Sponsored

  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Evolution of Apps

A couple years ago, Cory Doctorow observed a phenomenon in online products and platforms that he dubbed “enshittification”: “Here is how platforms die: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value […]
3 min read
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  1. Department & Category

Scenario Planning

There’s a famous observation from Dwight D. Eisenhower I’ve always found interesting: “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Another is Mike Tyson’s quip before a fight with Evander Holyfield: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” What we know as “scenario planning” can be traced back to a Shell strategist […]
3 min read
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  1. Retail Ecosystem

Shoptalk 2025 Recap With The CPGGUYS

The CPGGUYS cover the recently concluded Shoptalk spring 2025 from Las Vegas. What a show! Besides our opening networking reception, we had a chance to meet up with many brands, retailers and of course all our sponsors.  This episode is collectively sponsored by Epsilon, Dunnhumby, Osmos,  Apply to join the Cornell retail media program https://ecornell.cornell.edu/certificates/marketing/retail-media-strategy/ […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Corporate Strategy

AI-First

Organizations have been sending very mixed signals with AI. Many have claimed a strategy of being “AI-first” in one breath, while setting confusing draconian guardrails in the next. The promise of AI has outpaced our organization’s ability to adopt it. I like how Oguz Acar, professor at King’s Business School advocated for a more balanced […]
4 min read
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  1. Corporate Strategy

Navigating Uncertainty

Almost exactly five years ago, in early March 2020, I drew a cartoon that captured some of how I felt in that moment of uncertainty. It showed a group of of people in a meeting and one holding up a coin: “We need to update the forecast. Heads, this will blow over soon. Tails, it’s […]
4 min read
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  1. Media & Marketing

Loyalty Programs

In 2012, I drew a cartoon of a shopper emptying her purse at checkout, saying “wait, I may have a card showing my loyalty to whatever store this is.” The loyalty program arms race has only accelerated since then — partly driven by brands trying to collect more first-party data. The checkout ask for an […]
3 min read
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  1. Department: Food

AI Low Hanging Fruit

With all the hype and promise of AI, including synthetic market research I wrote about last week and new advances like “Agenic AI”, adoption in business is facing barriers and obstacles. Deloitte published their latest State of Generative AI report last month, including this headline takeaway: “We see that most companies are transforming at the […]
4 min read
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  1. Media & Marketing

How the Rise of Streaming is Democratizing TV Advertising

As connected TV (CTV) rapidly becomes the dominant method for consuming television, it also has become the fastest-growing ad channel in the U.S., accounting for one in every 10 dollars spent on digital advertising, according to Emarketer. In fact, U.S. brands alone spent more than $28 billion on CTV advertising last year, making up one-third of the total […]
5 min read
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  1. CPG: Food

Market Research Pitfalls

Early in my marketing career, at General Mills, we used to hold focus groups in a Minneapolis suburb called Eden Prairie. I once overheard a couple of our agency partners jokingly refer to this focus group ritual as going to see the “Oracles of Eden Prairie.” Whether new products, campaign strategy, or ad creative, the […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

How to Boost Customer Acquisition With Direct Mail

As we leap into 2025, the name of the game for marketers is customer acquisition strategies that truly stick. And while digital tactics have their moment, there’s one trusty powerhouse that’s primed to deliver big results: direct mail. It’s the personal touch your audience is always looking for and it’s ready to take your marketing […]
4 min read
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  1. Department: Nonfood

Digital Distractions and Finding Focus

We need to find time for focus to do our best work. Ironically some of the tools we use to make us more productive are designed to steal focus. Distraction is the default setting. Some of this challenge relates to work norms. I love how Jeff Maurer joked about the “always on” expectations of Slack: […]
3 min read
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  1. Agencies & Vendors

Super Bowl 2025 Ads Recap

In this episode, the CPG Guys review all of the television ads that played in Super Bowl 59, February 9, 2025. This episode is sponsored by Recess – ‘helps CPG brands connect with their key retail shoppers, delivering experiential sampling in high-impact locations like gyms, colleges and community events to drive trial and conversion. Now […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Boom Times For ChatGPT

ChatGPT vs. the competition. Source: SimilarWeb ChatGPT is booming. After months of stagnant usage in early 2024, the chatbot hit an inflection point and is now far outpacing its competition, according to new data from analytics firm Similarweb. OpenAI’s flagship bot hit 3.8 billion visits on desktop and mobile web in January 2025, more than […]
5 min read
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  1. CPG: Food

The Super Bowl Ad Formula

The Super Bowl is the biggest high wire act in marketing. The media alone costs $7 million for a 30 second spot to reach an audience of more than 100 million people. So this is when marketers pull out all the stops. And yet they also tend to play it safe by following tried-and-true conventions. […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

New Study Reveals Five Crucial Priorities Shaping The Future of Patient Services

Today’s guest post comes from Scott Genone, Chief Product Officer at CareMetx. Scott shares key takaways from CareMetx’s recent survey of over 100 industry leaders. He outlines four trends that will define the future of patient services. To view the full survey results, download The 2025 Patient Services Report: Provider Engagement is Make or Break for […]
2 min read
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Agile Teams

