I just landed in Cannes, and wow—talk about a tale of two coastlines! On one side, CMOs and creatives are tucked away in the Palais soaking up award glamour, while out on the Croisette the retail-media crowd is wheeling and dealing under beach umbrellas. That split sets the stage for a whirlwind first day where Amazon steals the creative spotlight, non-retail heavyweights crash the commerce-media party, and industry insiders debate whether trade budgets can keep up with retail media’s rocket-fuel growth. I even squeeze in a quick tease of my latest Forbes deep-dive on the DSP tug-of-war reshaping programmatic commerce.

Stick around—by the end of this confessional you’ll have fresh intel on everything from Marriott’s flashy boardwalk activation to the “publishing apocalypse” one founder says is barreling straight for commerce media. Let’s dive in!

Timeline Highlights

• [0:00]—Touchdown at Cannes & a candid curb-side chat with Lauren Leach and Colin Lewis about the Croisette-vs-Palais “church-and-state” divide.
• [1:41]—Amazon CEO Andy Jassy crowned Cannes Lions Media Person of the Year—and why that’s a watershed moment for retail-driven creativity.
• [3:00]—Marriott, Chase, United Airlines & more non-retail giants unveil luxe beach clubs to showcase their brand-new commerce-media networks.
• [4:39]—MikMak’s Rachel Tipograph warns a “publishing-style apocalypse” could soon hit commerce media—brace yourselves!
• [6:20]—Purdue’s Jodie Hallman calls retail media “way more effective” than legacy trade spend—sparking a lively budget debate.
• [7:43]—Albertsons’ Ben Richardson explains how tighter merchant-media alignment helps smaller retailers punch above their weight.
• [9:00]—I preview my Forbes article on why 96 % of buyers would shift dollars tomorrow if retailers opened up more DSP pipes.

Links & Resources

• “Why DSP Choice Is the Next Retail Media Battleground” – my full article on programmatic readiness for Forbes
• Cannes names Andy Jassy media person of the year
• Stratacache & Albertsons: New in-store retail-media partnership
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn