MiniMart 9/25: How emerging brands can win retail media

Plus: Syndigo acquires 1WorldSync, Carrot Ads for convenience

Hi there!

The other week, I attended Ascendant Network's Retail Media Bootcamp, where I had the honor of being on a panel with retail media experts from H-E-B and Epsilon!

Like so many recent milestones, it was such a pinch-me moment - but the best part? I finally got to introduce us as Veriti for the first time IRL. It was so validating and exciting to see our new company name outside of my computer screen and next to some of the biggest names in retail.

Here were two of my biggest takeaways from the bootcamp:

Self-service is the biggest shift in retail media… that doesn't get nearly enough attention. 

Everyone in the room, from retailers to RMN platforms and agencies, agreed: what used to be a nice-to-have feature is now the norm, and it's completely democratizing retail media. Thanks to self-service, emerging brands with smaller budgets can now participate and reap the benefits the big guys have been seeing for years - and everyone’s winning as a result.

Emerging brands have a massive competitive advantage right now. 

Nikhil Lai from Forrester shared some mind-blowing data in his talk: only 25% of retail media spending comes from dedicated budget lines - the other 75% comes from trade marketing, shopper marketing, and other channels. 🤯 While BigCo brands are stuck in rigid annual planning cycles, smaller brands can pivot quickly and go all-in on retail media.

I’ll be sharing more of my thoughts about both of these takeaways over on LinkedIn - so stay tuned if your interest is piqued 🙂 

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Now, onto this week in retail media and shopper marketing →

What's in our cart?

The snacks + sips hitting our grocery carts this week 🛒 

Solely Inc. Whole Fruit Gummies

Solely is some serious CPG magic. These “gummies” are made with just one ingredient - Organic Mango - and yet I’ve tricked my son into thinking these are “real” gummies that rival his Paw Patrol ones! I even got my husband hooked on the mango jerky sticks - Solely is a family affair, and I’m all for it.

Jams Protein PB&J

There’s always room for more better-for-you, ready-to-eat items in my freezer - especially when they taste this good. Jams Protein PB&Js are made with real fruit, no high fructose corn syrup or seed oils, and feature 10g of protein and only 6g sugar. Even from the freezer, the bread is always fluffy. You can find these at Walmart!!

Amylu Foods Chicken Breakfast Sausage

These sausages have quickly become a household fave, and for good reason. They’re made with the simplest ingredients - just organic chicken, salt, vinegar, and seasonings - and are so easy to prepare. They’re already fully cooked, so I just heat them up for a high-protein, super flavorful breakfast in minutes.

Retail Roundup

Featured retailer marketing updates, deadlines, tips, and more!

🤝 Syndigo Acquires 1WorldSync in $3.5B Deal

Syndigo officially acquired 1WorldSync, creating a massive product information management company. The combined company now handles product data for 90% of the top 20 U.S. retailers. 🤯 

What this actually means for you:

• More centralized power: Currently managing product info across multiple retailers? You're likely dealing with one of these platforms already. The combined company now spans more than 3,500 retailers globally - meaning fewer player options (AKA, prices could increase), but more standardization across the board.
• AI upgrades: The integration will incorporate user-generated content analysis to “automatically improve product content and drive better conversion rates” -
• Integration often comes with hiccups… so if you're currently using both platforms, prepare for inevitable system migrations.
• …but also potential efficiency gains. Once integrated, managing product data for this many retailers across one platform should simplify your GTM process.

✅ Your to-do: Make sure your product descriptions, ingredient lists, and imagery across all SKUs are consistent, and your allergen callouts, nutritional data, and claims are all in compliance to avoid an integration headache down the line!!

🏪 Instacart Expands Carrot Ads to 3,500 Convenience Stores Through Vroom Delivery 

Instacart partnered with Vroom Delivery (a major delivery service for convenience stores) to bring sponsored product and display ads to 3,500 convenience stores nationwide.

Here’s what that means:

• Massive reach extension: Over 7,500 brand advertisers in Instacart's ecosystem can now extend campaigns to Vroom's convenience store network
• Simplified campaign management: Brands can activate, optimize, and measure convenience store campaigns directly through Instacart's familiar self-service platform
• New audience access: Tap into convenience store shoppers with personalized product recommendations and discovery-driven ads

Why this matters: This partnership democratizes retail media for small- and medium-sized convenience retailers, while giving CPG brands a streamlined way to reach convenience shoppers (which, IMO, better-for-you brands should be betting on!).

• Plus, Carrot Ads has been on a bender. Instacart is now powering 240+ retail media networks through Carrot Ads (I swear there’s new Carrot Ads news every week). We’re seeing continued consolidation of retail media management under major platforms - potentially simplifying your multi-retailer campaign strategy.

Thanks for reading!

— Eleanor

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