Retail Media Strategy

Retail media shifts the management of media investments directly to the point of purchase. Advertising decisions take effect where purchase decisions are made, that is, on platforms that simultaneously control reach, transaction data and inventory. For manufacturers, this gives rise to a structural management problem: without their own investment logic and independent impact measurement, budgets are distributed along platform-owned attribution, not along actual value contributions.

Context and relevance

Retail media is no longer a downstream activation channel, but a central lever for growth, brand management and profitability in digital commerce. The selection and prioritisation of relevant retail media networks thereby becomes a strategic core decision. The central problem lies in the measurement logic: platform-owned attribution systematically overestimates the incremental effect of media investments, because organic revenue is reported as advertising-induced. At the same time, retail media is predominantly treated as an operational execution matter in the DACH market. Strategic management models are missing. For companies and PE investors, this gives rise to a critical gap: budget decisions are made without a robust basis for decision-making and without a clear separation between incremental impact and existing demand volume.

Our approach

FOSTEC & Company develops retail media strategies that systematically connect three elements: transparency about the incremental value contribution, a clear investment logic and an operationally connectable management model. The approach is divided into five steps that build on one another (see Figure 1: Retail Media Strategy Framework):

1. Strategic baseline: translation of the commerce goals into a prioritised retail media portfolio strategy along categories, SKUs and growth hypotheses. Analysis of existing activities with regard to budget structure, data quality and governance, as well as positioning of retail media within the overall channel mix relative to trade investments.
2. Retail media network evaluation: systematic evaluation of relevant networks along target-group congruence, format coverage and measurement transparency. Examination of commercial terms and data access rights, as well as classification into strategic tiers with a clear activation sequence and defined exit criteria.
3. Budget allocation framework: development of a dynamic management model with clearly defined trigger metrics for budget reallocations. Structuring of investments by funnel stage, SKU priority and competitive intensity, as well as consistent separation of incremental media investments and existing trade-spend structures.
4. Incrementality measurement model: build-up of an independent measurement model on the basis of holdout test designs to separate platform-owned and incremental ROAS. Operationalisation along central impact dimensions such as sales uplift, basket effects, new-to-brand share and offline halo, as well as establishment of a continuous test-and-learn system.
5. Retail media strategy and governance: integration of all elements into a consistent management model with clearly defined responsibilities, decision logics and vendor management structures. Structured handoff to execution partners on the basis of standardised briefings, measurement specifications and escalation mechanisms.

Figure 1: Retail Media Strategy Framework

The differentiating factor of this approach lies in the explicitly manufacturer-side positioning: FOSTEC & Company operates methodologically independently of network interests and delivers not an isolated campaign optimisation, but a fully operationalised retail media strategy. The operational execution is handed over in a structured way to specialised digital-marketing partners that build on a strategically well-founded briefing.

Results and impact

Clients receive an integrated management system for retail media that places investment decisions on a robust basis. The combination of a prioritised network strategy, a dynamic budget model and independent impact measurement enables a clear separation between incremental value creation and existing demand. The governance model ensures that this logic is implemented operationally and managed sustainably. For PE investors, transparency arises about the demonstrable contribution that retail media makes to a company’s value creation and profitability.

Position within the service portfolio

The Commerce Media & Performance Strategy is part of FOSTEC & Company’s overarching Commerce & Growth Strategy portfolio. This comprises services of varying scope and focus along the entire commerce value chain:

• Marketplace & Platform Strategy
• Omnichannel Growth & D2C-Strategy
• Channel Strategy & Distribution Architecture
• Commerce Media & Performance Strategy
• Revenue Architecture & Value Optimization
• Commerce Technology & Operations Infrastructure
• AI-Native Commerce & Business Model Innovation

Find out in a personal introductory conversation how FOSTEC & Company develops an impact-based retail media strategy for your company – get in touch with us.