By Ana Laura Zain for the Women in Retail Media Collective
If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a retail media network from scratch, pivot a career from consulting to corporate strategy to tech, and still keep it real, then Melanie Zimmermann is your kind of person.
Melanie, now General Manager, Global Retail Media at Criteo , was instrumental in launching and scaling Macy’s Retail Media Network. We caught up to chat about her career journey, the evolving identity of retail media, and where she sees the industry headed
Let’s start with Macy’s. What did building Macy’s Retail Media Network teach you?
Melanie: Building Macy’s RMN was a really special experience for me, personally and professionally. I had come from consulting and was ready to move into a more entrepreneurial, startup-like environment. I saw the opportunity for Macy’s to launch a retail media network and was trusted to lead it. And we moved fast—we launched it right in the middle of the pandemic while stores were still closed.
One of the biggest things I learned during that time was: speed matters. We had to be extremely focused. Rather than trying to boil the ocean, we started with on-site advertising—it was where there was the most interest, it was profitable, and it was proven. That targeted approach helped us get momentum quickly.
I also wasn’t afraid to test and learn. I tried multiple ad servers to understand what worked and what didn’t. That mindset—of being okay with pivoting—was really important. And I couldn’t have done it alone. I built an incredible team across sales, ops, analytics, and more. It wasn’t about me—it was about what we could accomplish together, with a diversity of experience and perspectives.
To this day, I still operate the same way: focused, collaborative, and willing to build iteratively. And I still like to move fast!
There’s a pattern of people coming into retail media from ecommerce or merchandising backgrounds. You didn’t come from media—how did that influence your approach?
Melanie: Honestly, I think being a media expert is helpful—but not the most important thing. Running a retail media network is like being a general manager. You need to understand business fundamentals: the P&L, partner ecosystem, negotiating contracts, managing operations, driving growth, optimizing profit. It’s a full business, not just an ad channel.
That’s where my background in consulting and retail strategy really helped. I understood what mattered to the retailer and how to connect media efforts to those core business goals. I surrounded myself with functional experts in sales, ops, media, and analytics—and I learned from them. I even went hands-on keyboard in some platforms because I wanted to understand how it all worked, but my role wasn’t to pace campaigns—it was to lead the vision.
Retailers aren’t just publishers. They sell goods. So retail media has to advance that goal, not compete with it.
What made you want to join Criteo?
Melanie: Culture was a big part of it. I had worked with Criteo while I was at Macy’s, and I always felt how strong the team culture was—even from the outside. Their account team was thoughtful, collaborative, and really listened. And I believe when a company has a strong internal culture, clients can feel it every day.
Now that I’m on the inside, my expectations were not only met but exceeded. I’m surrounded by people who care deeply, who want to solve problems together. We challenge each other in a healthy way—we debate, we’re open, and then we move forward together. I really appreciate that.
It’s also been such a growth experience. The team here has incredibly diverse backgrounds—agency, performance, SSP, everything. And now I get to learn from global clients and commercial teams, which is expanding my understanding of the broader ecosystem in a really exciting way.
You’ve talked a lot about fragmentation in retail media. What’s your take on how the industry is evolving?
Melanie: We’re at a pivotal point. Retailers have been very successful in launching media networks and bringing in incremental dollars. But as that momentum continues, the question becomes: how do you sustain it?
A lot of early success came from suppliers who were already doing business with the retailer. But there’s a ceiling there. You can’t keep growing media budgets faster than the receipts of the retailer. At some point, you need to diversify your budget sources and attract media buyers who aren’t tied to merchandising relationships.
That means retail media has to move from being a trade tactic to being a real media buy. And to do that, we need standardization, transparency, and ease of buying. Buyers want control, they want to compare results, and they want to manage campaigns in tools they’re already using. They’re not going to log into 200 portals and accept black-box reporting.
Some retailers think managed service is “white glove,” but what I hear from brands is—it just feels like a black box. The industry needs to evolve to meet the expectations of professional media buyers, or the dollars won’t follow.
Is programmatic the answer to that problem?
Melanie: Programmatic is part of the answer—but it needs to be programmatic built for retail. Retailers aren’t regular publishers. The expectations are higher: latency, relevancy, creative quality, and data protection all matter a lot more.
There’s a lot of talk in the industry about connecting to DSPs, setting up RTB protocols—but we’re often missing the bigger picture. What needs to be true for this to actually work for everyone? That’s the real question.
And it’s not about being the first one to make a connection. That’s not the definition of success. Success is building something that delivers real value, supports the retailer’s goals, meets buyers’ needs, and is sustainable.
Retailers want control—over what ads show, where they show, and how their data is used. So any programmatic solution has to respect that. It’s not just a tech integration—it’s a full business model evolution.
What about off-site media—where does that fit in?
Melanie: Growth is happening in both areas, but on-site is still where the majority of spend is going—and will continue to go, at least in the near term.
Brands are still prioritizing on-site search, display, and increasingly, video. The value of reaching a shopper in the moment—when they’re actively browsing or ready to purchase—is incredibly strong. That moment of intent is hard to beat.
Off-site is growing, yes—but from a smaller base. So the growth rates might look flashy, but the actual dollar volume is still smaller. And it also depends on the vertical. In grocery or pharmacy, where ecommerce plays a smaller role, off-site may be more important. But for department stores or fashion retailers with stronger ecommerce, on-site will still be the main focus.
There’s also nuance within off-site itself. Are we talking about programmatic display, CTV, Meta, trade marketing? Each has different models. And I do see tension between how retailers want to price and package off-site, versus what professional buyers expect in terms of transparency, efficiency, and self-service.
What is Criteo doing to help brands activate across retailers?
Melanie: We offer a unified platform across 225+ retailers where brands can choose how they want to buy—retailer by retailer, or across multiple retailers. One big development has been SKU-based buying. Brands can activate media against any retailer that carries a specific SKU, which creates scale and flexibility.
We also give brands more control. For example, we let them choose their attribution window, because buying a bar of chocolate is not the same as buying a dishwasher. Brands should be able to tailor measurement based on their category, and know that those settings are applied consistently across retailers.
At the end of the day, it’s about helping brands invest with confidence—making sure they trust how the media is executed, measured, and optimized.
Last question—are there any women in the industry you particularly admire?
Melanie: So many. But one person who really stands out is Kristi Argyilan—she previously led Albertsons Media Collective and now works at Uber. She’s always thinking ahead and pushing for innovation in retail media, but she also keeps it real and stays grounded in what matters.
She’s incredibly thoughtful, kind, and always a pleasure to exchange ideas with. I really admire her both as a leader and a person.
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About us: The Women in Retail Media Collective (WRM Collective) is a network dedicated to empowering women in the retail media sector. By providing resources, thought leadership, and community, WRM Collective creates pathways for women to lead, innovate, and drive change in this booming sector. Founded by two industry leaders, WRM Collective is committed to fostering a more inclusive and equitable retail media landscape. For more information visit www.wrmcollective.com.