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WTF is a Unified Retail Media Platform?

Steve Paul avatar
Steve Paul

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4 min read

If you are new to the ad world or just stepping into retail media, you’ll hear a lot of buzzwords like CRM, OMS, DMP, CDP, ERP, DSP, SSP… not to forget CPC, CPM, CPA, CPL, CPV, ROAS and that’s only the beginning…

There has been a trend towards the ‘must have’ Retail Media Platform (RMP), and most recently the Unified Retail Media Platform (URMP). It’s easy to get lost, or be sold the latest and (apparently) greatest (most likely) AI powered platform. 

But seriously, WTF is a URMP? If you’re a retailer or marketplace looking to launch or scale your retail media offering, do you need one, or do you already have one?

In simple terms, you need at least five things;

Business & GTM Strategy: Define if you will offer onsite, offsite, in-store solutions, or all of the above and more
Monetisation Strategy: Decide on ad formats, channels and pricing models (ie. CPM, CPC)
First Party Data Strategy: Clear plan to capture (think loyalty) and harmonise consumer behavioural insights and segments across channels (ie. CDP, DMP)
Customers: Direct relationships with Advertisers, CPG Brands, Agencies and Partners
Technology Stack: Ability to collect and activate data, manage relationships and inventory, deliver and optimise campaigns (ie. CRM, OMS, SSP, DSP), reconcile revenue and bill (ie. ERP)

Below, we take a closer look at the business processes and retail media technology stack required to successfully launch, with a focus on the capabilities needed to:

Collect, harmonise, segment and activate consumer data for audience targeting
Manage customer (advertiser), brand, agency and partner relationships 
Support media planning, inventory management, product catalogues, and pricing
Activate campaigns, track performance, and optimise outcomes
Reconcile campaign delivery data with revenue, invoice customers, and manage payments

What It Actually Takes to Build One

Spoiler: it’s not just one shiny platform. It’s an ecosystem of capabilities that allow you to collect, activate, monetise and measure across every stage of the retail media value chain.

Here’s your crash course – the five foundational capabilities every serious retail media network needs to have on point:

1. Audience Targeting: Collect, Harmonise, Segment & Activate First-Party Data

This is the core. Without data, there is no retail media business. You need a robust first-party data strategy that goes beyond just loyalty cards and email lists. We’re talking:

Customer profiles enriched with behavioural, transactional and contextual signals
Identity resolution across channels (online, app, in-store)
Centralised segmentation tools that can plug into CDPs and DMPs
Consent and privacy management baked into every interaction

The better your data, the more precise your audience targeting — and the more premium your media offering becomes.

2. Relationship Management: Customers, Brands, Agencies & Partners

Retailers stepping into media become media owners – and that means managing complex relationships:

Advertisers want self-serve tools, clear reporting and transparency
Agencies need scalable, standardised formats and SLAs
Brands are demanding co-op alignment and omnichannel ROI
Internal teams (eComm, Trade, Marketing) need to play nice too

This isn’t just CRM in the traditional sense — it’s part sales, part service, part platform onboarding. Having a structured approach to relationship and workflow management is key to scale.

3. Media & Inventory Management: Products, Placements & Pricing

What are you selling? How are you pricing it? And who gets access? From banner ads on PDPs to sponsored product placements in search and offsite display, you need:

A central inventory map of all sellable digital and physical real estate
Clear product catalogues and rate cards
Pricing and packaging strategies (ie. CPM, CPC, tenancy)
Inventory availability, order management and booking systems
Support for retail calendars, promos and seasonal pushes

You’re not just selling shelf space — you’re selling attention, and that’s a finite product.

4. Campaign Activation & Optimisation: From Launch to Learn

This is where the magic happens — when your media becomes measurable. Your tech stack must support:

Omnichannel campaign trafficking (onsite, offsite, in-store) with ad serving technology
Real-time performance tracking (impressions, clicks, conversions, ROAS)
Dynamic creative optimisation
Mid-flight changes and pacing
Measurement and Attribution (incrementality, product sales lift, or at least clean-room style measurement)

Retailers who nail this can prove media value in hard commercial terms — the difference between selling impressions and selling outcomes.

5. Revenue Reconciliation: Show Me the Money

Behind every great media network is a rock-solid commercial engine. That means you need:

Automated daily campaign delivery reporting
Match back sales data tied to campaign IDs
Revenue recognition aligned with finance and ERP systems
Invoicing workflows that don’t make your ops team cry
Reconciliation tools to spot gaps between booked, delivered and billed

If your media business grows faster than your back office can support, you’ll feel the pain fast and leave revenue on the table.

So, do you need a Unified Retail Media Platform?

Maybe. But more likely, you need well-connected business processes and a seamless technology stack that cover these five areas.

You don’t have to rip-and-replace what you have — but you do need to get crystal clear on the gaps, shape your strategy, map the journey, and deliver to ignite growth. 🪄

Are you looking to embrace the latest in Data, CRM and AI to simplify your retail media business? Get in touch today.

WTF is a Unified Retail Media Platform?

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