The DTC sector prepares for a new era — but will it thrive? How can companies strategically balance the advantages of DTC models with the value provided by traditional intermediaries like wholesalers and distributors?

Kroger Precision Marketing is expanding its private programmatic marketplace to include video and CTV (connected TV) inventory, fueling a convergence of three dominant media trends. What do you think of the advertising opportunity in purchasing CTV and video inventory tied to Kroger first-party data?

A university study determined that only half of artificial intelligence-generated ads are open about the fact they were created by bots, potentially tricking consumers into false beliefs or causing confusion and dissatisfaction. Will AI-generated advertising content drive more benefits or chaos for marketers?

The Temu e-commerce site has only been live in the U.S. since September, but that didn’t stop the Chinese-owned marketplace from looking to connect on a long ball during the broadcast of Super Bowl LVII. What do you think Temu set out to accomplish with its Super Bowl Sunday commercials?

The broadcast of Super Bowl LVII featured a halftime show by Rihanna. ESPN reports she “crushed her performance.” The same may be true of some of the commercials that aired during the game. Which commercial do you think won Super Bowl LVII?

Consumer brands often feel as if they have little choice when it comes to purchasing ads from retail media networks, according to a new survey of its members by the Association of National Advertisers. How does consumer brand spending on retail media networks compare to other types of trading partner spending?

Lowe’s is bringing all of its One Roof Media Network ad sales and operations in-house. The home improvement retailer said the move will allow it to control all elements of its relationship with advertisers and partner with them in ways to achieve more meaningful interactions with shoppers. Will advertisers benefit from Lowe’s decision to bring its retail media operations under one roof?

Seven weeks of head-to-head competitions have brought us to the finals of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge with six clear-cut winners and one tie. Who will be crowned the champ? Which spot was the best?

The year 2022 has been a big one for grocery stores in the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge. This week’s matchup pits SPAR Ireland, the largest convenience store chain in the Republic, against Walmart, the largest in the world. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from SPAR Ireland and Walmart?

Macy’s and Wegmans are going for the heart strings in round six of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge. Which one will join Etsy, Kroger, Publix, Amazon.com and Aldi UK in the finals? What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Macy’s and Wegmans?

The World Cup has been a missed opportunity for the major players in the retail industry. Only one retailer, Walmart, has created a meaningful, themed campaign to run during the month-long World Cup, which ends Dec. 18. Did Walmart gain a marketing advantage running commercials during World Cup broadcasts?

The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge may not rise to the competitive level of the World Cup but, for this week at least, it will bring together two international grocery powerhouses, each with their own holiday stories to tell. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Aldi UK and Lidl?

Amazon has long been the main go-to place for online product search, but a recent Washington Post article finds that it is no longer giving customers what they want because advertisements are muscling out the real search results. Do you see Amazon’s practice of displaying ads in search results reducing the faith that shoppers have in the site?

Some market watchers see the biggest benefit from the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons being the extended geographic reach and consumer data access that could help Kroger capitalize on the burgeoning retail media opportunity. What would the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons mean for the retail media space?

Will it be Amazon or Asda that joins Etsy, Kroger and Publix into the finals of the 2022 edition of the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge?  What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Amazon and Asda?

Episode three of the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge includes one of the most highly anticipated spots of the holiday season, and one that fits the spirit of the season, even if it is not all about December 25. What is your critique of the holiday spots from John Lewis and Publix?

Count the critics as unimpressed with their choices in last week’s RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge choice. That brings us to the second in a series of commercials served up for your viewing pleasure (and scrutiny). Today’s match pits Aldi Australia vs. Kroger, presenting two distinctly different takes on holiday messaging. What is your critique of the holiday spots from Aldi Australia and Kroger?

The 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge (year 10 of our annual event) kicks off today with two different approaches to holiday marketing from Etsy and Hobby Lobby. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Etsy and Hobby Lobby?

The biggest impediment to creativity is not a lack of direction or failure to be bold enough, it’s a risk-averse culture, cited by 51 percent of marketers, according to new research from the World Federation of Advertisers. What do you see as the greatest barriers to creativity in advertising and marketing campaigns?

A GroupM study estimates advertising accounts for five percent of Amazon.com’s revenues from commerce-related activity and rated that as a “reasonable target” for other retailers working to catch up. Is it realistic for retailers to set a goal of getting about five percent of sales from advertising?

A new best-selling book, “Retail Gangster: The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie” is bringing back nostalgia for the long-gone electronics chain’s abrasive yet memorable commercials.  Are Crazy Eddie’s television commercials antiquated or would such an approach work today?

The 28th Edition of The CMO Survey found marketing budgets for traditional advertising increasing for the first time in a decade, although well below the expected growth rates for digital marketing in the coming year. Do you see spending on traditional advertising media recovering, flattening or declining in the years ahead?

Major League Baseball last week revealed it is moving ahead with plans to place advertising on uniforms for the 2023 season, leaving the National Football League the last remaining major American sports league holdout. Is the opportunity to advertise on MLB uniforms more likely to be a home run or strikeout for advertisers?

Retailers are not faring as well in their acquisition marketing efforts this year as they have in recent years, according to a new study. What’s the best path for digital marketers to overcome the customer acquisition cost challenges related to paid social?

A new study finds consumers are seeking humor from brands as they emerge from the pandemic era. Yet only 16 percent of brands surveyed use humor to sell, with 95 percent fearing using humor in customer interactions. Do you think the surveys are accurate in finding consumers want more humor at this time?

