Retail media has evolved rapidly in recent years but this session proved it’s still just getting started. In a revealing look at cross-functional collaboration, organizational change, and media reinvention, Kellanova, Digitas, and Walmart Connect shared how a bold campaign for Cheez-It helped shift not only household penetration, but internal mindsets across the marketing ecosystem.

The case study, nicknamed the “Cheezmergency,” became a catalyst for what retail media could be: full-funnel, high-performing, brand-building and integrated from day one.

From Bottom-Funnel Tactic to Full-Funnel Strategy

Julie Bowerman opened with a clear turning point: like many brands, Kellanova had long treated retail media as a conversion tool paid search, performance placements, lower-funnel execution. But in conversations with Walmart Connect, the team began to reframe its role.

What if retail media could also serve upper-funnel goals? What if the same audience and measurement tools used to drive conversion could be used to drive growth by recruiting new buyers, not just nudging loyal ones?

That shift began a two-year collaboration that resulted in Cheezmergency, a fully integrated campaign designed to drive household penetration using Walmart’s full media stack.

The Creative Hook: Cravings, Not Coupons

The insight was simple but powerful: cravings drive snack purchases, and Cheez-It could own that moment. Rather than chasing purchase triggers with discounts, the team leaned into the emotional reality of wanting something salty and needing it now.

The campaign was built to meet that moment wherever it happened:

• Paid search for digital shelf visibility

• App-based display for non-search moments

• CTV and premium display to drive brand awareness

• Social and influencer integrations to drive cultural momentum

The entire program was connected by a unified audience and measurement model a breakthrough that allowed the team to attribute impact across the full journey.

Results That Shifted the Narrative

The results were more than strong they were unexpected:

• $34 million in sales attributed to the campaign

• 25% of those buyers were new to the brand

• 230% lift in sales among those exposed across multiple touchpoints

• 3x higher household penetration than Kellanova’s always-on paid search

For an established brand like Cheez-It, these weren’t just incremental numbers they were game-changing. The campaign proved that retail media can do more than close the sale. It can drive demand.

Internal Alignment Was the Harder Lift

If the media worked, the organizational redesign was harder. Bowerman described the typical tension: who funds retail media? Is it sales or marketing? Shopper or brand? Until recently, those questions made cross-functional alignment nearly impossible.

But when results showed clear incrementality, those tensions eased. Suddenly, brand and commerce leaders had shared KPIs and the budget debates became operational, not philosophical.

Megan Jones of Digitas added that agencies, too, had to adapt. Metrics like “new-to-brand buyers” aren’t standard in CTV or programmatic dashboards. But they matter and when tied to outcomes, they help shift planning toward business impact, not just media efficiency.

Retail Media Is Becoming the Frontline of Media Planning

Perhaps the biggest change? Retail media is no longer being planned last. For Kellanova, 2026 budgets are now being shaped with retail media in the upfront not bolted on at the end.

Walmart Connect, for its part, is expanding its definition of media to include loyalty data, personalization infrastructure, content creation, and co-investment models. Retailers, it seems, are becoming creative collaborators not just inventory sellers.

What Comes Next: Standardization, Storytelling, and Loyalty

As the session wrapped, panelists looked ahead to what retail media still needs:

• Consistent measurement: KPIs like new-to-brand, incrementality, and household penetration must be defined and accepted across platforms.

• Creative breakthrough: Retail media needs storytelling — not just static banners. Personalization at scale will only work if paired with compelling creative.

• Deeper integration: Planning must involve both merchants and marketers with shared objectives, shared tools, and shared data.

The Cheezmergency may have been cheeky, but its implications were serious: retail media isn’t just a channel. It’s a system. And when used well, it changes what marketing and media collaboration, can look like.

Independently Created. Not affiliated with POSSIBLE.

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the Events division