Event Details
Insight to Basket: Unlocking Agency Opportunities with Nectar360
As demand for retail media grows, agencies have a valuable opportunity to develop the capabilities needed to excel in this space
Insight to Basket is a practical, insight-led learning session designed to help independent agencies understand how shoppers really behave and how Sainsbury’s customer data can be translated into effective retail media activation.
Led by Nectar360, this session goes beyond theory. You’ll learn how first-party data is turned into insight and activated across digital and in-store touchpoints – using Sainsbury’s real-world lens.
Whether you’re new to retail media or looking to sharpen your approach, this session will help you approach client conversations and planning with greater confidence and clarity.
What you’ll learn
- Why more brands are investing in retail media and what this means for agencies
- How modern shoppers move between inspiration, search, store, and purchase
- Why traditional funnel thinking no longer reflects real behaviour
- How Nectar360 translates data into practical activation
- How digital and in-store touchpoints work together in real campaigns
- How retail media influences decisions at key moments in the journey
- What effective retail media looks like in practice, from insight to execution
- How agencies can build more connected customer journeys using first-party data
This is a session for agencies looking to move from “retail curious” to retail confident – grounded in real insight, real activation, and real examples.
Sophie Valentine is a Digital Client Director within Nectar360, where she partners with brands and agencies to deliver effective, data‑driven digital marketing strategies.
With extensive experience working across digital channels, Sophie specialises in building strong client relationships, translating complex data into clear commercial insight, and driving measurable outcomes for clients. She works closely with cross‑functional teams to ensure campaigns are not only strategically sound but also flawlessly executed.
With early career experience across Omnicom and Publicis at Nectar360, Sophie now oversees the independent agency hub, which is actively embracing retail media and continuing to grow as agencies increasingly adopt data‑led, commerce‑driven solutions.
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Paul Floyer is a trusted digital commercial leader and programmatic innovator, currently serving as Digital Commercial Director at Nectar360 (Sainsburys and Argos’ retail media division). In his current role, Paul oversees a rapidly scaling agency-facing team tasked with driving revenues across the organisation’s proprietary offsite digital trading platform, ecommerce channels and emerging instore digital initiatives. With a career spanning major publishers, platforms, and retail media businesses (including Rakuten, Ozone and The Guardian).
Paul specialises in transforming commercial operations, deepening agency relationships, and driving scalable digital success.
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Jess Merulla is a passionate Digital Data Strategist at Nectar360, with seven years of experience driving innovation and excellence in retail media. Renowned for her data-driven approach, Jess consistently delivers strategies that elevate brand performance and deepens client engagement across a diverse portfolio of media agencies and partners.
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Alice Anson is a senior leader within UK retail media, currently serving as Director of Digital Media at Nectar360. Recognised for her transformative impact, she has launched two Grocer Gold Award-winning products and built the digital retail media division for the Sainsbury’s Group from the ground up.
Her career spans Amazon, The Body Shop, and Lastminute.com, with expertise in marketing, commercial strategy, and product development. After a career pivot from law, Alice embraced her strengths in relationship-building and commercial insight to drive innovation in retail media.
Committed to authentic leadership, Alice openly shares her experience with ADHD and champions inclusive workplaces. She actively supports talent development through initiatives like Women in Retail Media, Bloom, and Google’s Power for Partners.
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