Media Networks: How Innovative Tech Can Help Optimise Returns For Platforms and Brands

By Nick Morgan, Founder and CEO at Vudoo

The retail media network bandwagon continues to move at pace, with some 246 RMNs spanning across the globe at the time of writing – 68 of which operate in the US. Ad spend on these networks is projected to top $175 billion annually by 2028, highlighting just what an important channel they have become.

Retail media offers brands a highly effective way of reaching consumers with a high probability of converting. Using first-party, transactional data in combination with their owned assets – whether physical or digital – retailers like Walmart and Target can connect their brand partners with consumers who are likely to make a purchase. It’s no wonder that RMNs are attracting so much ad spend, with advertisers keen to connect with targetable, highly engaged audiences who are already in the mood to shop.

How Retail Media Networks Fit In To The Bigger Picture

With many RMNs partnering with other media organisations such as publishers and broadcasters, the retail media opportunity is increasingly moving off-platform, giving brands the chance to access audiences not just within retailer’s physical and virtual properties, but across other channels such as CTV.

But while the retail media sector gets much of the attention, media networks aren’t just restricted to retail. We’re now seeing them spring up in other sectors as well, including travel and hospitality. United Airlines has launched its Kinective Media division, utilising its first-party data and addressable audiences to create an advertiser-friendly platform. Expedia and Marriott are just two other examples of travel companies that have launched their own media networks, while over in the finance sector, Chase Bank has opened up Chase Media Solutions as it also seeks to create its own advertising business.

Dealing With The Explosion Of Media Networks

The rapid expansion of media networks is something of a double-edged sword for advertisers. In a highly fragmented market, brands need to make decisions about which networks they prioritise. They also have to consider how these media networks fit into their overall advertising strategy as they aim to connect with their target consumers across multiple different touchpoints.

As the market becomes more complex, brands that want to make the most of their investments in media networks – and across their other channels too – need to think more about the ad experience they are offering to consumers. The networks themselves also need to consider how they differentiate their offering to maximise their ad revenues.

A holistic approach centred on content is key. Commerce media, where every piece of a brand’s content – whether on owned channels or paid-for placements across media networks or premium publisher inventory – is transactable, provides the foundation for success. As a starting point, brands need to make sure they are wherever their consumers are, whether that’s on a social feed, a website, in an app, or a media network. And if they can make all of the interactions with consumers across all of these touchpoints shoppable, then they can really drive performance. That’s why thinking about commerce media – rather than retail media – is the best approach for brands.

Commerce Media: The Way To Drive Transactional Outcomes Across All Content

Shoppable video ads that give consumers the chance to make the purchase directly at the moment of inspiration can transform a brand’s advertising strategy. Rather than asking consumers to click on an ad, then having them redirected to an online store – which may take several clicks to arrive at, dragging them away from the social network, website or app they were previously using – they can make the purchase right there and then go back to what they were doing. 

By putting the checkout into the content, brands can create multiple storefronts across every channel that a consumer might be using, whether a walled garden like RMNs and social networks, or the open web. They can create a better experience for consumers too; interactive elements within video ads can provide access to product information, allow customers to look at different products, and make seamless purchases.

The whole of the sales funnel, from awareness to purchase, can exist within one piece of content. Even better, brands can get a full end-to-end view of the customer journey, allowing them to measure the success of their campaigns and access insights that can form future commerce media efforts.

Takeaway: It’s Commerce Media – Not Retail Media – Brands Need To Think About In 2025

With media networks still in their formative stages, platforms and advertisers need to consider how they can optimise the ad experience for the greatest returns. The best strategy for navigating the world of media networks is to think content-first, utilising innovative technology to stand out in an increasingly competitive space.

But while media networks – whether RMNs or in an adjacent sector – are part of the puzzle for brands to figure out, they need to develop a more holistic approach to how they drive conversions across all channels. For that reason, it’s commerce media that we should be talking about in 2025, not just retail media.