Creativity in retail media: Navigating the next frontier
In the early days of TV and digital media, advertisers had problems in creatively leveraging the new mediums. Hugh Cameron, chief platform officer at retail media platform Zitcha and Peter Smyth, chief operating officer at VMG Digital write, retail media is now facing its own creative coming of age, and marketers are on notice.
As the digital landscape transforms, retail media emerges not just as a new platform but as the battleground for creativity where the fusion of innovation, technology, and marketing could redefine consumer engagement. With Australia’s market poised to triple to $3 billion in two years by PWC estimates, understanding the art and science of creativity in retail media becomes more than just strategy; it’s essential for survival.
Advertisers struggled to adapt to the new whizbang technology when television first arrived as a medium. Announcers – always well-spoken, neatly dressed and male – appeared on black and white screens talking into a microphone, as like radio, to hawk the merits of washing powder and the like. If it was good enough for radio, it was good enough for TV. Except it obviously wasn’t. Radio ads on TV neglected the fundamental USP of television – words and pictures could be combined.
The nascent days of digital media also saw advertisers and agencies initially struggling to work out how best to connect and engage with audiences. We have Google and Meta to thank for investing heavily in educating the market on best practice and creative effectiveness.
