Actionable insights from retail media leaders with proven results
Adweek 2025’s standing-room-only session on commerce media revealed a measurable shift: data-driven retail networks are becoming the backbone of effective marketing strategies.
The Tech Lab Stage at Adweek New York drew capacity crowds for “The New Map of Commerce Media,” where industry leaders shared implementation expertise and performance metrics that demonstrate how integrated data and identity solutions deliver measurable outcomes.
Led by Elizabeth Neubauer-Donovan, SVP and Head of Retail & Commerce Media Networks at Acxiom, the panel featured proven innovators from established networks: Parbinder Dhariwal of CVS Media Exchange, Amy McGovern of Best Buy Ads, and Paul Krasinski of ReachTV.
Together, they examined the strategies that transform customer interactions into measurable growth opportunities.
Loyalty is the new currency in media
Parbinder Dhariwal of CVS Media Exchange (CMX) opened with a clear insight: retail media starts, and succeeds, with loyalty.
With 90 million addressable ExtraCare members, CVS built a network reaching customers across in-store and digital environments. Every purchase and interaction helps the brand better understand each shopper’s journey.
“Retail media should go beyond clicks and impressions,” Dhariwal said. “It’s about using loyalty and personalization to deliver relevance wherever customers engage.”
Key takeaway: Loyalty data creates measurable personalization. The value comes from turning insights into relevant customer experiences.
Through partnerships like CMX’s collaboration with Acxiom, that understanding becomes actionable, turning insight into activation and improving speed to market from weeks to days.
Turning travel moments into media opportunities
From pharmacies to flight gates, Paul Krasinski of ReachTV demonstrated how every journey can become a media moment.
ReachTV connects with travelers across 33,000 airport screens, streaming live sports and curated content that blends entertainment with commerce. Krasinski shared how his team transforms travel touchpoints into opportunities for brands to engage in real time — even when flights are delayed.
“Imagine getting a message that says, ‘Bad news: your flight’s delayed. Good news: there’s $2 off at Starbucks 100 feet away,'” he said. “That’s data meeting context and turning inconvenience into value.”
Key takeaway: When data connects with context, brands deliver tangible value. Performance metrics show that contextual relevance drives both engagement and trust.
Owning the customer experience and the data behind it
At Best Buy Ads, Amy McGovern is transforming one of the most established retail brands into a modern media powerhouse.
Last year alone, Best Buy ran 2,000 campaigns, delivered 4× ROI for advertisers, and achieved an impressive 93% transaction match rate. But for McGovern, the real win isn’t scale — it’s purpose.
“We’ve been around for decades,” she said. “We own tech, and tech is culture. Our job is to educate consumers, humanize technology, and create experiences that make people say, ‘I want to be part of that.'”
Key takeaway: When brands own their data and their category expertise, they don’t just advertise — they lead the conversation with validated results.
Mapping the future of commerce media
Moderator Elizabeth Donovan tied the discussion together with a clear message: “Every journey is a media moment. Data and identity make them profitable. Trust and transparency make them sustainable.”
Across industries, the path forward is clear: collaboration beats isolation.
- CMX’s AI-powered tools now build campaigns in days, not weeks.
- Best Buy is forming partnerships across travel, sports, and entertainment.
- ReachTV is expanding its connected ecosystem into in-flight environments.
And at the center of it all, identity is the connective tissue that links consumers, moments, and outcomes across channels.
Key takeaway: The brands that succeed are those that connect data with purpose, partnership, and performance metrics.
Looking ahead
Commerce media is no longer confined to retail shelves or ad impressions. It’s happening in airports, pharmacies, and living rooms, everywhere brands and customers meet.
The future belongs to brands that see every interaction as an opportunity to deliver measurable value.
At Acxiom, we’re proud to help chart the map that’s turning data into connection, and connection into growth. Our clients consistently report faster implementation times and higher match rates when applying these proven strategies.
To learn more about implementing these approaches on your stack, contact info@acxiom.com.
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