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Let's Talk About Stuff.
Our Blog
Our goal in posting our blogs is three fold: To introduce timely industry news that is relevant to our clients; to post items we find interesting and entertaining, and finally, to give you a glimpse of TSW US “Behind the Curtain”. We take the business aspects of what we are doing very seriously, but we like to have fun, hopefully that shines through here.
Our Blog is a puzzle being assembled. Sometimes the individual pieces of the puzzle don’t look like the whole picture once completed – You have to keep adding pieces one at a time to make the image clear. We hope you keep coming back to see how the TSW US puzzle takes shape.
Connecting Converse's agency to Retail Media via Package Inserts
We recently helped a leading digital agency expand their offering into package inserts and in-home retail media for their client Converse. Reach real consumers, in the real world, at a moment that actually matters, with unique redemption codes that supported clear attribution.
Package inserts do exactly that.
They land inside e-commerce deliveries, in the home, during the unboxing moment. No scrolling. No skipped ads. Just physical media reaching an in-market shopper who has already bought online and is primed to engage.
That is why package inserts continue to outperform as a customer acquisition channel and why more agencies are looking to add them into their media mix.
Physical media does not mean flying blind. When package inserts are executed correctly, they complement digital measurement and strengthen omnichannel attribution rather than complicate it.
At Connections, we have helped over 50 agencies unlock this channel for their clients, connecting brands with the right consumers through our premium retail partners at scale.
Retail media is bigger than on-site ads. Print still works. In-home still wins. Omnichannel matters.
If you are a digital agency looking to expand your media offering, we should talk.
🔮 Connections 2026: Retail Media Predictions From Inside the Ecosystem
Every January, the industry predicts “more digital.” That’s not a prediction. That’s inertia.
At Connections, we work inside retailer ecosystems every day. Unboxing moments. In-home media. Monetization models that actually move revenue. Here’s what we see shaping 2026, straight from the people closest to the work.
1️⃣ Trust becomes the real premium currency
Consumers trust the brands they buy from. Spending their hard-earned dollars with brands that they feel connect to them through product, mission, and customer service. Customer retention will continue to be big in 2026. Brands will need to continue to influence their customers. A gifted. tangible discount to another like brand inside their package is a great way to do so.
- Megan Stratton
2️⃣ Retailers will diversify revenue or fall behind
The win/win nature of generating significant incremental revenue whilst giving your best customers added value through complementary, non-competitive ad partnerships will become too difficult to ignore any longer for a lot of e-commerce retailers. - Richard Downey
3️⃣ Digital trust erosion accelerates the return to physical media
The continued rise of bots across social platforms like X, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram is eroding confidence in digital-only campaigns. As trust declines, agencies will increasingly look for media that is tangible, verifiable, and brand-safe. That shift will drive more campaigns toward specialized print partners who can activate package inserts at scale. - Ryan Rager
4️⃣ Print never left. It just got smarter
Or did it ever really fall off? Printed package inserts continue to be relevant because it delivers focus, recall, and action at home where decisions are made. Making sure print is part of your 2026 plan is the move. - Megan Stratton
5️⃣Physical retail media will begin to dovetail with digital
Retail media growth is locked in. What changes in 2026 is that more retailers will start to appreciate that tangible, physical retail media is a profitable and symbiotic partner to their ever-growing digital retail media activities. -Richard Downey
We’ll be unpacking all of this and more as we head into 2026. If your media plan still lives in silos, it’s already behind.
Media geeks. Strong opinions. Proven results.
50 Agencies. Countless Connections. One Shared Vision.
At Connections, we're proud to mark a major milestone: our 50th agency partnership.
This isn't just a number. It's proof that when you combine a collaborative mindset, retail media expertise, and a belief in the lasting power of print, real partnerships follow.
For agencies looking to expand into retail media, Connections is a natural extension of their team. We bring immediate value through our deep knowledge of package insert programs. These in-home, tactile touchpoints create lasting brand impressions that bypass digital noise and connect at the exact moment consumers are considering their next purchase.
We're also proud to celebrate Megan Stratton's promotion to Senior Director of Sales and Agency Partnerships. If you're ready to explore how Connections can elevate your agency strategy, Megan is the one to connect with. (MeganStratton@exactconnections.com)
Here's to 50. And to what comes next.
Print Media Isn’t Dead. It’s Evolving Into a Strategic Brand Asset in 2026
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Trust and credibility: Print builds stronger brand trust than most digital channels (B).
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High-value ROI: Print delivers measurable results, especially when integrated with digital campaigns (C).
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Consumer engagement: Print cuts through the clutter, offering a moment of focus and emotional connection (D).
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Connections
This season, we’re celebrating the incredible partners who make what we do meaningful. To Carters Inc., Shutterfly, Enfamil, Lifetouch, Rent The Runway, Similac, and so many others, thank you for your collaboration, creativity, and trust throughout the year.
