Retail media vs commerce media: the difference brands miss | Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan, Acxiom

Retail media networks sell inventory within their own stores, while commerce media networks have no inventory to sell but use first-party data to drive advertisers to their owned and operated properties, a distinction Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan, EVP and Global Head of Retail and Commerce Media Networks at Acxiom, says brands still constantly confuse. Acxiom sits inside Omnicom, the global ad agency network, giving Neubauer-Donovan a unique view across brand, agency, and retail media network priorities at once. In this episode, Neubauer-Donovan explains how the agency's role in retail media is shifting from simple media buying toward end-to-end orchestration, including data clean room access and off-site activation for brands that don't want to build their own technology stack. She breaks down where first-party data delivers the most value across on-site and off-site placements, using her experience building Marriott's travel media network as a case study in endemic partnerships and experiential advertising. The conversation also covers why network collaboration, not consolidation, is the likely future as the number of retail and commerce media networks continues to grow past 240, and what stakeholder alignment retailers need internally before launching a first-party data strategy. Topics: retail media vs commerce media networks, first-party data strategy, data clean rooms, agency role in retail media, travel media networks, off-site media activation, retail media network collaboration, stakeholder alignment for retail media, customer experience and ad frequency, global retail media expansion 00:00 What makes location-based, first-party data targeting the next big opportunity 01:00 Meet Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan: sitting between brands, retailers, and data at Acxiom 04:00 Why Acxiom's 60-year data history matters for retail media today 07:00 The one non-negotiable for any retail media network: first-party data 09:00 Where first-party data is most valuable: on-site versus off-site 10:00 How the agency role in retail media is changing from buyer to orchestrator 13:00 Why no two retail media networks should run the same playbook 14:00 What's driving the explosion of new retail and commerce media networks 17:00 What brands actually want back from a retail media network: measurement 18:00 Retail media vs commerce media: the distinction most people get wrong 19:00 Picking the right endemic partners for travel and commerce media networks 22:00 How location and event-based targeting creates standout ad moments 25:00 Why global retail media strategy can't be one-size-fits-all 27:00 Elizabeth's advice for retailers starting their first-party data journey 🎙️ All episodes: https://www.kevel.com/podcast ▶️ Subscribe:    / @kevel-retailmediacloud