Podcast Summary: The CPG Guys - Live from CES 2026 with Liz Roche (Albertsons Media Collective)

Podcast: The CPG Guys
Hosts: Peter V.S. Bond ("pvsb") & Jack Shannon (Guest Co-host, CEO of Recess)
Guest: Liz Roche, VP of Media and Measurement, Albertsons Media Collective
Date: January 17, 2026
Location: Recorded live at CES 2026, Las Vegas

Episode Overview

The CPG Guys chat with Liz Roche about her first year leading the Albertsons Media Collective and the rapid evolution of retail media, particularly in-store activation and measurement. Liz reflects on her journey, the Collective’s expansion, the challenges and opportunities of merging media and measurement teams, the ongoing evolution of in-store media, and trends shaping the future of retail media. The conversation is forward-looking, data-rich, and candid, providing valuable perspective on innovation in the CPG retail media marketplace.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Reflections on Year One at Albertsons Media Collective ([05:26])

• Team Unification: Liz’s first year marked bringing together previously separate teams for media and measurement.
  • Quote: “Before media and measurement lived under separate leadership, but when I came on board, we actually brought those two teams together… Our performance specifically on offsite has improved dramatically.” (Liz Roche, [05:36])
• Fast Progress: The merger enabled rapid product rollouts, improved offsite performance, new ad products, and an in-store pilot program.
• Industry Recognition: Albertsons has become known for its transparency and impactful measurement initiatives.

2. In-Store Retail Media – Importance and Strategy ([06:42], [07:48])

• Scale and Frequency Matter: Albertsons reaches over 48 million loyalty members across 2,200+ stores, with shoppers visiting up to 2.5 times per week.
  • Quote: “Our shoppers love coming into our stores. We want to make our stores that much better and give our brand partners a bite at that apple as well.” (Liz Roche, [07:24])
• Experience Enhancement: In-store media needs to add value—not interrupt or detract from shopping.
• Strategic Approach: Content is designed to inspire, not distract; ensuring relevance at the local store level is crucial.

3. Pilot Programs and Key Case Studies ([09:24], [10:18])

• Validation: In-store pilots, launched after an announcement at Cannes Lions, focused on measuring efficacy in driving larger baskets and incremental units.
• Brand Collaboration: Brand partners are keen on customizing their campaigns deeply, leveraging opportunities such as dayparting and localizing content.
  • Mondelez Case: Demonstrated success in launching new products/SKUs through in-store media.
    • Quote: “One of the biggest learnings there was that this is a great format to launch new SKUs.” (Liz Roche, [10:20])
  • Sargento and Mondelez: Highlight innovative brands unafraid to test new formats.

4. Shifting Retail Media Up the Funnel ([10:39], [11:02])

• From Conversion to Discovery: The role of in-store retail media is expanding from lower-funnel conversion to upper-funnel brand discovery—crucial amid declining reach of traditional media like TV and print.
  • Quote: “We can help with the discovery of the upper funnel, which is critically important given the decline in the reach of traditional awareness mechanisms…” (Peter, [10:39])
• Innovation is Key: In-store activations are especially powerful for product launches/trials.

5. Operational Challenges and Cross-team Integration ([13:04])

• Complex Rollout: Scaling in-store retail media is logistically demanding.
• Merchandising & Media Integration: Success comes from tight collaboration—breaking down silos between merchandising and media for a seamless store and ad experience.
  • Quote: “This media format really, really forces the issue of merch and media working together hand in glove.” (Liz Roche, [13:23])
• Shopper Experience: Ads must enhance—not detract from—the shopping journey, for both stores and shoppers.

6. The Role of Transparent Measurement ([14:43], [14:52])

• Industry Benchmark: Transparent measurement is both a business value and a trust-builder in retail media relationships.
• Twofold Purpose: Ensures actual growth and enables partners to experiment confidently.
  • Quote: “Transparency is the key to everything… The closer that we can get to the truth from the measurement perspective, the closer we can get to business outcomes…” (Liz Roche, [14:52])
• Innovation Dialogue: Open methodology invites challenges and collaboration from brands’ data teams.

