About this episode

The episode discusses the power struggle between The Trade Desk and holding companies, the surge in retail media hiring, and the rise of airline media.

Retail Media Therapy – EP42 Hiring Boom, Industry Beef & The Rise of Airline Media This week, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis unpack three major shifts in retail media: A growing power struggle between holding companies and The Trade Desk A surge in retail media hiring (and what it takes to stand out) Why airlines are becoming retail media giants Topic 1: The Trade Desk vs Holding Companies A major industry conflict is brewing: Omnicom joins Publicis, WPP, and Dentsu in investigating The Trade Desk Official concern: transparency and platform fees Unofficial theory: control and margin pressure Key Insight: Holding companies may want to: Own media buying infrastructure (“the pipes”) Monetize their own AI-driven targeting Reduce reliance on third-party platforms Is The Trade Desk still a partner… or now a competitor? Topic 2: Retail Media Hiring Boom Retail media is officially mainstream. What’s happening: 26 new roles spotted in one week alone Hiring across retailers, agencies, and platforms globally: UK: Tesco, Ocado, Deliveroo, WPP US: Macy’s, CVS, Dentsu Europe: Douglas, ICA Even banks launching media networks Skills You Need to Win: Commercial mindset + revenue focus Retail and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Viv Craske, Colin Lewis

Topics covered

• Trade Desk vs Holding Companies
• Retail Media Hiring Boom
• Airline Media
• Industry Conflicts
• Media Buying Infrastructure
• AI-driven Targeting
• Retail Media Expertise

Keywords

• Retail Media
• The Trade Desk
• Hiring Boom
• Airline Media
• Media Buying
• Transparency
• AI Targeting
• Stakeholder Management
• Strategic Thinking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Trade Desk, Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, Dentsu, Tesco, Ocado, Deliveroo, Macy’s, CVS

More episodes of Retail Media Therapy

• EP44 – Part2: Omnichannel success with Tesco Media's ex-strategist Florian Clemens · May 5, 2026 · 18 min
• EP41 – Mark Williamson of Costco on the power of saying 'No' · April 7, 2026 · 28 min
• EP40 – Has OpenAI killed agentic commerce? · March 24, 2026 · 13 min
• EP39 – AI ad U-turns; Argos and marketplaces; Wickes and home improvement · March 10, 2026 · 23 min
• EP38 – Does size matter? Has Bayer got it wrong? Should you in-house? · March 3, 2026 · 20 min
• EP37 – Adam Smith, Iceland Retail Media – the hard work to make screens awesome · February 17, 2026 · 25 min

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