Commerce Media Matters

The shift from shopper marketing to retail media to commerce media reflects a much bigger change in the advertising ecosystem — one where first-party data, consumer signals, inventory, measurement and technology are becoming increasingly interconnected. Helen Johnson has watched that evolution from the brand side and now from the agency side. And one of her biggest messages is simple: “Stop treati...

“The hook here is commerce.” That line from Emma Newman gets to the heart of a conversation that quickly moves beyond commerce media as a category and into a bigger question: what happens when the advertising ecosystem stops operating in silos? For years, media has been organised around channels — CTV, social, search, display, commerce. But consumers don't experience their journeys that way....

Big Tech. AI. Creators. Commerce. Has the media industry misunderstood where power really sits? When Evan Shapiro returns to Commerce Media Matters , the conversation quickly moves beyond headlines into something much bigger. From AI infrastructure and the economics of Big Tech to creator businesses, Fox's evolving strategy and the future of commerce, Evan argues that the media industry conti...

Retail media has become one of advertising's fastest-growing sectors—but what if the biggest opportunities lie beyond traditional retailers? In this episode of Commerce Media Matters , Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn sit down with media strategist and commerce media expert Alex Lawson to explore how the industry is evolving beyond its retail roots. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience a...

Over six special Cannes Lions episodes, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn spoke with 19 senior leaders from across retailers, publishers, brands, agencies and technology companies. Each conversation explored a different challenge, different priorities, and different perspectives. But when viewed together, something much bigger emerged.  The same themes kept resurfacing. In this special Rewind episode...

AI is changing how consumers discover products. But as automation accelerates, trust has never been more valuable. Recorded live from the Vudoo Podcast Van at Cannes Lions 2026, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn are joined by Lou Barrett and Jess Gilby from News Corp Australia, Anna Checa Molins from McKinsey & Company, and Nick Titmus from SeenThis. Together they explore why trusted brands are b...

AI may dominate the headlines, but the bigger shift is happening underneath. The boundaries between media, commerce, creators and technology are rapidly disappearing, creating entirely new ways for consumers to discover, engage and buy. Recorded live from the Vudoo Podcast Van at Cannes Lions 2026, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn are joined by Evan Shapiro (Media Cartographer & Founder, ESHAP),...

AI may be transforming marketing—but the biggest competitive advantage still comes from knowing where to create value. Recorded live from the Vudoo Podcast Van at Cannes Lions 2026, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn are joined by Stevie Antonioni (Managing Director UK, Adnami), Conor McKenna (Partner, LUMA Partners) and Alice Anson (Director of Digital Media, Nectar360). Across three conversations, a...

AI isn't just changing how we work—it's fundamentally changing how consumers discover information, evaluate brands and make purchasing decisions. Recorded live from the Vudoo Podcast Van at Cannes Lions 2026, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn are joined by Andreas Reiffen (Founder & CEO, Pentaleap), Cadi Jones (SVP EMEA, Index Exchange), Alex Springer (Director, Open Attribution) and Na...

AI may dominate the headlines, but the real opportunity lies beneath the surface—building the infrastructure, intelligence and consumer experiences that will power the next generation of commerce. Recorded live from the Vudoo Podcast Van at Cannes Lions 2026, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn are joined by Regina Ye , CEO and Co-Founder of Topsort, and Kunal Nagpal , Chief Business Officer at InMobi....

Following a successful run of conversations with some of the brightest minds in commerce media, we’re taking the podcast to the iconic Croisette for a special Cannes Lions edition! To kick off our Cannes Special episodes, we caught up with three incredible Ad-Tech Heavy Hitters. We spoke with Emma Newman (Chief Revenue Officer, PubMatic), Babs Kehinde (Senior Director, Commerce Media EMEA, PubMati...

In this episode of Commerce Media Matters , Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn sit down with Adam Skinner, Managing Director of Retail Media at Epsilon and former COO & CTO of CitrusAd, to discuss what's next for retail and commerce media. Drawing on more than a decade in the industry, Adam explores retail media's evolution, the shift beyond sponsored products, and the opportunities driv...

