DoorDash Exec: Brands Should Unify Media and Promo Budgets to Unlock True Incrementality
CANNES, France – The age-old wall between advertising and promotions is crumbling. For decades, consumer packaged goods companies kept their media budgets in one silo and their trade and shopper marketing dollars in another, each measured by different teams with different metrics and different definitions of success.
Now, as retail and commerce media networks mature, there is growing pressure to tear down that wall. Brands want to know whether a coupon amplified by paid media actually grows a category, wins a new buyer, or merely subsidizes a sale that would have happened anyway.
“For a lot of brands and a lot of use cases, media plus promo drives better performance,” said Katie Daleo, GM, CPG Ads, DoorDash, in this video interview with Beet.TV at Cannes Lions 2026. “And so we need to get sharper about when we should bring them together.”
High intent, open to discovery
DoorDash has grown far beyond restaurant delivery. The platform now spans grocery, convenience, and retail, reaching 56 million monthly active users across more than 40 countries. For CPG advertisers, that expansion creates new moments to intercept shoppers who are already primed to buy.
“Most of our consumers open the app with the intention to make a purchase, but they’re open to finding exactly what they are going to buy to satisfy whatever craving or need that they have,” Daleo said. “So discovery is a big piece of it.”
That combination of intent and openness is central to DoorDash’s pitch. Unlike upper-funnel media, where brands pay for attention that may or may not convert, DoorDash argues it offers access to consumers who are already reaching for their wallets.
One platform, many occasions
Daleo highlighted another dimension: the ability to see a single consumer across multiple purchase occasions. A shopper might buy a single-serve ice cream from a convenience store one day, a six-pack from a grocery store the next week, and a bulk case from a club store the week after.
“DoorDash is a platform where consumers actually do all of those occasions, service all of those use cases and trips in one platform,” she said. “The onus is on us to give that data back to our brand partners so that they can understand where to reach the consumer best.”
That cross-occasion visibility matters because traditional retail media networks typically see only their own store’s transactions. DoorDash, by aggregating orders across thousands of merchants and formats, can stitch together a more complete picture of how consumers interact with a brand.
Ibotta partnership deepens
Promotions remain a core lever for CPG marketers, and DoorDash has been building out its promo capabilities through a partnership with Ibotta, the digital promotions and rewards platform. The two companies launched their integration roughly a year ago and are now moving into more ambitious territory.
“Going into back to school, we’re actually kind of co-creating a campaign together,” Daleo said. “We know back to school is a huge consumables moment. DoorDash loves moments. I think it’s number two. Last year we had significant double digit growth.”
The collaboration will produce bespoke promotions that DoorDash will then amplify through media and merchandising on its app. “First time we’re kind of creating something unique or bespoke together,” Daleo said.
You’re watching The Beet.TV Leadership Sessions at Cannes Lions 2026, presented by iBotta. For more videos from this series, please visit this page. You can find all of our coverage from Cannes Lions 2026 here.
CANNES, France – The age-old wall between advertising and promotions is crumbling. For decades, consumer packaged goods companies kept their media budgets in one silo and their trade and shopper marketing dollars in another, each measured by different teams with different metrics and different definitions of success.
Now, as retail and commerce media networks mature, there is growing pressure to tear down that wall. Brands want to know whether a coupon amplified by paid media actually grows a category, wins a new buyer, or merely subsidizes a sale that would have happened anyway.
“For a lot of brands and a lot of use cases, media plus promo drives better performance,” said Katie Daleo, GM, CPG Ads, DoorDash, in this video interview with Beet.TV at Cannes Lions 2026. “And so we need to get sharper about when we should bring them together.”
High intent, open to discovery
DoorDash has grown far beyond restaurant delivery. The platform now spans grocery, convenience, and retail, reaching 56 million monthly active users across more than 40 countries. For CPG advertisers, that expansion creates new moments to intercept shoppers who are already primed to buy.
“Most of our consumers open the app with the intention to make a purchase, but they’re open to finding exactly what they are going to buy to satisfy whatever craving or need that they have,” Daleo said. “So discovery is a big piece of it.”
That combination of intent and openness is central to DoorDash’s pitch. Unlike upper-funnel media, where brands pay for attention that may or may not convert, DoorDash argues it offers access to consumers who are already reaching for their wallets.
One platform, many occasions
Daleo highlighted another dimension: the ability to see a single consumer across multiple purchase occasions. A shopper might buy a single-serve ice cream from a convenience store one day, a six-pack from a grocery store the next week, and a bulk case from a club store the week after.
“DoorDash is a platform where consumers actually do all of those occasions, service all of those use cases and trips in one platform,” she said. “The onus is on us to give that data back to our brand partners so that they can understand where to reach the consumer best.”
That cross-occasion visibility matters because traditional retail media networks typically see only their own store’s transactions. DoorDash, by aggregating orders across thousands of merchants and formats, can stitch together a more complete picture of how consumers interact with a brand.
Ibotta partnership deepens
Promotions remain a core lever for CPG marketers, and DoorDash has been building out its promo capabilities through a partnership with Ibotta, the digital promotions and rewards platform. The two companies launched their integration roughly a year ago and are now moving into more ambitious territory.
“Going into back to school, we’re actually kind of co-creating a campaign together,” Daleo said. “We know back to school is a huge consumables moment. DoorDash loves moments. I think it’s number two. Last year we had significant double digit growth.”
The collaboration will produce bespoke promotions that DoorDash will then amplify through media and merchandising on its app. “First time we’re kind of creating something unique or bespoke together,” Daleo said.
You’re watching The Beet.TV Leadership Sessions at Cannes Lions 2026, presented by iBotta. For more videos from this series, please visit this page. You can find all of our coverage from Cannes Lions 2026 here.
