Mastering the four corners of Retail Media with Kiri Masters

Описание: A LinkedIn Live crossover with Kiri Masters

In this special crossover episode, Tom Limongello and Scott Messer of The Middlemen Podcast join Kiri Masters, host of Retail Media Breakfast Club, for a wide-ranging conversation on where retail media really stands — and where it’s headed next.

Kiri introduces a powerful framework for understanding the ecosystem: the four corners of retail media — brands, retailers, technology providers, and media buyers. From there, the discussion digs into why so many retail media networks struggle to scale beyond early success, and what history from ad tech and publishing can teach us about the next phase.

Topics covered include:

Why many retailers still operate retail media like MarTech, not ad tech
The difference between early retail media growth and truly incremental demand
How trade dollars, JBPs, and “stick vs carrot” dynamics shape buying behavior
What brands should actually be asking retail media networks beyond ROAS
The risk of repeating the open-web publishing playbook — and how to avoid it
Aggregation, co-ops, and commerce intermediaries like Instacart and DoorDash
Whether retail media will ever move beyond CPM and CPC models
Why transparency, log files, and operational maturity matter more than hype

The conversation also draws on lessons from previous eras of digital media, including programmatic, CTV, and walled gardens — with references to ideas popularized by Ari Paparo and others who’ve seen these cycles before.

If you’re building, buying, selling, or advising in retail media, this episode is less about tactics — and more about understanding the forces shaping the category.


Chapters
00:01:55 — The Four Corners of Retail Media
00:06:05 — Retailers as Publishers: MarTech vs Ad Tech
00:11:05 — The Retail Media Doom Loop
00:14:20 — Do Brands Actually Demand Better Tech?
00:21:27 — Aggregation, Co-ops, and Co