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 acr...

What happens when publishers stop thinking about commerce media as a bolt-on — and start treating it as part of the content experience itself? In this episode of Commerce Media Matters, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn sit down with Jessica Gilby, General Manager of Digital at News Corp Australia, to unpack how publishers are evolving — and how News Corp is preparing for a world where content itself...

In this special episode, hosts Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn revisit some of the most compelling conversations from Commerce Media Matters — this time through one unavoidable lens: AI. From agentic commerce and shifting customer journeys, to control, power, and the battle between publishers and Big Tech, to the growing importance of trust in an AI-saturated world — this episode cuts through the n...

Everyone’s talking about retail media, AI, and the future of commerce. But what happens when you strip away the hype and actually look at how brands, consumers, and the industry behave in reality? In this episode of Commerce Media Matters, hosts Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn sit down with Kiessé Lamour for a refreshingly honest conversation on where commerce media is actually heading and what sti...

In this episode of Commerce Media Matters , Bill Fisher from eMarketer joins Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn to unpack what the data is really telling us about media, commerce, and consumer behaviour. From the rise of AI-generated content to the growing importance of trust and quality, Bill shares a grounded, data-led perspective on where the industry is heading and what’s overhyped versus underest...

In this episode, Andreas Reiffen, Founder and CEO of Pentaleap, joins Commerce Media Matters to unpack the structural tensions shaping the next phase of retail media. From the fragmentation of retail media networks and the limits of walled gardens, to the challenge of unlocking real media budgets, Andreas offers a grounded view on what is really holding the category back. He also explores why meas...

In this episode, Ricky Sutton of Future Media joins Commerce Media Matters for a blunt, unfiltered take on AI’s biggest impact on media since the internet, plus the monopoly era of Big Tech, and why the next phase of commerce will be defined by leverage – who controls the data, distribution, and ultimately the customer relationship. From publishers blocking bots to CMOs rethinking ad spend concent...

In this episode, hosts Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn recap a very fast start to the year, jumping on planes and landing in the middle of two of the biggest moments on the commerce calendar: CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas and NRF (National Retail Foundation) in New York. From ad tech decision-makers focused on turning plans into progress, to retailers getting real about agentic comme...

AI isn’t just a back-office tool anymore. It’s creeping into the front end of shopping, discovery, and decision-making. In this episode, Roger Dunn joins Commerce Media Matters to unpack what happens when agents, answer engines and retail media collide. From generative browsers and “browser wars” to instant checkout, affiliate-style monetisation and TikTok’s role as a commerce front door, Roger cu...

It’s 2026. New budgets. New pressure. New expectations. And before diving headfirst into the chaos, we’re hitting pause with a rewind. In this special episode, hosts Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn look back at some of the most influential conversations from Commerce Media Matters — the ideas, debates, and perspectives that will matter even more in the year ahead. From the explosive growth of comme...

Retail media is booming — but maturity isn’t evenly distributed. Lachlan joins Commerce Media Matters to cut through the hype and grey areas: misaligned incentives, messy data expectations, the “too many screens” problem, offsite extensions, and why we need better briefs, not more buzzwords. From IAB council work to hands-on network builds, he shares a pragmatic view on how retailers, brands, medi...

In this episode of Commerce Media Matters, Nick and Paul sit down with Kelly Wearmouth, a leader in the world of adtech and retail media. Her career has taken her from working with global brands like Unilever and Microsoft to helping shape Amazon’s advertising business. Now, as Managing Director at Mars United Commerce, she’s driving connected commerce and helping brands rethink how they reach con...

Recorded live at SXSW Sydney, this special crossover between Commerce Media Matters and Mind the Model podcast brings together Paul Blackburn, Nathan Guerra, and Emily Crone for a conversation about the collision of AI, commerce, and creativity. From agentic shopping and retail media’s next evolution to copyright, deepfakes, and data power plays, the trio unpack how AI is reshaping the way we buy,...