Learn

Trade marketing, explained in plain words.

Short guides to the money that moves between brands and retailers: what it is called, how it works, and how to stop it leaking. No jargon, no fluff.

Guide 6 min read

What is trade marketing? A plain-language guide

Trade marketing is the money a brand spends to sell more of its products through retailers, rather than straight to shoppers. It pays for promotions, better shelf space, and advertising run together with the stores that stock the brand. It is one of the biggest budgets in consumer goods, and one of the least measured.

Read the guide

Guide 6 min read

What is co-op advertising? How brand ad money works

Co-op advertising is when a brand pays for some or all of a retailer’s advertising costs, usually when the retailer features the brand’s products in the ads. The brand funds it, the retailer runs the ads, and the goal is simple: sell more of the brand’s products through that retailer. It is one of the biggest and most untapped budgets in consumer goods.

Read the guide

For Brands 6 min read

What is retail media? A guide for brands

Retail media is advertising sold by retailers. It uses the data they have about what shoppers actually buy, and it runs on their own websites, apps, and ad accounts. A retailer knows which customers buy your product, what they buy alongside it, and how often they shop. Retail media turns that knowledge into space where brands can advertise right where the sale happens.

Read the guide

For Retailers 5 min read

How to claim co-op advertising funds, step by step

Most retailers are owed advertising money by the brands they stock, and most of it is never collected. Co-op funds, short for cooperative advertising funds, are money that brands set aside for their retailers to use in marketing. They sit unclaimed because the process to find them, prove you spent them, and invoice for them is slow, manual and painful.

Read the guide

For Brands 6 min read

How to measure trade marketing ROI (and why most brands cannot)

Trade marketing is one of the biggest budgets a brand manages. It is also one of the hardest to measure. A brand writes a cheque, a retailer runs the campaign, and results live in systems the brand does not control. Weeks later an email arrives with a spreadsheet, if one arrives at all. But measurement is possible once you know what you are looking for and what to ask for.

Read the guide

For Retailers 5 min read

Retail media for independent retailers: earning brand money without an ad network

Retail media is usually presented as a game for giants like Amazon and Walmart. They have massive sites, millions of shoppers, and shopper data that makes them attractive to brands. But the money behind retail media, brand advertising budgets, is open to any retailer that sells consumer goods. You do not need an ad network, a data warehouse, or anything Amazon has. You just need the fundamentals.

Read the guide