Everyone is a media network now. Here's how to choose.
Retailers started it. Now delivery apps, ride-hailing and travel brands sell ads against their customer data. Brands need a way to choose.
In May I moderated "The Rise of Owned Media Networks" at NXT Media Days, with leaders from Roundel and DoorDash. The question underneath every answer was the same: if every company with logged-in customers can sell ads, how does a brand decide where to spend?
The money is already real. Uber says its advertising business has passed a $2 billion annual run rate. Instacart reported $286 million in advertising and other revenue in the first quarter of 2026 alone. US retail media is on track for about $71 billion this year. These are not side projects anymore. They are media owners, and they should be bought like media owners.
1. Start with your customer's path, not the network's pitch.
Every network will tell you its audience is uniquely valuable. Map where your buyers actually decide: the grocery app, the delivery order, the store aisle, the ride home. Then shortlist the two or three networks that sit on that path.
2. Buy the data, not just the placement.
The real value of an owned network is first-party purchase or intent data. Ask what you can target with, what you can take offsite, and what you get back in reporting. If you can't use the data beyond one placement, you're buying inventory, not insight.
3. Hold every network to one measurement standard.
Each network grades its own results. Set one attribution window, one holdout approach and one new-to-brand definition across all of them. Then the networks compete on your terms.
4. Know what the network needs from you.
Having helped launch one, I know networks need funded partners, renewals and proof. That gives brands leverage on pricing, data access and test budgets. Use it.
What to do next
- List every network pitching you and score each on audience fit, data access and measurement.
- Consolidate to the few that sit on your customer's path.
- Negotiate a funded test and a shared measurement plan before any annual commitment.
There will be more networks every year. The brands that win will be the ones with a standard for choosing.
Sources: Motley Fool on Uber's ad run rate · Osmos, citing Instacart's Q1 2026 results · eMarketer via VTEX