ROAS SPECIAL EP6: Retail Media and ROAS: What the hell do we do now?

What the Hell Do We Do About Measurement Now? | Retail Media Therapy

ROAS: the metric everyone wants, but is it really the one marketers and online advertisers should be chasing?

In this final episode of our special six-part series, The Retail Media Guide to Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ROAS and Measurement, But Were Afraid to Ask, Viv Craske and Colin Lewis revisit the biggest lessons, challenge some long-held assumptions, and share practical advice for brands and retail media networks trying to make sense of measurement.

Why has Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) become the default measure of success? And what happens when the relentless pursuit of efficiency comes at the expense of brand and category growth? Viv and Colin explore why a high ROAS isn't necessarily a sign of success, how the industry became so fixated on the metric, and why it's time to look beyond a single number.

They revisit insights from previous episodes, including Andrew Lipsman's case for incremental ROAS (iROAS) and Sky Frontier's argument for brands and retailers to collaborate more closely on measurement. They also unpack why incrementality isn't something you need to measure constantly, and why understanding the methodology behind your numbers matters just as much as the results themselves.

So, what should you actually do? Viv and Colin share actionable takeaways for both brands and retail media networks: agree on measurement expectations upfront, align on campaign objectives, understand the limitations of your chosen methodology, and build measurement into joint media planning.

They also explore the metrics worth watching beyond ROAS, including share of voice, market share, long-term customer value and, crucially, penetration. Because if your goal is sustainable brand growth, acquiring new customers may tell you far more than the return from a single campaign.

The big takeaway? Don't let one metric dictate your marketing strategy. Understand what you're measuring, question the assumptions behind the numbers, and focus on the outcomes that genuinely matter to your business.

Join Viv and Colin for the final instalment of this measurement therapy session.

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