If you’re the first—and only—guest to arrive at the party, has it really started? This week, a major Dutch supermarket chain has become the first retailer to join IAB Europe’s certification program, and TWIRM is asking: Are we having fun yet?
TWIRM, as every retail media maven knows, is the This Week in Retail Media podcast, where Kate Dickson, Head of Marketing and Communications, Retail Media, STRATACACHE, and Jonathan Rosen, STRATACACHE’s Global EVP of Retail Media Strategy, chat across the Atlantic about three news stories that excite them, intrigue them and even, sometimes, make them pop the proverbial “bubbly.”
This week’s top sparkling story, courtesy of Retail Media Age, is about Albert Heijn becoming the first retailer to be certified under IAB Europe’s new retail media certification program. Launched in October 2024, the program aims to standardize and validate the measurement of both on-site and off-site retail media campaigns. The Dutch supermarket giant has won validation from a third-party auditor that its display and sponsored product metrics are accurate.
For Jonathan, it’s a promising first—but not last—step toward building greater trust and transparency across the retail media industry. “So many industries have realized the power of measurement standards,” he notes. “It does take work, but in the end, it often pays off.”
For story number two, Kate and Jonathan explore Pinterest’s surprising Gen Z takeover and the platform’s local inventory play. Finally, they pull up to the pump for Casey’s partnership with GSTV, and its push to turn gas-and-go stops into captive media moments.
Click here to hear Kate and Jonathan unpack Albert Heijn’s certification play and the future of retail media measurement standardization.