In 2001, a group of 17 software engineers famously drafted the Agile Manifesto at a ski resort in Utah. They were frustrated by the limitations of traditional “waterfall” software development and wanted a more flexible, iterative approach. The term “agile” evolved into a collection of methodologies that not only changed software development but started to […]
4 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Informa Connect’s Patient Assistance & Access Programs (PAP)

Informa Connect’s Patient Assistance & Access Programs (PAP) March 18-20, 2025 | Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown PA Pre-Conference Workshops on March 17, 2025 Drug Channels readers save 10% on their registration with code 25DC10 When it comes to patient affordability, it’s difficult to imagine a more complex time for our industry. Navigating policy updates, disarming AFPs, […]
3 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

2025 Brand Drug Challenges: A GoodRx Perspective

Today’s guest post is from Dorothy Gemmell, Chief Commercial Officer and President, Manufacturer Solutions, at GoodRx. Dorothy highlights five trends to watch in 2025. She then describes how GoodRx’s Cash Point-of-Sale Solution can help brands improve gross-to-net (GTN) while also making medications more affordable for patients. Click here to download the latest GoodRx data on […]
2 min read
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  1. Partnerships & Alt Profit

How we Brief

Sir John Hegarty, founder of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, famously said: “Writing bad briefs is the most expensive way to write advertising.” The sentiment applies to any form of creative communication and any type of brief. How we brief creative partners is as important as the talent of those creative partners. Writing a truly great brief […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

AI Learning Curve

It’s hard to make sense of the real promise of AI amidst the hype and noise. In 2023, Google CEO Sundar Pichai famously compared AI to the creation of fire and invention of electricity on an episode of 60 Minutes. By 2024, the hype cycle around AI gave way to the trough of disillusionment, as […]
4 min read
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  1. Retail Ecosystem

2024 Omnichannel Retail Recap with Flywheel’s Emma Irwin

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Emma Irwin from Flywheel digital to recap all things omnichannel & retail in 2024. Emma is also host of the podcast ‘Commerce collective’. Find Emma Irwin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-irwin-b950a397/Find Flywheel on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flywheel-digital/posts/?feedView=allFind Flywheel online: https://www.flywheeldigital.com/Find the ‘Commerce collective’ podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-commerce-collective-podcast/id1633426767 Here’s what we discussed :  […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Ho, Ho, Holiday Returns

Over the last decade, “Free Returns” became the new “Free Shipping,” going from differentiator (for pioneers like Zappos) to table stakes (for everyone else). But the tide is turning. According to logistics provider goTRG, 49% of US retailers now think of Returns as a severe problem, especially during the holiday season. In just the last […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Experiential Retail Trends in Beauty: Embracing Pop-Ups and Immersive Marketing

The beauty retail industry is embracing experiential retail, a strategy that transforms shopping into an immersive and interactive experience. Experiential retail goes beyond simply buying products—it’s about creating memorable moments through activities, curated spaces, or interactive elements that engage customers on a deeper emotional level. Beauty pop-ups and flagship stores have become destinations, offering gamified […]
5 min read
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  1. Partnerships & Alt Profit

Product/Market Fit

Product/Market Fit has emerged as a key threshold of success for startups, but the concept can apply to businesses of any size. First coined by Benchmark co-founder Andy Rachleff, Product/Market Fit was popularized by Marc Andreesen in 2007 in a famous essay titled “The Only Thing That Matters.” In the essay, Marc defined Product/Market Fit […]
3 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Who Will Pay for Prescription Drugs in 2032: Four Takeaways from the New Government Forecasts (rerun)

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for today’s Drug Channels Outlook 2025 live video webinar. (If you sign up before 12 p.m. ET, you can attend the live event.) Click here to see the original post. The econowonks at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the latest […]
2 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Marks and Spencer Chairman Archie Norman set to headline Retail Technology Show 2025 conference

Chairman of M&S, Archie Norman, has been confirmed to headline the 2025 edition of Retail Technology Show (RTS). Debuting in its new home, ExCeL London, RTS will welcome 15,000 retail professionals on 2nd and 3rd April. Speaking on the Headline Stage on day one, Norman will join ‘Customer Whisperer’ Kate Hardcastle, for a fireside chat […]
3 min read
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  1. Retailer Media

Live from Groceryshop With Henkel’s Karen Satterlie, Pacvue’s Melissa Burdick & 84.51’s Barbara Connors

The CPG Guys are joined by Karen Satterlie, Director of eCommerce Marketing & Shopper Marketing at Henkel, Melissa Burdick, president of Pacvue & Barbara Connors, VP Strategy & Acceleration at 84.51 a division of Kroger. The episode was recorded in Las Vegas at Groceryshop 2024. This episode is sponsored by 84.51. Follow Karen Satterlie on […]
2 min read
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Editor’s Choice

  1. Channel: Drug
  2. Department: HBC
  3. Acquisitions, Divestitures & Mergers
  4. Corporate Strategy
  5. Corporate Finance
  6. Media & Marketing
  7. Retailer Media
  8. Retail Ecosystem
  9. Shopper & Customer
  10. Trends & External Forces
  11. Retail Operations
  12. Associates & Employees
  13. Stores & Formats

Walgreens Agrees to $10B Sycamore Partners Acquisition

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has finalized a deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners to take the company private after being in the stock market for nearly 100 years. Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share in cash for the Walgreens business, according to a company announcement. Shareholders can receive up to $3 more per share […]
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