When I stepped into my role at Placements.io earlier this year, many colleagues were asking the same question: "Why are retailers using PIO? What do they know that we don’t know?”

After building media networks at Western Union, GAP, eBay, and Sony, why join a company that many in the media industry know little about.

Well Placements.io is well known to the companies powering retail media, with most already integrated into the platform for buying and selling. Running a modern media business requires a range of capabilities for campaign activation, ad operations, inventory management, billing and invoicing, all across owned, offsite and in-store channels. Partnership integrations bundled into your operating system streamline all of the disparate connections for full media harmony.

The answer is simple: Placements.io isn't just another ad tech company. They've quietly built the premier operating system to power digital advertising for the world's most advanced advertisers and retailers, including Walmart, Microsoft, Home Depot, and Ahold Delhaize. After seeing what's under the hood, this solves the biggest problems facing media owners and advertisers.

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The Three Forces Reshaping Our Industry

After two decades in digital advertising and commerce, I've learned to spot the signals of fundamental change. Right now, three unstoppable forces are converging to reshape everything we know about connecting brands with consumers.

1. The Privacy-First Revolution

Retailers have shoppers and know what they are shopping for. We all know the headlines: 11 new state-level data privacy acts this year, cookie deprecation, and consumers demanding transparency. Many in our industry see this as a crisis. I see it as an opportunity. Accessing these media data points requires working with retailers and their technologies.

At Placements.io, we've built technology that turns privacy compliance from a burden into a competitive advantage. Our AdSalesOS platform enables retailers to leverage first-party data responsibly while maintaining the targeting precision that drives results. We're proving daily that respecting consumer privacy and delivering exceptional advertising outcomes aren't just compatible, they're complementary.

2. The Retail Media Explosion

The numbers tell the story: Retail Media is projected to reach $179.5 billion in 2025 and will account for nearly 25% of all US media ad spend by 2028. But here's what the numbers don't tell you: most of the 200+ retail media networks still struggle to reach maturity due to the various foundational technology requirements. 

Having just launched the Western Union Media Network, I know firsthand the complexity involved and the range of diverse stakeholders within a traditional organization. AdTech is not a competency; therefore, it must be grown organically within the legacy structure. Success requires more than customer data and good intentions. It demands sophisticated technology, streamlined operations, and rock-solid measurement capabilities.

This is precisely what AdSalesOS delivers. It is technology for all stakeholders to see a single source of truth while enabling improvements in the business operations. We don't just help retailers launch media networks—we help them compete with Amazon by providing enterprise-grade capabilities at a fraction of the cost and complexity.

3. AI-Powered is a MUST

Here's where things get really exciting. AI isn't just changing how we optimize campaigns—it's revolutionizing every aspect of advertising operations. Media Plan creation, Audience targeting, media mix management, performance prediction, bid pricing recommendation, invoice discrepancy, and billing reconciliation are all AI-powered capabilities already deployed within Placements.io systems, NOW. AI is a force multiplier for all areas of media and ad operations.

At Placements.io, we're not just talking about AI—we're embedding it into everything we build. Our platforms use AI to automate the mundane, surface insights humans might miss, and enable scale that was previously impossible. This isn't about replacing human creativity and strategy; it's about accelerating all quantitative aspects of media.

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Why Placements.io? One Marketplace with Two Sides

What sealed the deal for me was seeing how Placements.io addresses both sides of the advertising equation, Media Owners and Media Buyers:

AdSalesOS has become the industry standard for retailers and publishers selling their media properties to brands. PIO is the platform that makes retail media accessible to everyone, not just the tech giants. Whether launching your first media network or scaling an existing one, AdSalesOS provides the infrastructure, measurement, financial, and operational capabilities needed to succeed and scale.

MarketerOS is our buy-side platform to access any and all media, including retailer audiences and placements. As retail media networks proliferate, advertisers and agencies face an operational nightmare—managing campaigns across dozens of platforms, each with its own interface, metrics, and requirements. MarketerOS solves this by creating a unified operating system for media buying. Agencies are finding it transformative for managing campaigns across multiple clients & platforms. AdSalesOS powers the sell-side, MarketerOS streamlines buying.

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The AI Advantage

What truly differentiates Placements.io is how we're leveraging AI across both platforms. We're using artificial intelligence to:

• Automate campaign optimization in real-time, adjusting bids and budgets faster than any human could
• Predict performance from pipeline to revenue, helping advertisers allocate budgets more effectively
• Streamline operations by automating repetitive tasks that consume hours of time

This isn't theoretical—our clients are seeing 25-40% improvements in operational efficiency and campaign performance through our AI-powered features.

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Building the Future Together

Six months into this journey, I'm more convinced than ever that Placements.io represents the future of digital advertising. We're not just adapting to change, we're driving it for the entire industry. For those of you who've followed my career, you know I drive media innovation. I joined Placements.io because I believe we're building something transformative for our partners. We're making sophisticated advertising technology accessible to everyone, turning complex challenges into opportunities, and using AI to unlock possibilities we're just beginning to imagine. I want everyone to have access to these tools so their businesses can succeed.

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Let's Connect

I'll be at GroceryShop and the Ascendent RMN Boot Camp this fall 2025, and I'd love to reconnect with old colleagues and new. Whether you're a retailer thinking about launching a media network, an advertiser struggling with retail media complexity, or an agency looking to streamline operations, let's talk.

I'm excited to discuss how to transform your business. To learn more or see our systems in action, schedule a demo or reach out to me directly at markd@placements.io

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Mark Donohue is General Manager of Retail Media at Placements.io. Connect with him on LinkedIn to continue the conversation

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