Sprouts Farmers Market has announced a major sponsorship in women’s athletics through partnerships with the Big 12 and Pac-12 Conferences timed to the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Should retailers and brands be aggressively investing in women’s sports sponsorships or advertising despite viewership challenges?

Walmart is teaming up with Roku to let users of the streaming platform purchase products they see on their screens. Do you agree that Walmart and Roku’s partnership will change the way American consumers interact and shop from TV and video content?

At International Advertising Bureau’s NewFronts showcase for digital marketers, Condé Nast, AMC Networks, Roku, YouTube, NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Twitch platform were among those pitching the promise of shoppable ads. Do shoppable ads, whether delivered online or on smart TVs, now hold enough appeal to convert viewers into buyers?

In a survey by audio research platform Veritonic, Ace Hardware’s jingle, “ACE is the place with the helpful hardware folks,” was the only tune by a retailer landing on the top-ten list of “audio logos.” Why are most U.S. retailers and brands no longer investing in developing strong jingles?

With looming changes to cookies set to undermine online targeting, retailers and brands are reconsidering ways to reach consumers in stores. Will retail media’s strong growth online translate into expanded advertising opportunities for brands at the store level?

Presenters at this week’s Shoptalk in Las Vegas addressed several themes of great concern to retailers, but none captured greater attention than the discussions about retail media. Is Instacart on the right track with its two-pronged pivot to become an ecommerce platform for grocers combined with an aggregator of retail media revenues?

Recent university research finds that the decision to use dogs or cats in advertisements should depend on how the product links to the stereotypical temperaments and behaviors of each pet species. How should brands decide whether to feature a dog or cat for an advertisement or social media post?

While the Los Angeles Rams fought back to win yesterday’s Super Bowl, the game also offered an opportunity for brands to compete for the attention of consumers on the nation’s biggest broadcast stage. How did this year’s Super Bowl commercials stack up against previous years?

Facebook lost daily users in a quarter for the first time in its 18-year history. Mark Zuckerberg, the platform’s founder and CEO of Meta, blamed heightened competition from the short-video platform TikTok, particularly for the younger demographic. Is the decline in Facebook’s daily usage a harbinger of difficult times ahead?

Previous research has determined that there really isn’t a boost in sales for brands after their Super Bowl ads air. A new university study, however, finds Super Bowl ads bring immediate spikes in online searches and word-of-mouth impressions, although short-lived. What payback should and shouldn’t marketers expect from Super Bowl ads?

Instacart has added a number of digital ad products on its site to give brands more opportunities to reach consumers as they shop for the groceries. How should grocers that use Instacart for deliveries view its expanded ad network?

In the technology space, in-house teams are facing challenges balancing product public relations with the desire to showcase their company’s value, mission and purpose, according to a new study. Have you been seeing heightened conflicts between brand marketing and product marketing, and what advice do you have for marketers?

We presented twelve commercials from retailers around the world in the run up to the holiday and six remain in contention. Which Christmas commercial from those in the article gets your vote as the top spot for 2021? Why?

Acts of selflessness are at the core of the stories in commercials for this holiday season from Amazon.com and Etsy.  Which spot does the best job of connecting with each platform’s core customers while reaching out to new ones?

Long time fans of Sex & The City were not the only ones shocked by the premature death of Mr. Big in the first episode of the new sequel series, And Just Like That. The death also rattled Peloton shareholders. Did Peloton react to the negative portrayal of its product in a television show in the right way?

Print catalogs may seem old-fashioned to some, but old-fashioned is just what some customers have been looking for as the tumultuous pandemic era wears on. Do you see marketing value for retailer print catalogs in the current environment?

For this week’s Christmas Commercial Challenge, Chewy, L.L.Bean, Petco and Petsmart all seek to connect with pet parents through their love for their fur babies. Which one is most effective?

We go outside the U.S. to Ireland and the Netherlands for the next two contestants in the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge 2021. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from SuperValu and Bol.com?

Meijer and Publix do not compete with one another in the same markets but the two retailers are going head to head in the second installment of the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Meijer and Publix?

It’s not surprising to see so many direct competitors looking to match their ad spending levels to those of their primary rivals. It is with this understanding that we kick off the ninth year of the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Macy’s and Kohl’s?

Wrangler faces the same challenge as other iconic American brands: how to stay connected to its heritage while reaching out and connecting to consumers who either don’t know its history or may not be invested in discovering it.  What are the keys to branding that consumers deem authentic?

Best Buy has released two new commercials as part of a new branding campaign to show customers that the retailer is there for them, where and when needed. Do you think Best Buy’s new branding centered around its expert advice and bonding with customers will resonate in a substantial way with American consumers?

A new survey says that changes to protect privacy are compelling marketers to focus more heavily on customer retention instead of customer acquisition. Do you see investing in retention or in alternate, non-digital forms of advertising as being the key to succeeding as a retailer marketer in a post-cookie world?

Neiman Marcus has gone through a bankruptcy and come out of it carrying less debt and on somewhat surer footing as it embarks on a new rebranding campaign — Re-Introduce Yourself — for the fall. Do you think Neiman Marcus has placed itself on the right financial footing?

Simone Biles has received an outpouring of support following her decision to put her mental health first and withdraw from the gymnastics team competition during the Tokyo Olympics.  Will Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from Olympic competition likely lead most advertisers to augment or downplay her involvement in future campaigns?