More and more major retailers are launching and managing their own advertising platforms. This movement is known as retail media. In 2023 alone, Amazon generated $46.9 billion in ad revenue, largely from sponsored placements on its site. It’s clear: retail media presents a massive opportunity for growth. But it also comes with growing pains.

What Is Retail Media, Really?

Retail media covers many areas, but at its core, it's when retailers become ad platforms, allowing brands to advertise directly on their websites or apps. That means brands can reach shoppers exactly when they’re making buying decisions. It’s a powerful opportunity, but only if executed well.

Three Core Challenges in Retail Media Advertising

As retailers build out their media businesses, they’re discovering just how complex ad operations can be. Some of the biggest challenges include:

1. High-Volume Creative Chaos
   Retail media means scale; lots of advertisers, lots of creatives, and endless variations. Without a streamlined process for creative requests, approvals, and updates, campaigns can get delayed or derailed.

2. Brand Consistency at Scale
   Whether ads are created in-house or by advertisers themselves, it’s critical that every asset feels on-brand. The creative process must be intuitive enough for non-designers, but still flexible enough to meet brand standards.

3. Empowering the Long Tail
   Smaller advertisers often lack the resources to produce high-quality ads. They need self-service tools (ideally with automation and AI) that let them build great creative without needing a design team.

How Cape Transforms Retail Media Operations

Cape gives retailers the infrastructure to power high-performing, brand-safe ad campaigns at scale. Here’s how:

• Launch On-Brand, On Time
  Cape makes it easy to produce and launch fully branded assets across every format; display, video, in-app, email, print, and more. Built-in guardrails ensure everything stays within brand, while a user-friendly interface speeds up execution.

• Collaborate and Scale with Ease
  As campaign volumes increase, Cape centralises collaboration. Teams (and advertisers) can access everything in one place - briefs, templates, approvals - enabling faster turnarounds and consistent execution.

• Optimize and Improve, Automatically
  Cape automates repetitive tasks, so your team can focus on strategy. And with built-in reporting, you can track campaign performance, learn from what works, and optimize future campaigns with confidence.

Client Spotlight: A Dutch Retail Giant Powers Their Platform with Cape

One of the Netherlands’ largest online retailers turned to Cape to help them manage in-house ad creation and ensure every ad, whether created internally or by external advertisers, met their strict branding requirements.

With Cape, they rolled out a self-service ad builder using intuitive, on-brand templates. Advertisers can now create their own assets quickly, with the help of AI-generated variations and built-in compliance checks. The result? High-quality, consistently branded ads; delivered faster and with less oversight.

Ready to unlock the full potential of your retail media network?
Cape is how you scale creative, stay compliant, and empower every advertiser without compromise.