⚡ THE ESSENTIALS IN 20 SECONDS
- Trade marketing works on visibility and sales at the point of sale: displays, promotions, price, in-store materials and retailer agreements.
- Retail media is the retailer’s advertising: ads on its site, app, stores and off-site, using purchase data.
- They often compete for the same budget and speak to the same shopper.
- Brands with the best results plan them together, usually within the joint business plan with the retailer.
IN THIS ARTICLE
At many consumer companies, retail media was born “borrowed” from the trade marketing budget. Ever since, there has been an uncomfortable question in every planning cycle: who owns what? Here are the real differences and how to make them work together.
Retail media and trade marketing: trade marketing is the discipline that manages the commercial relationship and point-of-sale execution to drive sell-out; retail media is advertising sold by the retailer across its channels, using its purchase data to target and measure.
The difference in one table
| Trade marketing | Retail media | |
|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Point-of-sale execution and sales | Visibility and sales through retailer media |
| Tools | Displays, promotions, price, POP materials | Search, display, video, screens |
| Who runs it | Sales or trade team | Marketing, ecommerce or media (varies) |
| Measurement | Sell-out, execution compliance | Attributed sales, ROAS, new-to-brand |
| Pace | Quarterly or annual plans | Weekly or daily optimization |
| Budget | Trade funds | Marketing or trade funds |
Why they overlap
Both pursue the same thing: getting the shopper to choose your product at the retailer. And the retailer often negotiates them at the same table: part of the trade funds becomes media packages. Without coordination, you can end up with an in-store promotion with no digital support, or ads driving traffic to a product with no display or inventory.
In-store retail media: the gray zone
In-store digital screens, ads in the app used inside the store and some displays with digital measurement sit right on the border between both worlds. Are they trade or media? It depends on each company. What matters is that someone owns them and they are measured with clear criteria. See DOOH in retail.
How to measure each one
- Trade: sell-out, market share, display compliance, promotion effect.
- Retail media: attributed sales with closed-loop measurement, new-to-brand, incremental sales.
- Together: total brand growth at the retailer, compared with periods or stores without the combined action.
How to integrate them
- One calendar with promotions, launches and media campaigns.
- Common business goals at the retailer (sales, share, new customers).
- A joint plan with the retailer that includes both (see what is a JBP).
- Clear rules on which budget pays for what.
- Reports that show the combined effect, not just each part separately.
Common mistakes
- Buying retailer media only to “comply” with the commercial negotiation, with no media goals.
- Running in-store promotions without search and display support.
- Measuring retail media with trade criteria, or vice versa.
- Nobody owning actions in the gray zone.
A typical case (fictional)
A beverage brand had a large endcap display for a month, while the ecommerce team cut digital spend at that same retailer because “ROAS dropped”. Nobody had coordinated. The next quarter they built a joint calendar: search and display reinforced display weeks, and total growth at the retailer was greater than the sum of both actions separately.
Trade and retail media do not compete: they amplify each other when planned together.
The role of commerce media
With the rise of commerce media, the line blurs further: delivery apps, loyalty programs and convenience stores also sell media with purchase data. The logic is the same: coordinate every action with your commercial strategy in that channel.
Checklist
- One trade and media calendar per retailer.
- Common business goals.
- Clear owners for in-store digital actions.
- Agreed budgets and rules.
- A combined-effect report.
- A quarterly review with the retailer.
- A shared glossary of metrics for both teams.
Agency secrets about trade and retail media
What I have learned working with both teams:
A monthly meeting between trade and media avoids most waste.
The goal is to grow at the retailer, not to win the argument over who owns the budget.
Sales by store and channel are the basis for measuring the combined effect.
Shoppers do not distinguish between trade and media: they only see your product, its price and its visibility. Plan it the same way.
I’m Alonso Jiménez, a Retail Media account director. I manage campaigns on Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart and Mercado Libre every day, for brands in the US, Mexico and Latin America.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between retail media and trade marketing?
Trade marketing manages point-of-sale execution; retail media is advertising on the retailer’s channels.
Is retail media part of trade marketing?
It depends on the company; it often comes from trade funds, but it is managed as media.
How do you integrate them?
With a common calendar, shared goals and a joint plan with the retailer.
Who should run retail media?
There is no single answer; what matters is a clear owner and coordination with trade.