Iceland Retail Media’s 5,000 Screen Rollout & The Future of Measurable In-Store Media

This week on Retail Media Therapy, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis sit down with Adam Smith from Iceland Retail Media to unpack one of the most ambitious in-store retail media projects in the UK.

Iceland isn’t just refreshing its network - it’s rolling out up to 5,000 in-store screens across in under a year. And they’re not just adding screens - they’re transforming measurement.

What You’ll Learn

Resetting a Retail Media Network

• Iceland Retail Media relaunched in 2025 after restructuring its agency model.
• Screens have been part of the business for years - but this rollout takes them to an entirely new level.
• A fast-moving, privately owned business means rapid execution.

Why Screens? Why Now?

• Every major UK retailer is investing in in-store screens - the question is how well they measure.
• Iceland chose to double down on screens as a core channel of its retail media strategy.
• The rollout could become one of the largest non-London-centric in-store networks in the UK.

Clickstream for the Store

Adam describes the ambition as bringing “clickstream media to bricks and mortar.”

Key elements include:

• Real-time in-store impression measurement
• Dwell time tracking
• Viewable impression data
• Closed-loop attribution linking media exposure to EPOS sales

The goal? Prove that £1 spent in-store can outperform £1 spent elsewhere.

Privacy-First Measurement

Instead of cameras or facial recognition:

• Iceland is using millimetre-wave sensors
• Tracking is based on water-content scanning
• Each shopper is anonymised via temporary RFID tagging
• Fully GDPR compliant
• No personal identification or ongoing tracking

This approach delivers measurable impressions without compromising shopper trust.

Beyond Media: Operational Insights

The data doesn’t just power media measurement. It also enables:

• Live footfall tracking
• Customer flow mapping
• Hotspot identification
• Smarter merchandising decisions
• Better labour planning

Retail media becomes infrastructure - not just advertising.

The Mustard Case Study

A standout example with McCormick:

• AB test: stores with screens vs. without
• Non-promoted EDLP product
• 10% sales uplift
• Category share increase
• Clear link between impressions and sales

And this isn’t just a one-off - this level of reporting is now standard for Iceland suppliers.

The Operational Reality

Installing thousands of screens is no small task:

• Overnight installations in live retail environments
• Infrastructure challenges
• Store team coordination

Retail media isn’t just marketing - it’s operations.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 36 – Is ChatGPT Getting Greedy? Diageo Gets Data-Savvy & AI Traffic Explained

In this episode of Retail Media Therapy, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis dive into three of the hottest topics shaping retail media, marketing, and advertising right now.

First, they unpack the launch of ChatGPT advertising, questioning whether reported $60 CPMs are sustainable — or whether they’re a deliberate premium strategy driven by FOMO, brand signalling, and future valuation considerations.

Next, the conversation turns to Diageo’s retail media strategy, where the global drinks giant positions retail media networks as a full-funnel channel. From leveraging retailer first-party data to activating campaigns offsite via CTV and sponsorships, Diageo shows how retail media can connect brand building directly to purchase behaviour.

Finally, Viv and Colin explore the rise of AI-driven shopping traffic. With millions of referrals now flowing from AI tools to marketplaces, they debate whether this represents net-new demand or potential cannibalisation — and why RFM-based targeting could be the key to turning AI disruption into growth.

A must-listen for anyone working in retail media networks, marketing strategy, or digital advertising.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Making Retail Media Work Inside and Outside of JBPs

In this continuation of the Show Me the Money special, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis tackle one of the toughest challenges facing brands today: extracting real value from retail media spend locked inside Joint Business Plans (JBPs).

From FMCG vs CPG debates to Beatles metaphors (John, Paul, George & Ringo = marketing, shopper, digital & ecommerce teams), the episode unpacks why retail media budgets are fragmented, hard to track, and often inefficient.

Viv and Colin explore how brands can regain control, align media spend to business objectives, and negotiate smarter retail media agreements that go beyond “promised spend” toward measurable impact.

This episode is a practical guide for brand, sales, and marketing leaders navigating the tension between commercial commitments and media effectiveness.

Key topics covered:

• Why JBPs are one of the hardest places to unlock retail media value
• The “four Beatles” problem: fragmented media budget ownership
• Why brands often don’t know who is spending what—and where
• The tension between commercial teams committing media and marketers needing flexibility
• A simple 3-part retail media budgeting framework:
• Goal-driven budgeting
• Spending effectively (incrementality & measurement)
• Being “always on”
• How brands can negotiate flexibility, transparency, and insights from retailers
• The rise of joint marketing agreements and retail media-specific JBPs
• Why marketing teams must be in the room - not just sales

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.