Marketing Briefing: Marketers push for more flexible retail media deals amidst economic uncertainty

By Kimeko McCoy for DIGIDAY

Ivy Liu

Digiday’s analysis of retail media negotiations amid economic uncertainty gives Left Off Madison—and particularly President Boris Litvinov and CEO and co-founder Rob Douglas—a prominent role in explaining how brands are responding to mounting financial pressure.

Litvinov delivers one of the article’s clearest warnings, advising brands to approach joint business planning agreements cautiously and avoid concentrating their budgets in any single channel. With tariffs, recession concerns and questions surrounding retail media transparency and measurement, he argues that advertisers need strong exit provisions and greater contractual flexibility. Litvinov goes further, predicting a potential “year of reckoning” for both retail media networks and joint business plans as external pressures force marketers to scrutinize long-term commitments.

Douglas supports that outlook with a concrete example from Left Off Madison’s client work. He describes how a consumer-electronics brand that had relied heavily on retail media planned to reduce discretionary spending, maintaining only the investment necessary to preserve its presence while holding additional funds in reserve.

Together, Litvinov and Douglas position Left Off Madison as a clear-eyed strategic partner helping brands balance performance goals with financial risk. Their inclusion underscores the agency’s practical understanding of how economic uncertainty affects real marketing decisions—and its willingness to challenge rigid spending commitments when they no longer serve clients’ interests.

Read the full article on DIGIDAY HERE (full article behind a subscription-based pay wall)