101: Retail Media

2026 brings an updated 101 Knowledge Session programme available for all ISBA members. The sessions - curated in partnership with Pete Davis, MD of Getmemedia.com - deliver valuable insights and learnings from industry experts and address the whole media landscape and communications process.

This 101 session provides a practical introduction to retail media and its growing role within the marketing and media ecosystem. We’ll explore what retail media is, how it has evolved across onsite, offsite, in-store and CRM channels, and why it has become one of the fastest-growing — and most complex — areas of media investment.

The session examines how retail media works in practice, the opportunities created by retailer data and closed-loop measurement, and the challenges advertisers face around fragmentation, standardisation and integration. It’s designed to help brands navigate the landscape more confidently, ask better questions of partners, and make more informed retail media decisions.

What you will learn:

• Understand what retail media is (and isn’t).
• Navigate the rapid growth and fragmentation of the landscape.
• Distinguish between onsite, offsite, in-store and CRM media.
• Understand the role of retailer data and closed-loop measurement.
• Assess different retailer propositions and maturity levels.
• Plan retail media as part of a broader media and brand strategy, not a silo.
• Understand ISBA’s role in driving standards, transparency and best practice.