retail media, without burning out creative teams or compromising on quality.
With Storyteq, teams can:
- Turn one design into dozens of channel-ready assets
- Automatically localize and version creative based on product, region, and audience
- Serve real-time personalized content—from the webshop to the boot aisle
Whether it’s a digital banner next to the trail jackets online, or a point-of-sale display near hiking poles in-store, Storyteq ensures every placement has the right content, at the right moment.
Retail Media Is Here. The Content Must Catch Up
Retail media is one of the biggest growth opportunities in the industry. But content will make—or break—it.
The brands and retailers that win won’t be the ones with the most ad space. They’ll be the ones with the systems, tools, and creative workflows to deliver personalized, timely, context-aware content at scale.
And that’s where Storyteq makes all the difference.