Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden · Cannes Lions 2026
Alexandra Salomon on Why Retail Media Needs Audits and Standards
Who’s on this episode
Hosted by Jeanniey Walden, founder and host of Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden, recorded on the ground at Cannes Lions 2026.
What you’ll learn
- Why “AI” has become a buzzword at Cannes, and where the reality of automation and agentic shopping actually stands.
- How out of home is evolving into something bigger than a billboard.
- Why retail media and commerce media were the surprise topic of Cannes Lions 2026.
- What endemic and non-endemic advertising mean, in plain terms.
- Why fragmentation in buying and reporting is holding the category back.
- Why audited, certified impressions are coming to retail media, and how loyalty should be integrated without straining the base.
Episode highlights
- 00:00Two connectors bump into each other at Cannes
- 00:20The themes of Cannes 2026, and why “AI” is misused
- 01:00Out of home evolves past the billboard
- 01:23Retail media and commerce media, the surprise hot topic
- 02:00Endemic vs non-endemic, explained
- 02:30The fragmentation problem: no standards, messy reporting
- 03:10Why retail media needs audits and certification
- 03:45Loyalty: out of the silo without straining the base
- 04:12Same time, same channel: see you next year
Episode summary
Two people who describe each other as connectors ran into each other twice at Cannes, and the second time they sat down to compare notes. Alexandra Salomon’s read on the festival cuts against the obvious. AI is everywhere in conversation, but she thinks the word is misused, standing in for automation or agentic shopping that is nowhere near real yet. The topic that actually surprised her was retail and commerce media.
Her sharpest point is about standards. Retail media is fragmented on the way in, because every network has its own unique solution, and fragmented on the way out, because the reports do not line up. One company counts apples, another counts stars, a third counts stripes, and a marketer is left unable to compare performance across them. That, she argues, has to change, because no segment grows when nothing is comparable.
Wearing her Alliance for Audited Media hat, she takes it a step further. If retail media wants to play in the big media space, it will need audits and certification. Other media channels get audited, so claimed impressions and in-store eyeballs will have to be verified rather than asserted. She also questions the loose use of the word network, noting that selling media on your own platform is retail media, not a network, and that the category needs clearer nomenclature.
On loyalty, she and Walden agree the function should move out of its silo and into merchandising and marketing. The caution is balance. Monetize the loyalty base too aggressively with outside ads and you risk straining, even alienating, the members the program was created to reward. It is the tension the whole space will be working out over the next year, which is exactly what they promised to reconvene and discuss.
Key takeaways
- 00:20 AI is the table-stakes topic at Cannes, but the word is misused; most talk of automation and agentic shopping is far ahead of reality.
- 01:00 Out of home is evolving past the billboard into a broader, more connected channel.
- 01:23 Retail media and commerce media were the surprise hot topic of Cannes 2026, not what anyone would have bet on.
- 02:00 Endemic is advertising your own products; non-endemic monetizes your shoppers with relevant ads for things you do not sell.
- 02:30 The category is fragmented on both sides: every network has its own solution, and reporting does not compare cleanly.
- 03:10 To sit with the big media channels, retail media will need audited, certified impressions, not self-reported numbers.
- 03:45 Loyalty should move out of its silo into merchandising and marketing, but over-monetizing the base risks straining it.
Questions people ask
Who is Alexandra Salomon?
Alexandra Salomon is the Founder and Chief Connector of WWConnect. She is a well-known connector across the marketing and media industry and works with the Alliance for Audited Media on measurement standards and certification.
What was the surprise theme at Cannes Lions 2026?
Retail media and commerce media. Beyond the expected AI talk, Salomon and Walden agreed that the monetization of retail and commerce media was the hottest topic of the festival, driven by the explosion of retail media networks across categories from travel to shopping.
What is the difference between endemic and non-endemic advertising?
Endemic advertising promotes your own products to shoppers in your store or on your platform. Non-endemic advertising monetizes those same shoppers with relevant ads for products you do not sell, turning attention into a new revenue stream.
Why does retail media need audits and standards?
Salomon argues the space is fragmented on both the buying side and the reporting side, so marketers cannot compare results across networks. If retail media wants to play in the big media space, impressions and audiences will need audits and certification the way other media channels are audited, rather than relying on self-reported numbers.
Is “retail media network” the right term?
Salomon pushes back on the word network. In her view, if a company is only selling media on its own platform, that is retail media, not a network. She says the space needs clearer nomenclature as it matures.
