Retail Media Planning
Part of Retail media during promotions
Coordinating advertising with promotional prices
Check UK sale claims, SKU eligibility and live retailer prices before and during a retail media campaign.
Approve price-led creative against a confirmed offer specification. Release it only when the shopper-facing price and conditions are correct where the advert will run. A scheduled price change is not proof that the live offer has started.
Specify the offer by variant
Provide pricing and media teams with one record per advertised SKU or variant. Include the offer mechanic, prices used in any saving claim, start and end times, participating stores or online routes, quantity and membership conditions, destination and creative version. A family-pack offer does not substantiate an advert for a smaller pack; a store-only offer does not automatically apply online.
Identify who controls the retailer’s selling price and who can correct the advert. A supplier may approve artwork without controlling the checkout price. Record the latest time each booked placement can be changed.
Online vs. In-Store Offer Eligibility
- Store-only offer
- Does not automatically apply online
- Online-only offer
- Does not apply in physical stores
- Family-pack offer
- Does not substantiate an advert for a smaller pack
Substantiate the claim
For a ‘was/now’ or percentage saving, obtain the relevant price history and sales evidence. CAP guidance requires that any reference price used represents a genuine established usual selling price and does not mislead. Be careful when making savings claims against RRPs. Check an ‘up to’ claim against the range of products included, rather than only the largest discount.
If an advert identifies a product and price, check the total payable and any unavoidable charges. The CMA’s UK price-transparency guidance says this will normally be an invitation to purchase and that mandatory charges should normally be included in the price shown up front. How a particular charge must be presented depends on the transaction; obtain the appropriate approval for the actual claim.
Check placement eligibility, advertised products and offer dates directly with the retailer before release.
UK Regulatory Requirements for Price Transparency
- Reference price must be genuine established usual selling priceASA guidance
- Mandatory charges should be included in upfront priceCMA price transparency guidance
- ‘Up to’ claims must reflect full product rangeAvoid misleading consumers
Check the live handover
When the offer starts, inspect the advert and destination in each relevant channel. Confirm the variant, shopper-facing price, conditions and route to purchase. Record when the check was made. Repeat after a price-file update, creative change or extension.
| Finding | Response to agree |
|---|---|
| Offer has not started | Delay or pause price-led creative until the live offer is correct. |
| Only some variants qualify | Restrict the advert or revise its message. |
| Price or conditions vary by location | Narrow coverage or use wording accurate across the media footprint. |
| Offer ends or changes | Replace or stop the stale message and record when it changed. |
These responses depend on the booking. A fixed placement may require retailer intervention rather than a dashboard edit.
Pre-Release Verification Checklist for Promotional Ads
- Offer has not startedDelay or pause price-led creative until live offer is correct
- Only some variants qualifyRestrict the advert or revise its message
- Price or conditions vary by locationNarrow coverage or use wording accurate across media footprint
- Offer ends or changesReplace or stop stale message and record change time
Keep the timeline
Retain the approved artwork, offer confirmation, live checks, exceptions and times each version ran. The record shows whether media was delivered with the intended offer and prevents a mixed-price flight being reported as one unchanged campaign.
