Last week, I was lucky enough to travel to France for Cannes Lions.

When I wasn’t busy sweating through my blazers (note to all future attendees: dresses and linen > biz attire), I was constantly pinching myself that I made it into the same room as so many of my marketing idols… and furiously taking notes to make sure I didn’t miss an inch of their wisdom.

While I have countless takeaways (I’ll be sharing more on LinkedIn!), the biggest one was this:

We’re all overcomplicating marketing.

Marketing feels like it's getting more complex every year. More platforms, more data points, more sophisticated attribution models…but what if it’s all actually really simple?

What really struck me at Cannes was how often the most successful campaigns came back to the same core principles - just executed in fresh, unexpected ways:

⭐ Start at the bottom of the funnel and master each level as you work your way up

⭐ Digital Retail Media moves the needle, but don't forget that at least 80% of grocery shops at most retailers are still happening in store

⭐ Trust your gut. If you’ve gathered all the information about a particular activation and you're still not sold, don't do it. I see millions of dollars wasted like this every year before brands start working with us because they didn't trust their gut.

Sometimes the most effective approach is also the most straightforward one.

— Eleanor

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Retail Roundup

Featured retailer marketing updates, deadlines, tips, and more!

🎯 What Every Target Partner Needs to Know

Hayden team member Nancy (hi, Nancy!!) attended Target's Partner Summit and came back with some fascinating insights into where the retailer is heading:

Key stats that caught our attention:

• $20B in annual sales from Drive Up & Same Day Delivery alone

• Nearly 3/4 of digital sales come through their app

• 1/3+ of Target app users browse it while shopping in-store

• Roundel is planning to double in size over the next 5 years

What's new: Target is launching "Precision Plus by Roundel" this August, offering objective-based media buying through Trade Desk and social platforms. The focus is on building media plans around awareness, consideration, or conversion with closed-loop measurement capabilities.

Opportunities worth exploring:

• Target is expanding its Bullseye's Playground (that very browse-worthy section at the front!) beyond the traditional $1-$3 price point—could be an interesting placement for sample or trial-sized products

• They're doubling down on being "America's favorite discovery destination" with new and exclusive launches

• Seasonal moments are getting more emphasis (think "100 days of summer" campaigns)

🛒 CVS + Reddit: An Unexpected Partnership

CVS struck a deal with Reddit to combine data from CVS's 90 million loyalty members with Reddit's 108 million daily active users (yes, those are bonkers numbers to me, too!). Starting Q4, advertisers can target CVS shoppers on Reddit and track whether those ads drive purchases at CVS. 👀 

Why this matters: This partnership represents the broader trend of retailers extending beyond “traditional” retail media. CVS is betting that Reddit's high-intent, conversation-driven environment is perfect for health and wellness discussions.

The strategy: Brands can create custom audience segments using both subreddit activity and recent CVS purchases, then measure the impact across both platforms.

What's interesting: As retail media costs continue climbing, partnerships like this could offer brands more cost-effective ways to reach their target customers where they're already engaged in relevant conversations.

📺 Neptune Retail Solutions Bridges the Gap

Neptune is launching something pretty innovative—connecting Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising within 500 feet of retail stores directly to in-store media campaigns, starting with Kroger's family of stores.

The concept: Using their Polaris Advertising Platform, brands can now coordinate messaging from the parking lot to the shelf, creating a more cohesive shopper journey.

Why it’s worth watching: This type of omnichannel coordination could be particularly valuable for brands looking to maximize their shopper marketing impact. Instead of treating digital out-of-home and in-store as separate tactics, this approach creates a unified experience.

The potential: For brands already investing in both DOOH and in-store activations, this could offer better attribution and more seamless campaign execution across the entire shopping journey.

Thanks for reading!

— Eleanor