Should loyalty be integrated across the business?
Salomon and Walden agree loyalty should move out of its silo and into merchandising and marketing. The caution is not to strain the loyalty base by over-monetizing members with too many outside ads, which risks alienating the very customers the program was built to reward.
Full transcript
Jeanniey Walden: You will not believe this. We’re here with Alexandra. When was the last time we saw each other? Years ago. Like two years ago, because we’re not that old, right? I’m so excited to run into you here at Cannes.
Alexandra Salomon: Of course. A million people like the fact that I just happened to bump into you twice. Extraordinary.
Jeanniey Walden: And of course, why wouldn’t you be here, because you are the expert on everything. You are one of the best connectors that I’ve met and come to respect. So thank you for sitting down and chatting with me for a few minutes. Tell me, what are you hearing here at Cannes this year? What are the themes?
Alexandra Salomon: Okay, so besides AI, and I had to say that early on because it comes up in every conversation, I also think the word AI is totally misused. Some people are talking about automation, some are talking about agentic shopping, and I’m like, we’re nowhere near that. It gets plugged in more as a buzzword than a reality, which is kind of a shame. Other emerging topics: the evolution of out of home, and what that means, because it is not just a billboard anymore. And then everything around retail media and commerce media, where that fits into the grand scheme, how companies are really monetizing that, and what brands can do with that space.
Jeanniey Walden: Isn’t that crazy? That’s what I’ve been hearing too. You hear a little AI, everyone has to talk about AI, so that’s table stakes. But then after that, retail media and commerce media at Cannes? I would not have picked that in a million years. If I was betting on Kalshi, I would not have won. But it is the hottest topic right now, because so many brands have retail media networks now. You’ve got United Airlines, you’ve got Marriott. Everything from travel to shopping.
Alexandra Salomon: Yes, there was one the other day where I was like, really? But okay, I guess you have customers, so sure, why not.
Jeanniey Walden: And then there’s this whole conversation on endemic, which is your own product, versus non-endemic. Someone’s shopping in your store, but you want to show them an ad for something that’s not related to your store, and you can monetize off of that. Coming from being the CMO of Rite Aid and understanding how you have to monetize everything, that makes sense to me. But what are your thoughts?
Alexandra Salomon: Well, one, it’s a super fragmented space. I’ve worked in trade bodies, so of course I tend to go to where are the standards. And that’s got to change. We’re not going to be able to grow any segment if everybody has their own unique solution. Then the flip side of fragmented going in is fragmented going out. The reports are, you know, one company is selling apples, the other one’s counting one, two, three, and the third company’s looking at stars and stripes. So if you’re a marketer, you’re like, okay, I think I did well here, but how do I compare the apples to the stripes?
Alexandra Salomon: And that’s going to have to change as well. And then the third thing, and this is wearing my hat for the Alliance for Audited Media, is it’s going to have to have some audits and certifications. Otherwise you say you have X number of impressions, do you? Or eyeballs coming into the store? All other media gets audited. That’s going to have to get into it. If they want to play in the big media space, it’s going to have to have a strong foundation.
Jeanniey Walden: Now what are your thoughts on loyalty? Because it also seems like now is the time for loyalty to move away from the siloed team inside a marketing area that has nothing to do with growth or digital, into an integrated piece of the entire merchandising and marketing network.
Alexandra Salomon: Right, as well as not wanting to alienate the program in the first place. There’s a fine line on how much you can monetize that loyalty base in another way than monetizing from your own customer. If you’re putting in other ads, are you straining that consumer base?
Jeanniey Walden: I’m so curious to see what happens. This is the hot topic I’m going to be following. I’m so excited to maybe sit down next year, maybe this place, maybe same time, same channel. So that means we have to see each other and talk about what’s happened in the past year.
Alexandra Salomon: Where has it gone? How has it evolved? Are we really growing, or is it going to be completely diffused and sucked into the greater realm of media? Is there going to be real retail media? And you also have retail media networks where I’m like, I don’t think you’re a network, you’re just retail media on your platform. So some nomenclature around this whole space would be helpful. But it’s exciting. There’s a lot to be done. This opens up so many doors and opportunities.
Jeanniey Walden: And you know what? Now I think we need to go inside and get a glass of rose in the air conditioning. Thank you so much for being on the show. Everybody else, we’re going inside to get some rose, but you stay right there and we’ll be back.
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