7. Brand Collaboration, Experimentation, and Mindset Shifts ([16:38], [20:06])

• Expectation Shift: Brands want upper-funnel tactics to deliver lower-funnel metrics—demanding holistic measurement and synergy across channels.
  • Quote: “Even with these upper funnel tactics, our partners still want to see low funnel efficiency. It doesn't just go away…” (Liz Roche, [16:38])
• Creative Recognition: Initiatives like BOGOblitz and the Albie Awards reward engaged partners and showcase platform success.
• Testing Culture: The most successful brand partners are curious, open to experimentation, and recognize that failed tests advance learning too.
  • Quote: “There’s a genuine curiosity within these brands... With that there also is a willingness to see a test fail. And hey, a failed test teaches us just as much…” (Liz Roche, [20:30])

8. Future Trends in Retail Media ([18:29], [21:12])

• Longitudinal Measurement: A move toward cohort analysis and tracking loyalty shifts instead of siloed, campaign-based metrics.
  • Quote: “I think we're going to see a lot more on the longitudinal front... for example, shopper cohorts and understand how we're moving folks from occasional brand shoppers to very loyal brand shoppers.” (Liz Roche, [18:29])
• More Interactivity: Future in-store experiences will focus on richer, interactive content and storytelling to engage shoppers.
• Measurement Evolution: Advancing closed-loop attribution and more granular, store-level sales lift measurements.

9. Industry Collaboration and Standardization ([22:25])

• Setting Industry Standards: Albertsons’ work with the IAB is helping shape standardized measurement and investment models for retail media.

10. Building for the Future: Capabilities & Mindsets ([23:18])

• Analytics and AI: Brands and retailers must invest in data analytics and AI to unlock value in the growing avalanche of retail and media data.
  • Quote: “Keep building your analytics teams... keep building your AI capability. There's more data than ever.” (Liz Roche, [23:18])
• Mindset Shift: Retail media should be seen as a broad, upper-funnel opportunity to reach and storytell at scale—not just a lower-funnel tool.

11. The Spirit of CES & Closing Reflections ([24:13], [24:43])

• Environment of Innovation: CES fosters openness, inspiration, and big ideas through partner collaboration and cross-industry dialogue.
  • Quote: “There's something in the air that brings out the innovation in this space and that's just been really nice.” (Liz Roche, [24:13])

Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• [05:36] Liz Roche: "Bringing these teams together... performance specifically on offsite has improved dramatically."
• [07:24] Liz Roche: "Our shoppers love coming into our stores. We want to make our stores that much better and give our brand partners a bite at that apple as well."
• [10:20] Liz Roche: "This is a great format to launch new SKUs."
• [13:23] Liz Roche: "This media format really, really forces the issue of merch and media working together hand in glove."
• [14:52] Liz Roche: "Transparency is the key to everything… The closer that we can get to the truth from the measurement perspective, the closer we can get to business outcomes."
• [16:38] Liz Roche: "Even with these upper funnel tactics, our partners still want to see low funnel efficiency. It doesn't just go away."
• [18:29] Liz Roche: "We're going to see a lot more on the longitudinal front... for example, shopper cohorts and understand how we're moving folks from occasional brand shoppers to very loyal brand shoppers."
• [20:30] Liz Roche: “There’s a genuine curiosity within these brands... With that there also is a willingness to see a test fail. And hey, a failed test teaches us just as much…”
• [23:18] Liz Roche: "Keep building your analytics teams... keep building your AI capability. There's more data than ever."
• [24:13] Liz Roche: “There’s something in the air that brings out the innovation in this space and that’s just been really nice.”

Important Timestamps

• [05:26] — Liz reflects on year one and uniting teams.
• [06:42] — Why in-store retail media is important for Albertsons.
• [09:24] — Lessons and surprises from pilot programs.
• [10:18] — Case studies: Mondelez and Sargento — innovation in activation.
• [13:04] — The operational challenges and necessity for merch/media partnership.
• [14:52] — The foundation and business case for transparent measurement.
• [16:38] — Bridging measurement expectations up and down the funnel.
• [17:40] — Creative partner recognition and the purpose of the Albie Awards.
• [18:29] — Future trends: longitudinal, cohort-based measurement.
• [21:12] — More interactivity and story-driven in-store retail media is coming.
• [22:25] — Standardization of retail media measurement (partnership with IAB).
• [23:18] — Building future-forward analytics and a new approach to retail media.
• [24:13] — The spirit of CES and innovation culture.

Tone and Takeaways

This episode is highly practical, candid, and pioneering in spirit. Liz Roche provides a clear and honest assessment of what it takes to drive media innovation in a legacy retailer environment and celebrates a culture of experimentation—with a keen focus on transparency, operational excellence, and the power of partnerships. Brands looking to thrive in retail media are encouraged to be curious, take risks, and build robust measurement and analytics capabilities.

Ending Advice:
"Keep building analytics and AI teams; think bigger about retail media’s role as an upper funnel vehicle, and be ready to experiment and learn with both successes and failures."