Blog posts
The retail media debate has visibly matured. Heading into Cannes, EMARKETER found marketers are no longer asking whether retail media deserves investment, but who should own it inside the organisation and how to prove it works. Measurement and accountability — not channel advocacy — now drive the conversation, a shift that lands close to home for anyone building in-store networks where outcomes have to be demonstrable.
At Cannes Lions 2026, conversations will shift from channel advocacy to plans of action
---
Need proof that retail media can be genuinely creative? Among this year's Cannes Lions winners, food-storage brand Ziploc partnered with more than 80 retailer media networks to turn shoppers' expired coupons into live, redeemable discounts — lifting buyers 14% in a matter of weeks. It's a sharp reminder that retail media can build utility into the path to purchase, not just target it.
Four Cannes Lions-winning campaigns redefining live sports, CTV ads and retail media
---
For a wider read on the mood, The Drum canvassed agency and ad-tech leaders on the conversations that really mattered at Cannes 2026 — AI, measurement, and retail media's potential. The recurring theme: the opportunity is real, but unlocking it means cutting through platform sprawl and manual complexity to get a clear, consistent view of what's actually working.
Cannes Lions 2026 – the conversations that really matter
---
The question retailers used to argue about — whether retail media really belongs in the physical store — has quietly answered itself. The category already moved there. Our latest piece, "Store in the Core," makes the case that your biggest audience is already in the store, that the first-party POS and loyalty data needed to reach it is private by design, and that capturing it takes a real platform rather than a signage CMS with an ad server bolted on the side.
Read out blog post about the topic:
Your biggest audience is already in the store
---
Want the full blueprint? The Doohlabs 2026 In-Store Media Playbook is a practical, hands-on guide for retailers and media owners — covering the two-layer platform that runs content operations and a retail media business on one inventory, three parallel sales models, how aggregated first-party data becomes bookable audiences, a four-phase AI roadmap, and three proven deployment shapes with a short test for picking the one that fits your stack.
Download the playbook:
The Doohlabs 2026 In-Store Retail Media Playbook
---
More headlines next month.
Best regards,
Doohlabs Team
