Observed Signal · Oct 15, 2025 · Policy Update · Source: Adzine · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Retail Media Success Hinges on Transparency and Collaboration
The article argues that transparency is a key determinant of success in Retail Media in 2025. Global Retail Media spend is forecast at 166 billion USD, and worldwide ad spend in Retail Media grew from 67 billion USD in 2020 to 140 billion USD in 2024, accounting for about one-fifth of digital advertising. Germany contributed about 2.73 billion to the spend last year. RMNs are fragmenting the market as retailers evolve into media companies and e-commerce platforms expand their ad infrastructure. Advertisers leverage first-party retailer data to deliver purchase-contextual ads, avoiding third-party data, but this fragmentation makes consistent measurement and cross-channel reporting difficult. The piece calls for standardized cross-channel metrics, unified reporting of impressions, clicks, conversions, and sales, and emphasizes brand suitability—particularly for off-site placements, which show higher risk and lower engagement than on-site. It also notes rising self-service RMN platforms and the need for industry collaboration to implement common transparency tools.
Highlights the need for cross-channel measurement standards and transparency in a rapidly growing RMN market, with industry-wide implications.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Global Retail Media spend forecast to reach 166 billion USD in 2025.
- Worldwide Retail Media ad spend rose from 67 billion USD in 2020 to 140 billion USD in 2024, ~20% of digital ad spend.
- Germany accounted for 2.73 billion of Retail Media spend last year.
- Retail Media Networks (RMNs) are fragmenting the market with many providers; retailers are becoming media companies; e-commerce platforms are expanding ad infrastructure; self-service platforms are increasing.
- On-site inventory shows higher engagement than off-site, and off-site placements carry higher brand suitability risk (about 5.9% vs 1.2% on-site); advertisers rely on first-party data to avoid third-party data.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Carsten Schwecke to Lead Retail Media at MediaMarktSaturn
Carsten Schwecke, former CEO of Media Impact and Seven.One Entertainment Group, will join MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH as co-CEO alongside CMO Michael Schuld, effective November 1, 2026. He will focus on expanding first-party data activation, offsite media, and the publisher business, aiming to broaden the growth strategy beyond retail media and partner marketing. Schwecke replaces Boris Prondzinski and Torsten Ahlers, who are leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. The transition is amicable, with Ahlers supporting the handover until January 31, 2027. This leadership change underscores MediaMarktSaturn's commitment to growing its retail media capabilities.
Prime Video Smashes Champions League Streaming Record
In September 2026, Amazon's Prime Video dominated German streaming, with AGF measuring sports for the first time. The Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal topped the rankings with 4.605 million views, the highest for any single program. Prime Video secured eight of the top eleven positions, including the series "Reacher" and its spin-off "Neagley." Competitors lagged: RTL's "Das Sommerhaus der Stars" led non-Prime content with 2.698 million views, while ARD's Germany-Greece match drew over 2 million, and DAZN's Elversberg-Bayern game recorded nearly 1.7 million. ZDF's election coverage reached 1.702 million. The AGF Census+ methodology counts video starts, not unique viewers, and excludes platforms like YouTube and Facebook.
Funk at 10: From 'Stillborn' to Success Story
This analysis marks the tenth anniversary of Funk, the joint online youth network of ARD and ZDF in Germany, launched on October 1, 2016. Initially criticized as a 'stillborn' project, Funk has evolved into a highly successful platform for reaching audiences aged 14-29, with a brand awareness of 88% in this demographic. The network operates on a fixed annual budget of €45.8 million, which has remained unchanged since its launch, representing significant purchasing power decline over the years. Funk is recognized as an innovation laboratory for public broadcasting, testing and rapidly scaling or canceling formats based on data. Under the leadership of Florian Hager, who served as founding CEO and is now ARD Chairman, Funk has demonstrated the ability to reform public media and integrate digital-first strategies. The article details its evolution, challenges, including the generation shift to Alpha, and its impact as a successful model for youth-oriented public service content.
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