This week, I was named a 2025 Nosh Notable (!!!!) - and it caught me off guard in the best way.

Not because I didn't think our work at Hayden deserved recognition, but because I'd been so laser-focused on the day-to-day, I forgot to step back and see what we'd built - it's so special to have a moment like this to help me zoom out and admire our work 😌

Being recognized in the "Can-Do Kids" category feels especially fitting, because it perfectly describes the Hayden Consultancy mentality: We’ve believe that emerging and mid-market CPG brands can be built for legacy, and that belief has guided every choice we’ve made since day 1.

Hayden clients compete with giants and win, not through massive budgets, but through genuine innovation and relentless focus on what actually moves the needle - even when it’s the harder path.

The CPG industry is full of David-and-Goliath stories waiting to happen: Challenger brands creating better-for-you products. Small agencies outperforming their corporate counterparts. Founders who believe that doing right matters more than doing what's easy. So many of us are “can-do kids,” and I’m so grateful to Nosh for celebrating the mentality that makes this industry so special.

To anyone building something meaningful in this space, remember to take a moment to zoom out and see what you’ve accomplished. It’s a long journey - but ultimately, you will be rewarded for working harder and thinking differently.

Thank you again to the wonderful team at Nosh and congratulations to the incredible lineup of Nosh Notables!

— Eleanor

Now, onto this week in retail media and shopper marketing →

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Retail Roundup

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

🎥 Kroger Launches Onsite Video Carousels 

Kroger just rolled out Video Carousels, a dynamic new ad format that combines brand storytelling with product discovery. This placement features video alongside a scrollable list of products - making it easier for high-intent shoppers to engage with your brand and explore your full lineup.

Key features:

• Video + product showcase: Your brand video paired with multiple product cards for immediate purchase. Shoppers can add items directly to cart without leaving the search page

• Prime real estate: Up to two Video Carousel placements per search results page.

• Eligibility requirement: At least one product in the carousel must rank organically for the targeted keyword.

How it works:

• Second-price auction rules apply: You'll pay just above the second-highest bid

• Bid by product: Each individual product card within the carousel is charged separately for clicks

• Organic ranking boost: Active carousels become eligible for auctions when products appear in organic results

Why this matters for your strategy: Video Carousels bridge the gap between awareness-driven content and conversion-focused product ads - perfect for brands looking to educate shoppers on product benefits while capturing immediate purchase intent. This format is could be especially useful for products that benefit from demonstration/education or brands with diverse product portfolios that work well together.

🔄 Kroger Unifies Retail Media Operations Under Single Division 

Kroger's data arm 84.51° just announced a major organizational shift, consolidating its retail media, consumer insights, and loyalty marketing services under one unified team within Kroger Precision Marketing.

What's changing:

• One-stop shop: Promotion, assortment planning, media activation, and optimization services now managed by a single integrated team

• Streamlined leadership: Christine Foster leads strategy and operations, Nick Hamilton oversees tech innovation, with Jenny Holleran and Sam Walston promoted to VPs of commercial sales organized by industry verticals

• Unified offering: Brands can now access media, insights, and incentives through one cohesive platform

Why this impacts your strategy: Kroger is betting that eliminating friction between media, insights, and loyalty will create more value for brands - and justify higher investment. This could mean more streamlined campaign management and better data integration, but also potentially higher expectations for full-funnel performance measurement across all Kroger touchpoints.

Your Retail Media To-Do List - Target Edition 🎯 

✅ Ask your RMS or Criteo rep for an ATL report to see if your sales were coming from your own brand's products… or something else's. We noticed a lot of attributed sales from competitive products, and were told they will not be sending an industry announcement for this as they cannot retroactively correct the data. Check my LinkedIn post for more info!

✅ Confirm the status of your Target ads. On July 31st (when the systems were updated), many products showed up as unavailable - so brands weren’t running ads. This should’ve been resolved on August 6th, but worth double-checking!

✅ Make the most of BOGO 50. This week, many grocery items were BOGO 50 on Target Circle. If your brand was one of them, tomorrow’s the last day - check in on your promo and track any success!

Thanks for reading!

— Eleanor