NDA Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearse sat down with Frazer Lockem SVP International Sales, Triplelift to discuss the successful creation and development of the brand’s retail media proposition.
Why did you decide to leave Amazon and join TripleLift?
I had been at Amazon for 11 years and felt it was the right time to deepen my technical and programmatic experience from a holistic perspective. I had worked with supply teams before, but I knew there were areas of the SSP world where I wanted to go much deeper. When the opportunity came up to rebuild and relaunch the international business at TripleLift, I knew I would regret not taking it.
Leaving Amazon was the hardest part because I genuinely loved working there. But TripleLift’s creative SSP vision, the partnership with Amazon, and the chance to help grow something new all aligned perfectly. It felt like the right moment to challenge myself and expand my skill set.
What were your priorities when you joined TripleLift and how are you shaping its position in the market?
My first priority was understanding the teams, the regions and the gaps that needed to be rebuilt. We had lost people in Germany and France, so we effectively had to start again and then expand into Italy and Spain. At the same time, I wanted to strengthen the UK, which is our largest international market.
I also saw a big opportunity with independent agencies, who were almost totally new to us. We had been very reliant on holding companies, so widening the base was important for growth. The partnership with Amazon, especially around our native responsive ecommerce format, has played a major role in accelerating that.
How is creativity evolving in retail media and what role does TripleLift play?
Creativity in retail media is finally starting to evolve beyond basic formats. We are developing solutions that integrate more naturally into customer journeys, including new CTV formats like pause ads. There are also early in-show concepts being tested in the US that open up new creative territory.
Our native heritage gives us an advantage in how we approach creative tech. AI underpins much of this, from content optimisation to computer vision that improves placement level rendering. You will see more formats from us that combine contextual signals, native design and AI driven creative decisions.
How are you working with agencies and why are independent agencies so important?
We work differently with each type of partner because there is no one size fits all approach. Independent agencies and ecommerce teams within larger agenciestend to be more agile, more open to testing and more willing to spend time understanding how to get the most out of our formats. That agility helps us build deeper partnerships far more quickly.
What sets us apart for agencies is our combination of creative tech, audience data and our ability to optimise across formats. Our Amazon background within the team also helps because we know how to co-pitch and troubleshoot together. We are now creating more structured joint development plans with DSPs to deepen those relationships even further.
What are agencies and brands looking for from the buy side today?
Brands want to understand how multiformat campaigns can help them reach customers across a fragmented journey. Focusing on a single format is no longer enough, and we can show the impact of combining display, video, CTV and native together.
That is where we see the biggest shift in expectations.
Case studies have been essential, especially internationally where we did not have many at the start. Presenting those at events has helped people see us differently and move us out of the “native only” perception. Programmatic is still complex, so a big part of our role is helping partners use the right KPIs for the right formats.
How are you approaching talent as you rebuild the international team?
I always try to build teams with different skill sets rather than hiring the same type of person. We share best practice across regions and use specialists in video, programmatic and other areas to improve the whole team.
My focus is on hiring individuals who unlock gaps and bring something new to the table.
Budgets need to be used very deliberately right now, so every hire has to add real value. The Amazon test-and-learn mindset is something I have brought with me, because you need to move on quickly from things that will not scale.
We are being intentional about where we invest and where we need to think differently.
