Diageo Leads Retail Media’s Move to the Marketing Core
Diageo’s work with Tesco and Dunnhumby shows retail media has moved beyond post-campaign activations. By bringing retailer data into campaign planning, brands are treating retail media as a strategic input across the marketing mix rather than a last-mile tactic.
The Strategic Shift: Beyond Trade Promotions
Retail media is now shaping what gets planned and how campaigns are measured. Brands like Diageo are using retailer insights to inform creative briefs, media timing, and SKU-level targeting. This changes retail media’s role from a short-term sales lever to a planning resource that affects brand and shopper objectives across the funnel.
Data Collaboration Fuels Full-Funnel Impact
Partnerships with data teams such as Dunnhumby mean richer shopper segmentation and attribution. When retailer-first data feeds media planning, activation can be optimized for awareness, consideration, and conversion. That full-funnel view lets marketers link in-store outcomes to upstream investments, creating a single source of truth for performance.
Integrating Retail Media Across Channels
Retail media no longer operates in a silo. Retailer signals can be connected to external channels to amplify campaigns. Diageo’s integration of Tesco data with broader media buys illustrates how in-market activation and broadcast partnerships can be coordinated to influence purchase moments.
Connecting External Media
Examples such as Guinness tying a retail-first brief into a Premier League broadcast partnership with Sky show how retail insights can guide sponsorship and broadcast pacing. The result is a coherent consumer journey that links brand messaging to purchase opportunities.
Breaking Down Internal Silos
To realize this shift, companies must align shopper marketing, brand teams, and commercial functions. Shared KPIs, joint planning sessions, and common data access are practical steps that move decisions from negotiation to strategy.
The Future of Retail Media as Infrastructure
Retailers are becoming connective platforms that supply signals, audiences, and measurement. For brands, retail media is evolving into structural marketing infrastructure that informs creative, media and commercial strategy across partners and channels.
