Escape from Retail Island with Jared Belsky - Episode 342

🎙️Interview with CEO of Acadia, Jared Belsky

Welcome to another episode of The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast hosted by Acadia’s Head of Retail Marketplaces Services Julie Spear.

Today we’re joined by Acadia’s CEO, Jared Belsky! This episode is all about the concept of "retail island”-  a metaphor for the siloed nature of retail media. Jared sheds light on its implications for funding, organizational structure, and creative strategy. 

Drawing parallels from the eras of search and social media, he explains why the stakes are even higher now and offers actionable insights on how brands can navigate this fragmented landscape. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie and Jared discuss: 

• What is the Retail Island? Despite the explosive growth of retail media, it remains siloed in funding, organizational structure, and creative efforts. Jared unpacks why this isolation occurs and the dangers it presents to brands.

• Brand Impact: Is your Amazon budget dramatically lower than your brand and performance media budgets? Jared explains how organizational silos are holding your potential captive and why it’s crucial to integrate your budgets and strategies.

• Historical Context: The cyclical nature of new advertising channels and how retail media is repeating the history of search and social media but with higher stakes.

• Organizational Shifts: Practical examples of brands integrating their teams and budgets to drive better ROI and efficiency.

• Challenges in Measurement: Why media mix modeling is not the silver bullet we hoped for? Breaking down the complexities and offering simpler, more actionable strategies for cross-channel measurement.

• Actionable Steps: Simplifying your performance comparison and being brave with testing. 

• Agency Perspective: The impact of retail island transcends beyond brands, influencing how agencies should evolve.