The trend: The growth of retail media and programmatic advertising is fueling demand for skilled professionals in ad tech, martech, and related fields.

While recent monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows declines in overall ad jobs, there are pockets of growth. Retail media investment continues to strengthen, driven by the expansion of marketing technology and ad placements beyond retail websites into connected TV and in-store displays. These changes are creating a need for new skills and reshaping traditional roles. Omnichannel retail media will reach $61.24 billion in US spending this year, up 18.1% from 2024, per our forecast.

Talent hunt: As brands focus on retail media network ad spending that provides better omnichannel customer targeting, tracking, and improved performance measurement and campaign attribution, retailers need to fill their skills gaps by hiring talent in ad tech, martech, and growth marketing, according to Dan Goldsmith, managing director at Three Pillars Recruiting.

Goldsmith, who scouted talent for mid-level and executive roles at the Commerce Media Brand Summit conference in Atlanta earlier this month, cited a “very strong” pent-up need for critical retail media and ad tech roles after some stagnation in 2023 and 2024. Companies have more clarity on the expertise they need and are “now rehiring, spending money on the necessary talent to manage and execute new business challenges and new business opportunities,” he said.

He noted some talent trends:

• In supply-side roles at tech vendors, talent is scarce, especially in complex B2B sales positions that require nuanced expertise around multiparty, data-driven, programmatic inventory optimization and monetization.
• Retailers have enough talent to choose from but face challenges such as defining their broader strategy, roles, and ad tech platform integration.
• Many candidates vetted for tech roles are happy in their current jobs but open to opportunities because of the innovation taking place across retail media.
• General marketers are eager to break into the growing retail media sector.

Our take: As retail media continues to drive growth in digital advertising—the channel will account for 17.9% of US digital advertising spend this year, rising to 21.3% by 2028, per our forecast—more companies are investing in talent to manage new ad tech and measurement tools, helping to prop up industry employment.

The BLS forecasts jobs for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers will rise 8% from 2023 to 2033, which is about double the projected employment growth across all occupations for that time frame.