Commerce media has outgrown its role as a channel, yet many brands still treat it as an add-on rather than a core strategy. The real opportunity lies in rethinking how commerce is orchestrated across teams, data, and touchpoints to drive long-term growth, writes Managing Director of Capture, Helen Johnson.

Commerce media has rapidly evolved, but the way many brands still think about it hasn’t kept up.

At Capture, we've spent nearly two decades helping brands navigate the world of connected commerce media. Today, we're evolving because commerce itself has fundamentally changed. What was once considered a specialist discipline has become one of the biggest forces shaping modern marketing, influencing how consumers discover, evaluate, and buy products across every stage of the consumer journey.

That shift demands a different approach, not only from brands, but from the partners who help them navigate an increasingly complex landscape.

The conversation around commerce media has largely focused on growth. More Retail Media Networks. More investment. More channels. More opportunities.

But while commerce media has evolved at pace, many organisations are still approaching it with yesterday's mindset.

Too often, commerce media is treated as another activation channel, brought into the conversation once brand strategy has already been defined, budgets have been allocated, and creative has been developed. At that point, commerce media campaigns are being asked to optimise decisions that have already been made, rather than helping shape them from the start.

That approach may deliver short-term performance, but it limits commerce media’s real superpower in driving long-term brand growth.

Commerce media is not a bolt-on, and it shouldn’t be treated like one.

Through nearly two decades of consultancy work with major global brands, Capture has developed The Brand Commerce Excellence (BCE) Index, a proprietary framework designed to benchmark commerce media capability across the market. A glaring theme we’ve found is this: there’s real enthusiasm for commerce media, but many businesses still struggle to connect planning, activation, measurement, and data into one cohesive strategy.

That’s because commerce media growth has accelerated faster than many organisations' ability to integrate and operationalise it effectively. There is willingness and excitement about it and the possibilities it offers, but to date, agility and execution haven’t always aligned with ambition.

  

Subsequently, brands and advertisers overlook broader opportunities: building deeper consumer understanding, strengthening brand equity, and creating sustainable competitive advantage.

That's the difference between “doing” commerce media and harnessing it.

For years, the industry has talked about omnichannel experiences. But omnichannel isn't the strategy. It's the outcome, and one that can only be reached through dismantling internal silos and better integrating commerce media. Success in this space is driven less by the size of investment and more by how effectively brands organise themselves to capture value.

The real challenge is orchestrating the growing number of RMNs, data sources, platforms, and consumer touchpoints that sit behind every campaign. Consumers don't distinguish between social commerce, connected TV, retail media, or in-store experiences. They simply experience your brand. The disconnect happens inside organisations, not in consumers' lives.

A consumer might discover a product through a creator, research it using AI, see a connected TV ad, receive a retailer offer, and ultimately buy in-store. To the consumer, that's one seamless journey. To many organisations, it's still managed by multiple disconnected teams, platforms, and KPIs. But crucially, this is all part of one well-executed commerce media strategy. 

That's why I believe the next phase of commerce media is less about what is executed and more about how it is orchestrated.

The organisations creating the greatest value connect strategy, planning, activation, and measurement around shared business outcomes. They're using commerce insights to inform broader marketing decisions, not simply optimise the final stage of the funnel.

Most importantly, they're starting with commerce media rather than adding it on later.

That's always been Capture's philosophy.

We've always believed the best commerce media strategies begin with understanding how people actually shop. Today, that philosophy extends far beyond the shelf. Commerce media influences awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty, which means brands need a commerce-first perspective that connects every stage of the consumer journey.

That's exactly why Capture is evolving.

As the market has become more fragmented, brands need more than specialists focused on individual channels or isolated campaigns. They need strategic partners who can simplify complexity, connect planning with measurement, and help build commerce strategies designed for sustainable growth.

That doesn't mean replacing great brand marketing. It means ensuring commerce media has a seat at the table from the very beginning, helping shape investment decisions rather than simply executing them.

Crucially, the brands that will lead the next era of commerce media won't chase every new platform or trend. They'll be the ones that rethink how their organisations plan, measure, and connect commerce across the business.

Commerce media is no longer a specialist capability sitting alongside marketing strategy.

It's becoming one of the forces shaping it.

The opportunity isn't simply to do more commerce media.

It's to harness it as a driver of long-term growth.

That's the conversation I'll be exploring at MAD//Fest London, alongside Vinarchy, as we discuss what it really takes to move beyond simply “doing” commerce media and start harnessing its full growth potential.