Flywheel’s Amie Owen: Crowded Retail Media Space Creates Costs Most Brands Don’t Notice
AMENIA, NY — Three hundred retail media networks sounds a lot like abundance. But while a rising tide tends to lift boats, the proliferation of RMNs has overwhelmed many brands. That can result in spreading budgets too thin to make impact anywhere while generating hidden data expenses that rarely surface in a media plan.
“There are about 300 plus retail media networks. It’s really hard to actually siphon off money to support all of the different retailers in the same way,” Amie Owen, chief client officer at Flywheel, told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at Beet Retreat Berkshires. “There is money that it takes to have the data talk to each other, to pipe the data to where it needs to be, and then also understand the data itself. There’s a lot of costs that are probably under the hood that a lot of people don’t see.”
Flywheel, Omnicom’s commerce arm, positions its Total Commerce framework as the answer, though Owen is candid that the industry still has considerable distance to travel before integration fully delivers on its promise.
Total Commerce goes beyond media
The Total Commerce framework encompasses technology, media, creative, retail readiness, and AI rather than defaulting to media as the primary lever. It’s a distinction Owen argues most commerce conversations still miss.
“A lot of people just default to the media aspect of it. Media is just the icing on the cake,” Owen said. “One hand can’t work without the other. We’re making sure that we’re checking all of the boxes for setting yourself up for success when it comes to commerce.”
Path replaces funnel
Rather than filtering clients through a traditional funnel framework, Flywheel maps brand investment against actual consumer paths to purchase. It’s an approach that changes depending which networks and tactics make sense for each brand, she added.
Owen’s example is instructive: a candy bar brand’s consumer is driving to work, stopping for gas, walking inside to pay. Understanding that physical path determines which retail media tactics actually reach that person at the right moment.
“It’s about that path versus the old terminology of funnel. That’s kind of how we’re taking a lot of what we’re learning from a data and tech standpoint and really tying it together,” Owen said.
Integration is real, but uneven
Asked how close the industry is to delivering on its Total Commerce promise, Owen offers an unusually direct assessment.
“Is it integrated? Yes. Is it a little clunky? Sure. But we’re still trying to figure it out,” Owen said. “We’re talking the talk, we’re seeing a little bit of the walk, but we haven’t really necessarily gotten to where we want to be.”
Retail media will keep growing regardless, she added. That reality that creates both ongoing opportunity and ongoing complexity for brands and agencies alike.
Understanding intelligence
Flywheel’s differentiation rests on combining owned media buying and activation technology with specialized teams across supply chain, retail operations, market intelligence, and media. Those are capabilities Owen argues no single-focus provider can replicate.
“We have specialized teams that understand supply chain, that understand intelligence when it comes to trends in the marketplace, that understand retail operations, media. Understanding all those different pieces together really does help drive home what retailers should be looking for, what clients should be looking for,” Owen said.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat Berkshires 2026. For more videos from this event, please visit this page.
AMENIA, NY — Three hundred retail media networks sounds a lot like abundance. But while a rising tide tends to lift boats, the proliferation of RMNs has overwhelmed many brands. That can result in spreading budgets too thin to make impact anywhere while generating hidden data expenses that rarely surface in a media plan.
“There are about 300 plus retail media networks. It’s really hard to actually siphon off money to support all of the different retailers in the same way,” Amie Owen, chief client officer at Flywheel, told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at Beet Retreat Berkshires. “There is money that it takes to have the data talk to each other, to pipe the data to where it needs to be, and then also understand the data itself. There’s a lot of costs that are probably under the hood that a lot of people don’t see.”
Flywheel, Omnicom’s commerce arm, positions its Total Commerce framework as the answer, though Owen is candid that the industry still has considerable distance to travel before integration fully delivers on its promise.
Total Commerce goes beyond media
The Total Commerce framework encompasses technology, media, creative, retail readiness, and AI rather than defaulting to media as the primary lever. It’s a distinction Owen argues most commerce conversations still miss.
“A lot of people just default to the media aspect of it. Media is just the icing on the cake,” Owen said. “One hand can’t work without the other. We’re making sure that we’re checking all of the boxes for setting yourself up for success when it comes to commerce.”
Path replaces funnel
Rather than filtering clients through a traditional funnel framework, Flywheel maps brand investment against actual consumer paths to purchase. It’s an approach that changes depending which networks and tactics make sense for each brand, she added.
Owen’s example is instructive: a candy bar brand’s consumer is driving to work, stopping for gas, walking inside to pay. Understanding that physical path determines which retail media tactics actually reach that person at the right moment.
“It’s about that path versus the old terminology of funnel. That’s kind of how we’re taking a lot of what we’re learning from a data and tech standpoint and really tying it together,” Owen said.
Integration is real, but uneven
Asked how close the industry is to delivering on its Total Commerce promise, Owen offers an unusually direct assessment.
“Is it integrated? Yes. Is it a little clunky? Sure. But we’re still trying to figure it out,” Owen said. “We’re talking the talk, we’re seeing a little bit of the walk, but we haven’t really necessarily gotten to where we want to be.”
Retail media will keep growing regardless, she added. That reality that creates both ongoing opportunity and ongoing complexity for brands and agencies alike.
Understanding intelligence
Flywheel’s differentiation rests on combining owned media buying and activation technology with specialized teams across supply chain, retail operations, market intelligence, and media. Those are capabilities Owen argues no single-focus provider can replicate.
“We have specialized teams that understand supply chain, that understand intelligence when it comes to trends in the marketplace, that understand retail operations, media. Understanding all those different pieces together really does help drive home what retailers should be looking for, what clients should be looking for,” Owen said.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat Berkshires 2026. For more videos from this event, please visit this page.
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