What’s actually worth attending, what’s being talked about, and where the industry’s heading next.
It’s event season and the Vudoo team has been everywhere from POSSIBLE Miami to Crocodile Cairns and the Ascendant Retail Media Network Council.
So, in this episode of Commerce Media Matters Podcast, Nick Morgan, Paul Blackburn, Andrea Hill and Sarah Lawson Johnston unpack what’s really happening across the industry event circuit right now — which events are driving meaningful conversations, where brands, retailers and adtech vendors are actually investing their time, and whether these events are still delivering real value.
From RMN fragmentation and AI pressure, to measurement, standardisation and ecosystem complexity, the team explores the biggest themes surfacing across retail media and commerce media globally — and why the conversation has shifted from hype and future-gazing toward tangible business outcomes and practical execution.
What you’ll learn from this episode:
What stood out at POSSIBLE Miami, Crocodile Cairns & Ascendant Network Boot Camp: The team unpacks how each event differed — from the tactical, adtech-heavy conversations at POSSIBLE, to the more relationship-driven atmosphere at Crocodiles, through to the candid, closed-door discussions happening at the Ascendant Retail Media Network Council.
Whether industry events are still worth the investment: With tighter budgets and increasing pressure on ROI, the episode explores why companies are becoming more selective about where they show up — and which events are still delivering meaningful value and conversations.
The common themes emerging across regions: Across Europe, Australia and the US, the same conversations kept surfacing — tighter budgets, AI pressure, fragmented ecosystems, standardisation challenges, and growing demand for tangible business outcomes over hype.
Why retail media networks are still navigating growing pains: Across every event, one consistent theme kept surfacing: RMNs are still navigating internal structures, data strategy, standardisation, inventory management, and how to work with an increasingly crowded ecosystem.
The big conversations everyone’s having around AI and commerce: From AI-readiness and metadata, to agentic commerce and changing discovery behaviours, the team unpacks how rapidly the conversation is shifting across retailers, brands, agencies and adtech vendors.
Soundbites to listen out for:
The Changing Economics of Industry Events
“It’s tricky. Brands aren’t really travelling much [to events]. People are picking and choosing where they’re going.” — Andrea Hill
Why Cannes Still Remains the Industry Magnet
“There was definitely a feeling that brands are becoming more cautious about travel and event spend — but Cannes still feels like the place everybody wants to be.” — Paul Blackburn
Industry Events Becoming More Tactical
“The difference between POSSIBLE and some of the retail shows was that POSSIBLE felt really tactical...” — Nick Morgan
Less Future Gazing, More Immediate Impact
"People cared less about future gazing and more about what can I do next month, this quarter, to actually make a difference to my business.” — Sarah Lawson Johnston
Why CFOs Need a Seat at the Table
“I think one of the common pieces of feedback at the end of the event was: who do we want to see more of at these events? Let’s have a few CFOs...” — Sarah Lawson Johnston
The Real Value of Events Attendance
“The value of these events is being able to have multiple conversations with different parts of the ecosystem in the same place...” — Paul Blackburn
Australia’s Retail Media Market Still Maturing
“I think the retail media network space in Australia is still in its infancy really, compared to Europe and America...” — Andrea Hill
About the guests
Andrea Hill is a retail and commerce leader with more than 20 years’ experience across retail, ecommerce, media, and customer strategy. At Vudoo, she works closely with retailers and brands to help shape commerce media strategies that better connect content, customer intent, and transaction.
Sarah Lawson Johnston leads Vudoo’s Global Revenue & Partnerships operations, working across brands, agencies, publishers, and partners to drive growth throughout Europe. With more than 30 years of experience across media, commercial strategy, and digital transformation, she has held senior leadership roles at Covatic, Hudson MX, and Mediaocean.
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