The agency holding groups are not standing still on retail media. Aggressive acquisitions, new technology partnerships, and organisational restructuring mark the past three years of competition. Publicis and Omnicom have moved most decisively.
Publicis: The Data-First Approach
Publicis’s retail media strategy traces back to the 2019 acquisition of Epsilon — one of the largest data and technology businesses in marketing. Epsilon gave Publicis a first-party data infrastructure and identity resolution capability that became the foundation of its retail media approach. Building on that: CitrusAd in 2021 (a retail media platform powering sponsored advertising for global retailers), Profitero in 2022 (commerce intelligence), and Unlimital — a joint retail media network with Carrefour designed to give CPG advertisers single-interface access to European retailer audiences. The strategy is coherent: own the data, own the technology, build the network infrastructure that connects brands to retail audiences at scale.
Omnicom: The Commerce Specialist Play
Omnicom’s pivotal move was the acquisition of Flywheel Digital — a leading commerce media specialist managing retail media spend for major brands across Amazon, Walmart, Target, and other platforms. Critically, Flywheel also works on the retailer side, helping retailers build and monetise their networks. This two-sided positioning gives Omnicom visibility into the supply side of retail media — intelligence that benefits brand clients. Earlier purchases of Outpromo and Global Shopper (Brazilian retail media agencies) reflect emerging markets commitment.
What to Ask Your Agency
If you’re selecting or reviewing agency partners for retail media, ask specifically about proprietary technology, data clean room capabilities, cross-retailer attribution methodology, and the commercial structure for retail media fees. The answers will quickly reveal how seriously your agency has invested. The capability gap between leaders and laggards is meaningful — and it’s widening.