Skai and Pentaleap want to help advertisers buy retail media with less hassle.
The two adtech companies have built an integration between Skai’s network of more than 8,000 advertisers and the ad networks that Pentaleap powers for retailers like The Home Depot, Mexican pharmacy Farmacia San Pablo, and Brazilian pharmacy Pague Menos.
The partnership is evidence of a broader shift in the industry as newer retail adtech firms like Kevel, Koddi, Pentaleap, and Topsort challenge long-dominant players like Criteo and Epsilon. Skai inked a similar deal with Koddi at the end of 2024.
Working with Skai is in line with Pentaleap’s mission to “democratize” retail media, said Andreas Reiffen, CEO and co-founder of Pentaleap, in a statement.
The goal is to give retailers and brands “the tools they need to grow, without locking them into closed ecosystems,” Reiffen said. The deal gives retailers access to Skai’s advertisers, and advertisers get access to more ad inventory and better control of their buys, he explained.
Through Skai, brands can buy retail media across multiple retailers without getting committing to joint business plans—large deals generally negotiated between brands and retailers once a year. Brands agree to pay for a certain amount of advertising at a retailer in exchange for their products being sold on the shelves—hopefully in a well-trafficked, easy-to-see location, if negotiations go well for the brand—at individual retailers.
Skipping joint business plans could give advertisers more flexibility and allows them to advertise across more retail media networks than they’re able to manage via direct relationships.
From Pentaleap’s side, plugging into the thousands of advertisers that buy through Skai gives retailers access to a bigger pool of ad dollars. Retailers also get the benefit of Pentaleap’s fluid ad-serving technology, which serves relevant ads on retailer websites, the company said.
“As retail media networks evolve their technology strategies, Skai is committed to being a collaborative partner—expanding access to premium retail inventory for advertisers while ensuring those activations both resonate and deliver results,” Nich Weinheimer, chief strategy officer at Skai, said in a statement.