Strategy Briefing
Authentic Media Network
Why Authentic Brands Group should build its own retail media network
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Why Authentic Brands Group should build its own retail media network
Ad budgets are moving to channels with first-party data and closed-loop sales measurement. The profit pool is unusually rich.
US omnichannel retail media ad spend in 2026, up 17.9% year over year - still one of the fastest-growing ad channels.
Gross margins on on-site retail media, vs. low-single-digit margins in core retail. Commerce media is a ~$75B profit pool in 2026.
Projected global retail media spend by 2030 - a structural shift in where marketing dollars live, not a cycle.
Retail media rewards exactly what a brand platform owns - audiences, first-party data, and trusted consumer brands.
Banks, airlines, and hotels now run media networks. The barrier to entry is not stores - it is audience, data, and trust. Authentic has all three.
A bank, not a retailer. Monetizes first-party transaction data to connect advertisers with 80 million customers. Launched 2024.
A hotel company selling media against its loyalty audience and travel-intent data across owned and off-site channels.
Airlines, payments, and convenience all operate owned media networks. Any scaled consumer touchpoint now qualifies.
Most media networks spend years assembling reach and data. Authentic has both today, across a portfolio competitors cannot replicate.
iconic brands across sports, fashion, media, entertainment, and lifestyle
in annual system-wide retail sales after the Guess IP deal (from $32B in 2024)
global partners operating stores, e-commerce, and supply chains
points of sale across 150+ countries touch consumers every day
Authentic's proprietary AI platform on Google Cloud is used weekly by 80% of employees, and AI-enhanced Reebok creative delivered up to 60% higher ROAS in early testing. The same stack that powers creative and brand governance can power ad products, targeting, and measurement.
The licensing model that built Authentic is the model for the network: partners run operations, Authentic owns the platform, the data standards, and the brands.
Authentic owns the platform, ad products, data standards, measurement, and advertiser relationships.
margin revenue to the platform owner - vs. low-single-digit margins in core retail.
One network aggregates 50+ brand audiences no single licensee could monetize alone - and every partner earns a share of incremental ad-driven sales.
Stand up a network pilot on Authentic-operated digital flagships (e.g., Reebok.com) with 2-3 anchor endemic advertisers. Prove ROAS and incrementality in one quarter.
Package the ad stack, data standards, and measurement into a repeatable partner playbook - the commercial wrapper licensees opt into.
Write media-network participation into new and renewing licensing terms. Extend from on-site to off-site and in-store as partner coverage grows.
Approve a scoped pilot and a small cross-functional team (digital, partnerships, data) to return with pilot economics in one quarter.