AMENIA, NY — Travel has emerged as a bellwether for commerce media for several reasons, chief among them is the ability to connect data and content from 35,000 feet up in the air on down to the ground.
That’s how Cara Lewis, chief investment and activation officer at dentsu international, explained the opportunities for the agency’s partners like United Airlines and the carrier’s Kinective Media unit, explained it to Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat Berkshires 2025.
The role of digital content provider is a fairly new one for airlines like United. Still, the roots associated in-flight travel magazines is part of most major airlines’ DNA. In that sense, their embrace of commerce media is simply a new twist on an old idea. But where in-flight magazines were typically a promotional tool for the airlines, commerce media allows for a much greater ability to tap into entirely new revenue streams using carriers’ first-party data that transforms previously passive viewing time into active shopping opportunities for consumers as their mindset shifts between business and leisure travel and on back to their daily lives.
Shoppable experiences in the (literal) cloud
The in-flight environment offers unique advantages for commerce integration that Lewis sees as something marketers are only beginning to exploit. As a fairly captive audience during a flight, passengers have dedicated screen time, limited distractions, and often engage in aspirational thinking about purchases they want to make.
“I’ve thought for years, ‘I want to get this or I want to buy this,’ while I’m writing myself notes while on the plane,” Lewis said. “When you’re actually in-flight, sitting in your seat with in-screen, you can actually make those shoppable experiences [happen].”
United’s recent partnership with Spotify represents an early example of this content-commerce integration, though Lewis suggests much broader opportunities exist both during flight and throughout the extended travel journey.
Data-driven seat-level targeting
The evolution extends dentsu’s role beyond traditional media planning into sophisticated audience targeting based on real-time passenger data. Airlines possess detailed customer profiles through loyalty programs, but connecting that information to in-seat experiences creates new targeting possibilities.
One example Lewis mentioned was the way United shows in-person appreciation for its MileagePlus 1K members during a flight. “[United] knows to give you that free box,” Lewis noted. “By knowing who the consumer is sitting in the seat, we can target them for luxury if that’s what we know that they’re interested in.”
This capability allows dentsu to leverage client relationships across categories. If passenger data indicates interest in premium products, the agency can activate luxury brand campaigns within the flight entertainment system, creating relevant advertising experiences rather than generic promotional fare.
Reducing commerce complexity
Despite the opportunities, Lewis acknowledges that current advertising technology infrastructure creates unnecessary friction between content consumption and purchase completion. The proliferation of demand-side platforms, supply-side platforms, and retail media networks has complicated rather than streamlined the path to conversion.
“There’s a ton of DSPs, there’s a ton of SSPs, there’s a ton of RMNs. Supply path is an issue, interoperability is an issue,” she said. “We need to actually get some of that complexity and reduce that to make it faster.”
Lewis sees artificial intelligence as the primary solution for simplifying these technical challenges. AI agents and automation could eliminate the manual processes that currently require multiple touchpoints between media planning, buying, and commerce activation.
Content and data partnership
The shoppable content phenomenon extends far beyond travel environments, reflecting broader changes in consumer behavior where purchase consideration happens continuously rather than in dedicated shopping sessions.
“Shoppable is everywhere, right? People, consumers are shopping at every given moment when they wake up, when they go to bed,” Lewis said. This constant “commerce mindset” requires brands to integrate purchase opportunities into entertainment and information consumption rather than treating shopping as a separate activity.
However, successful implementation requires balancing content quality with commercial objectives.
“Content is king, but ultimately data sits on the throne too,” Lewis said. “So if you can marry all those things together, I think we can make it simplistic and work better.”
Travel expansion
Dentsu international is a global media and digital marketing communications company that serves clients across advertising, media, digital, and creative services.
Lewis expects United’s Spotify partnership to serve as a foundation for broader content-commerce initiatives. The idea is to expand beyond the flight experience into airport environments and post-travel engagement. These partnerships could transform how airlines monetize customer relationships while providing more relevant, personalized experiences.
The approach is grounded in broader industry movement toward integrated customer experiences where entertainment, information, and commerce blend seamlessly rather than competing for consumer attention in separate channels.
“There are so many more partnerships that I think can unlock and really help with the experience during in-flight and really actually probably outside of the flight too,” Lewis said, “right before you get to the airport, after you leave and get off your plane.”
You’re watching “The Flight to Cannes: Commerce Media Takes Off”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series, presented by Kinective Media by United Airlines. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
