Brands often separate trade marketing and retail media budgets, creating strategic gaps. This mirrors the early days of programmatic advertising, where direct sales and automated ad teams were siloed. The solution requires a holistic approach to workflows and relationships, not just reallocating funds between competing P&Ls.

To avoid an inconsistent, 'all over the place' approach, companies must establish a common brand-building philosophy or framework. This shared point of view, like Molson Coors's MUSCLE framework, ensures organizational alignment and helps build a cohesive marketing culture.

Combining strategy, M&A, and integration under a single leader provides a full lifecycle, enterprise-wide view. This structure breaks down silos and creates a "closed-loop system" where post-deal integration performance and lessons learned directly feed back into future strategy and deal theses, refining success metrics beyond financials.

To succeed today, product companies must also be media companies. Instead of solely relying on buying advertising, brands need to create and distribute their own content through owned channels. This strategy builds a direct relationship with the community, fosters loyalty, and creates a more sustainable marketing engine.

Before defining segments or campaigns, leadership must align on a "North Star": the desired market position, revenue goals, and any reputational gaps. This high-level agreement prevents downstream misalignment and ensures all functions are working toward the same concrete business outcomes.

To break down silos between sales, channel, and field marketing, partner marketers act as a central hub. This is achieved by operationalizing transparency, establishing a formal communication cadence that replaces informal check-ins, and conducting blame-free reviews focused on future actions.

Advanced retailers are moving beyond treating retail media as an ad channel for short-term sales. They integrate it with loyalty programs to deliver personalized value, which strengthens long-term customer relationships and retention, making it a strategic lever for growth.

Home Depot's decentralized model gives regional presidents significant autonomy but with clear, unspoken boundaries—the "invisible fence." This fosters local ownership and agility while ensuring alignment with core company principles. Crossing the line results in a "zap," maintaining strategic cohesion without micromanagement.

To break down silos between trade and media, brands should avoid overhauling their entire annual plan. Instead, select a major "tentpole" campaign (e.g., the Olympics) to pilot a unified investment strategy. This approach de-risks the change by focusing efforts, defining clear cross-channel KPIs, and forcing collaboration with retail partners on a specific goal.