I’m pleased to be penning my first official column as the new Editor of Retail Media Age.
I should introduce myself – I’m Rebecca Sentance, and I’ve been a journalist and editor in the digital marketing space for a little over 10 years, cutting my teeth at ClickZ and Search Engine Watch before spending more than 7 years at Econsultancy – and then joining Bluestripe Group, publishers of NDA and RMA, for my next very exciting venture.
I had a broad remit at Econsultancy, writing about everything from innovation in China to the emergence of generative AI, but one of my favourite topics and one that I consistently found most fascinating was the transformation of retail.
Within that sphere, I had the pleasure of speaking to various leaders and keen thinkers about retail media (and commerce media!*) and its unique characteristics and opportunities – so I’m delighted to now make it my focus as Editor of Retail Media Age (while also lending my pen to New Digital Age).
Since starting in this role, I’ve already had some great conversations about where retail media is currently (watch this space for those appearing on RMA) – about the growth we’re currently seeing, the rising role of in-store, and some of the challenges too (in-store falls under this one as well!) It’s an understatement to say, but it’s a very exciting time to be at the helm of a publication like Retail Media Age.
At the same time, it’s not just about numbers (even alluringly big growth numbers) or technology – if you’ve followed us at Retail Media Age for any amount of time, you’ll know that we’re all about the people.
To that end, I’m looking forward to getting to know all the amazing people in this space as I edit and write for RMA, and I look forward to featuring many of them in the pages of the publication. We’ve got an upcoming RMA Lunch in Manchester on 16th July, following on from the fantastic energy and community at our inaugural RMA Lunch in London last month – and if you’re looking for another London lunch, we’re pleased to be bringing one to you on 10th September, so don’t hesitate to save your spot.
And of course, you’ll find us at Maison New Digital Age again at Cannes in June, where we’ll be giving retail media its due with a dedicated retail media day on Day 3, 24th June.
And if you’d like to start a conversation, have some key insights or research, or know someone doing great work that we should cover, please do get in touch.
Here’s to the next chapter of Retail Media Age…
*I know there have been capital-D Debates about “retail media” versus “commerce media”, and while Retail Media Age is our name, our focus includes everything under commerce media.
