Key Takeaways
- Incrementality, not ROAS, reveals the true impact of digital promotions on CPG brands.
- Matched-audience testing and real-time data give brands greater accountability in retail media.
- Third-party verification is essential for building trust in measured retail media results.
What if CPG brands could measure the true impact of digital promotions in real time, rather than relying on sales figures that may not tell the whole story? The answer starts with incrementality, not ROAS.
In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Bryan Leach, founder and CEO at Ibotta, sits down with Benoit Vatere, chief media and digital commerce officer at Liquid Death, to explore how performance marketing principles are transforming promotional ROI.
Recorded live at Brandweek 2026, the conversation examines how brands can bring greater accountability to retail media and in-store promotions through real-time data, matched-audience testing, and more rigorous measurement.
The discussion unpacks why conventional ROAS can overstate promotional effectiveness, how to identify genuinely incremental sales, and why third-party verification matters.
Benoit also shares insights into optimizing promotional spend across retail channels, reducing customer churn, growing household penetration, and reallocating budgets based on emerging sales signals rather than quarterly recaps.
What you’ll learn:
- Why incrementality provides a clearer picture of promotional performance than ROAS alone
- How matched-audience testing identifies genuinely incremental sales
- How cost per incremental dollar helps protect margins
- Why churn reduction can improve household penetration
- How real-time measurement enables smarter budget allocation
- Why independent verification builds trust in retail media results
About the host and guest:
Bryan Leach is the founder and CEO of Ibotta, a leading performance marketing platform delivering digital promotions to over 200 million consumers. Under his leadership, Ibotta’s app has surpassed 50 million downloads and powers digital offer programs for major brands, including Walmart, DoorDash, and Instacart. In 2024, he led Ibotta through the largest tech IPO in Colorado history. A frequent commentator on AI and CPG performance marketing, Bryan previously practiced law at Bartlit Beck LLP and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
Benoit Vatere is the chief media & digital commerce officer at Liquid Death and is known for his expertise in performance marketing and digital promotions within the CPG industry. With a background in digital-first brand building, he has pioneered innovative approaches to measuring incremental sales and ROI in retail environments.
