At Ascendant SHOWCASE 2026, Orange Apron Media shared how specialty expertise, high-intent customer intelligence and connected media experiences can help brands turn meaningful moments into measurable growth.
September, 23, 2026 | Marketing Communications
Shaping What Comes Next in Retail and Commerce Media
As retail and commerce media networks continue to evolve, the industry is embracing new opportunities to create more connected platforms, consistent measurement standards and greater transparency, interoperability and business impact. Against this backdrop, Orange Apron Media joined retail and commerce media leaders, brand marketers and agency decision-makers on September 2 at Ascendant SHOWCASE 2026 in New York City. As the world’s first retail and commerce media upfront, the inaugural event brought these groups together to foster high-impact commercial dialogue, establish strategic partnerships and give buyers an early look at leading network roadmaps and capabilities ahead of the 2027 planning cycle.
Turning Customer Intelligence into Measurable Business Impact
During Orange Apron Media’s Ascendant SHOWCASE keynote, Kailey Emery, Director of Ad Sales Marketing, set the stage by highlighting a powerful advertiser advantage: The Home Depot’s trusted, high-intent customer environment, where brands can connect with consumers and Pros at the moments that matter most.
Arun Ramaswamy, VP of Product and Technology – Marketing and Orange Apron Media, then showed how OAM translates thousands of signals across project-based customer journeys into privacy-centric, addressable audience segments, helping brands understand intent beyond a single transaction and connect discovery, consideration, conversion and loyalty across onsite, offsite and in-store experiences. He also highlighted flexible activation through Orange Access, and the platforms advertisers already use, alongside measurement built into the full campaign process, including SKU-level outcomes, incrementality and brand lift.
Jeff Clifford, Sr. Director, Head of Industry (Sales), closed with a call for brands to build what’s next with Orange Apron Media—turning customer signals into audiences, audiences into action and action into measurable growth. He emphasized OAM’s commitment to making its intelligence easier to plan, activate and measure within the systems partners already use, helping connect media investment to meaningful business impact with greater confidence.
Beyond the Transaction: The Home Depot’s Retail Media Advantage
During the keynote session, the speakers outlined how The Home Depot’s trusted brand, project-based customer intelligence and connected media capabilities create differentiated value for advertisers. With more than 2,300 stores and billions of annual digital and in-store visits, brands gain not only scale, but valuable context grounded in decades of customer trust and “radical helpfulness.” This environment enables meaningful connections as consumers and Pros make decisions tied to major projects and life moments from buying a first home or renovating a space to growing a business or taking on a bigger job.
The key distinction is what happens beyond the transaction: a purchase shows what a customer bought, while the broader journey reveals why and what they may need next. By translating thousands of signals across search, comparison, purchase and repeat engagement into privacy-centric, addressable audiences, Orange Apron Media helps endemic and non-endemic brands identify intent earlier and engage customers more meaningfully across the funnel.
That intelligence moves seamlessly into action. Advertisers can plan, launch, optimize and measure onsite and offsite campaigns through Orange Access or activate audiences within the platforms already embedded in their media operations. Closed-loop measurement, multi-touch models, incrementality and brand lift studies connect exposure to outcomes across channels, including in-store impact beyond the digital cart. Together, these capabilities give brands the intelligence and agility to turn customer intent into sustained, measurable growth.
Three Takeaways from the Conversation
Across the event, retail and commerce media networks emphasized three priorities shaping how they compete for advertiser investment.
- Richer first-party signals are helping networks move beyond basic audience targeting to understand customer life moments, occasions and purchase behaviors.
- Connected, full-funnel activation is becoming essential, with networks expanding across on-site, off-site, video and in-store experiences to influence customers throughout the path to purchase.
- Measurement is shifting toward clearer business outcomes: advertisers increasingly expect partners to prove incrementality, connect media exposure to sales and deliver results that marketers and business leaders can act on.
Turn Event Momentum into Measurable Growth
Orange Apron Media demonstrated how trusted customer relationships, rich customer intelligence and connected activation can transform home improvement intent into measurable business outcomes. Building on the conversations at Ascendant SHOWCASE, Orange Apron Media will continue partnering with agencies and brands to make retail media more relevant, connected and accountable. Whether you’re introducing a brand, reaching high-intent audiences, launching a product or driving sales, connect with OAM to build a plan grounded in how home improvement customers shop, plan and complete projects and explore how our specialty expertise and media solutions can support your next brand or commerce objective.
Ready to turn home improvement intent into measurable growth? Contact your Account Manager or get in touch here to build a tailored plan that puts Orange Apron Media’s customer intelligence, specialty expertise and connected media solutions to work for your brand.
