AI-supported incrementality will become a bigger focus for retail media, because it will more easily identify the parts of campaign programs that work and parts that do not.

“Before the end of this year, we will release several features to support this strategy, along with other technology we’re working on for retail media,” said Gil Sadeh, Skai’s newly appointed president.

Creating technology that connects Walmart, Target, Amazon, Facebook and others to the open web is the next phase of retail media. Some have made that connection, while others have not.

Skai — which began making that connection with Amazon DSP and then moved to Walmart DSP, will soon support Instacart.

“We will have agreements with every retail media company with a DSP,” Sadeh said.

The plan means integrating with other DSPs, too, such as Microsoft Invest, formally known as Xandr, as well as those in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) space.

By next year, Skai plans to connect all “walled gardens” to the open web, Sadeh said, because that’s the next phase of retail media.

Connecting to all these channels enables Skai to translate upper-funnel metrics like reach, frequency and impressions into performance metrics, and can help brands understand how exposure of their ads in the upper funnel have impacted performance on other channels.

Skai also continues to invest in creative and audiences, because audience extensions has become one of the most valuable strategies for brands when connecting walled gardens to the open web.

“It lets brands see what’s working in one channel in one part of the world with another,” Sadeh said. It also allows them to “extend to similar audiences that could perform as well,” he said.

Others do something similar through one-to-one connections supported by a clean room in the middle, Sadeh said, but Skai is “extending the audiences and giving insight into performance” without the cleanroom in the middle.

Sadeh was promoted from Skai chief growth officer to president earlier this month. He now oversees day-to-day global business operations, manages departmental leaders, and ensures alignment with the company’s vision and culture as it accelerates its omnichannel agenda globally. 

AI-supported incrementality will become a bigger focus for retail media, but this longtime ad and data executive has more ideas on how to change the industry.