Working with such passionate and forward-thinking teams reminds us why partnership matters. Together, we’ve created work that inspires and connects with customers in real and lasting ways.
Wishing you a joyful holiday season filled with warmth, rest, and celebration.
We look forward to achieving even more together in 2026.
💜 The Connections Team
🤝 Connections. A trustworthy and collaborative partner to all media agencies.
Connections has significantly increased the amount of business it does in partnership with media agencies over the last few years. Working alongside agency partners to ensure that their clients' package insert campaigns are delivered effectively and efficiently.
Our records show that we have partnered with over 50 agencies over the years to facilitate package insert programs.
We’re proud of the reputation we’ve earned as an agency partner that can be trusted to fully respect the relationship between the agency we’re working with and its advertisers.
We understand that collaboration and transparency are the keys to long-standing partnerships, and the relationships we’ve built with key agency partners in the package insert space are testament to that approach.
As we go into 2026, we’re also keen to start working with more agencies from outside the package insert world. We know that marketers and brands are becoming more interested in retail media generally and package inserts specifically. If you or someone you know works at an agency that specializes in channels outside of package inserts, we’d love to help you facilitate test campaigns either as a fully transparent partner or on a white-label basis.
📬 You may even receive a newsletter from Connections soon, designed to demystify the world of package inserts for interested agencies and account managers.
Please do get in touch if you’re interested in hearing more or would like to receive our agency newsletter.
Partnership Spotlight: L'eggs x Rent the Runway
We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership between L'eggs® and Rent The Runway, now live this December.
Through Connections’ ecommerce media program, L’eggs is reaching fashion-forward, confident women right where they live, shop, and make decisions in the home.
This collaboration brings together two iconic brands that truly understand their audience: women who balance style, comfort, and self-expression every day. Inside Rent the Runway packages, L’eggs delivers a moment of discovery, creating an in-home experience that feels personal and perfectly timed.
A special thank-you to Reina Govindarajan from Rent the Runway for helping bring this partnership to life. Your collaboration and vision made this possible.
We’re proud to help make this connection happen. ✨
P.S. Here's the link to the discount page if you are looking for some great legwear this winter! https://qrs.ly/aqh2y4g
Why you should package insert programs to help you hit your end of year customer acquisition targets
Q4 is the biggest time of year for almost every retailer - at Connections, we do actually have some advertisers for whom January is bigger than December in terms of sales, wonder if anyone can guess which brand and sector I am referring to? Let us know in the comments if you think you do.
But for the majority of our online retail partners and advertisers, Q4 and, of course, the period between Black Friday and the final deadline for delivery in time for Christmas, specifically Q4, can make or break a year.
However, from an advertiser's point of view, this provides an enormous opportunity. Greater volumes, customers in a spending mood and often with bigger budgets than at other times of the year.
To capitalize on Q4, marketers really should start their planning in the summer time so that space can be secured, creative can be tested, and printing can be done. Because even though December has only just begun, we all know how quickly the next Q4 planning period will come around!
Giving Thanks to the Connections That Keep Us Moving
This Thanksgiving, we’re feeling grateful for the incredible retail partners who make what we do possible every single day.
To our partners at Carters Inc., Rent The Runway, Similac, and Shutterfly, and to all of our other amazing retail partners, thank you for your continued collaboration, creativity, and trust. Working alongside teams that share our passion for delivering meaningful customer experiences is what makes this industry so rewarding.
We’re also giving special thanks to the distribution center teams behind the scenes. Your precision, consistency, and hard work ensure our package insert programs run smoothly and reach customers at just the right moment, inside their homes where meaningful connections are made.
From all of us at Connections (US, Canada), thank you for being such an essential part of our story. Wishing you and your teams a warm and happy Thanksgiving. 💜💙
Package insert programs – more than just a DR tactic 📦✨
Package insert programs have traditionally been thought of as a valuable direct response strategy. And when the right advertiser is matched with the right retailer, that’s absolutely true ✅.
The matching of an offer for a product such as KiwiCo, Inc. to an audience of Carter's Moms, for example, cannot be beaten and is a recipe for outstanding response. Or putting an insert for jewelry in front of the Rent The Runway audience would yield more outstanding results.
We at Connections are confident in saying that because we manage both the Carter’s and Rent The Runway package insert programs—along with many more.
However, package insert programs can also play a very effective role in brand building 🌟.
Research has shown that physical media inserted into e-commerce deliveries not only has an outstandingly high level of consumer recall of the insert, but by extension, the brand itself is often kept for a significant period of time once the product has been delivered.
Whether the ad is pinned to a fridge or resides on the coffee table, that longevity in the advertising message is a dream come true for brand-building marketers 🏡.
When you stop thinking of package inserts as just a DR play, their potential benefits increase even more.