Mirakl Ads at Cannes: Commerce Media Skips Its Own Lion

Every year, Cannes Lions promises to bring the advertising world together. But if you work in retail media, you've probably noticed that our corner of the industry heads home long before the festival's biggest creative awards are handed out. After hosting an invite-only breakfast with Mirakl Ads on Thursday morning, I wanted to share the conversations that stuck with me before everyone scattered back home.

In this episode, I unpack why the gap between commerce and creativity still exists, where I saw genuine progress this year, and why in-store retail media, measurement, and creative storytelling dominated the discussion. From Dollar General's approach to bringing leadership into the conversation, to Albertsons' bold experiment with original branded content, there are signs that retail media is evolving: but not necessarily in the ways many expected.

Timeline

[00:00] Why the commerce crowd leaves Cannes before the festival's biggest creative moments.

[02:14] My biggest takeaway from this year's Cannes: fewer retailers, stronger side conversations, and why the divide still exists.

[03:15] Why Dollar General Media Network's decision to bring its CMO could signal an important shift for retail media leadership.

[04:30] The real challenge with in-store retail media: why not every screen is actually valuable advertising inventory.

[06:41] Mirakl Ads and Broadsign announce a partnership aimed at unifying online and in-store retail media campaigns (and the measurement questions that remain).

[07:21] Albertsons and P&G's scripted series Rico's Tacos offers a glimpse into how retail media data could shape creative work from the very beginning.

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