With transformation taking center stage at this year’s Commerce Media Brands Summit, Arc CEO Soche joined industry leaders to explore how brands and agencies can move beyond transactional thinking. The conversation focused on strategies for driving real growth in a landscape where 3.2 million purchases happen every few minutes: relationships. Here’s a quick formula for driving commerce transformation through relationships.
In the time it takes to sip your coffee, roughly 3.2 million purchases will happen around the world. That’s just a drop in the bucket when global shoppers spent about $7.5 trillion in total last year. Transactions are the lifeblood of commerce but focusing only on quick wins and immediate sales is, frankly, a dead end for brands. When our work and our world become too transactional, we lose impact, we lose customer satisfaction, and ironically, we eventually even risk losing revenue. The real game-changer is shifting from just pushing products to driving meaningful connection.
The Relationship Theorem
So how does a brand go from transactional to transformational? It starts with what we at Arc call the “Relationship Theorem,” a simple equation for achieving transformation through relationships.
First, brands and agencies must team up and be in lockstep to bring the brand to life, combining their respective talents to create campaigns that are more than the sum of their parts. The strongest relationships don’t feel like handoffs or briefs tossed over the fence; they feel like an extension of the brand’s own team. Agencies bring more than executional horsepower, they bring broader perspective, deeper experience with shoppers, and insight earned across categories and industries. That outside-in view helps brands challenge assumptions, see around corners, and push past “how it’s always been done” to unlock better ideas.
Next, factor in retailers. The best marketers tailor their strategies to fit the unique strengths of each individual retail partner, whether that’s a cutting-edge AI platform or a classic in-store execution.
Lastly and most importantly, the final piece of the equation is tapping into shoppers and their emotions. Real people with real emotions are the ultimate multiplier. When you understand what your customers want and why they want it, you can create experiences that resonate on a human level.
The Real Return on Investment
[Brand + Agency] \ Retailer x Shopper Emotion = Return on Relationship: that’s the formula. When all four connect and reinforce each other, you get something far more powerful than a one-off sale. We call that outcome the “Return on Relationship” or ROR.
Sure, ROI (return on investment) still counts, but ROR is what happens when you invest in meaningful connections at every touchpoint. Getting there means breaking down silos and getting everyone — creative, media and data teams at the agency and brand, sales and retail teams etc. — working together with a shared vision. It means using data not just to target shoppers, but to truly understand them, so every message feels relevant and every experience feels personal.
When brands and their partners operate as one team, solving real business challenges rather than just executing tasks, commerce magic happens. You end up with higher engagement, deeper loyalty, and yes, more sales, too because, you’ve built a brand that lives in shoppers’ hearts, not just on their receipts. In a world awash with transactions, the winners will find ways to spark real relationships and turn them into transformative growth.
