When I started in this business, 85% of TV budgets got locked up in upfronts. Last year? Just 48%. The shift wasn’t because upfronts are inherently bad — it’s because #advertisers demanded flexibility that the market wasn’t providing.
Retail media is walking straight into this trap.
The legacy JBP structure made sense when retailers only had physical shelf space to manage. Lock in your $50 million commitment, get your end caps, everyone’s happy. But now these same advertisers are being asked to commit the same rigid dollars across on-site, off-site, and in-store — channels that need completely different optimization approaches.
The other day, I watched a #brand try to move $5 million from their underperforming sponsored product spend to in-store audio mid-quarter. Couldn’t do it. The JBP structure didn’t allow for it, even though both tactics served the same business objective.
The smart retailers are already adapting. Instead of one massive commitment, they’re offering tiered plans with built-in flexibility. Commit to $125 million, but move money between tactics based on performance. Keep your guaranteed inventory, gain the agility to optimize.
TV learned this lesson the hard way. Retail Media doesn’t have to.
Ask yourself what’s stopping your team from building more flexibility into your retail media commitments.
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Written by: Dave Simmon
