Retail Media Networks Must Enhance Large-Scale Data Utilization, According to Index Exchange Executive

# Retail Media Networks: A New Yorker’s Take on the Future of Advertising

Retail media networks (RMNs) are redefining the advertising landscape, offering innovative ways to reach consumers and track campaign success. It’s all about keeping up with shoppers on the move while making sure the campaigns actually hit the mark. If you’re a media mogul, these networks might just be the cash cow you’ve been waiting for—provided, of course, you can navigate the intricate and ever-changing tech that comes with them.

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Sell-side Enabled Retail

What’s the buzz around retailers collaborating with sell-side platforms (SSPs)? Mike McNeeley, SVP of product at [Index Exchange](https://www.indexexchange.com/), breaks it down in a chat with Beet.TV. There’s a golden ticket for RMNs here: a chance to team up with sell-side players like exchanges to seamlessly harness their data. “There’s an opportunity for retail media networks to work with a sell-side player, like an exchange, like us, to activate their data at scale in ways that are very controllable for the RMN,” McNeeley mentioned. Got your attention? Index Exchange offers RMNs three ways to go big with their data:

1. Align with publishers for bespoke media solutions.
2. Share data in a marketplace, keeping tabs on who’s using what.
3. Use measurement solutions to track conversions from those retail ads popping up all over the internet.

Privacy and security, you ask? Oh, don’t worry. They’ve got a tight handle on that, thanks to pals like [LiveRamp](https://www.liveramp.com/) and a suite of encryption and clean room tech.

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CTV’s Expanding Role

Now, let’s chat about Connected TV (CTV) — it’s the new darling of the RMN world. Much like your grumpy neighbor finally warming up to yoga in the park, CTV’s ability to connect the dots for marketers is proving invaluable. It’s like putting all the puzzle pieces together and yielding juicier CPMs for publishers. “That has advantages over things like traditional linear TV where we’re sort of guessing and trying to make estimations,” McNeeley quipped. With CTV, you can track whether those screen-dazed users ended up clicking “buy” on those lovely products they saw promoted—a marketer’s dream.

Index Exchange is already sketching out a future where RMNs run their own show in retail media, sharing data with publishers, or taking on measurement roles. Imagine this: all the data from ad exposure being seamlessly linked to in-store sales. “That’s really the vision that we’re trying to make come alive,” McNeeley concluded.

Feeling intrigued by the new wave of ad innovation? Check out more from this series at [Connected Commerce: Reimagining CTV and Driving Ad Innovation](https://www.beet.tv/category/connected-commerce-reimagining-ctv-and-driving-ad-innovation-albertsons-iab-alm-2025).