Overview

Real transformation in digital media buying happens when a company stops outsourcing and starts building internal capabilities.
During my time as Internet Project Manager at Lidl Polska, I led the development of a fully functional in-house media team — from the ground up. The focus was on digital media buying and planning, process automation, and long-term technology enablement — all without external consulting support.

The Challenge
At that time, Lidl Polska operated with a hybrid media model: traditional media agencies managed offline campaigns, while digital activities were outsourced but prepared for internal transition.
The mission was clear — bring digital media planning and buying in-house, reduce agency dependency, improve efficiency, and gain full control over data and campaign agility.

The Strategic Approach
The idea was simple but powerful: build locally, act with global intelligence.
Step by step, in-house capabilities were established for:

• Direct media buying from publishers
• Programmatic advertising
• Automation of repetitive campaign processes
• Data-driven media planning

Importantly, we relied entirely on internal talent – no external consultants or third-party builders. This approach allowed us to stay agile, cost-efficient, and focused on long-term capability building.

1. From Agencies to Direct Publisher Deals

One of the initial hurdles involved negotiating directly with publishers. Many were hesitant, believing that the best pricing was reserved for media agencies due to volume rebates (AVBs/kickbacks).

The counter-strategy was transparency. Instead of chasing rebates, more favorable terms and placements were negotiated — direct deals that improved both cost efficiency and media quality. Over time, publishers began to view Lidl Polska as a strategic buyer, not an “outsider” without an agency.

This strategic shift in buying directly led to:

• More competitive CPMs
• First-look inventory opportunities
• Better campaign performance visibility

2. Programmatic Buying as a Growth Engine

Once the direct deals ecosystem was established, programmatic buying was introduced to scale and automate media processes. Starting with Programmatic Guaranteed deals, access to premium inventory was gained while automating placement delivery.

Although this added some tech-related costs (such as platform fees), it unlocked major advantages:

• Smarter frequency capping and audience segmentation
• Centralized campaign reporting and attribution
• Agile budget reallocation based on live performance data

DSPs and ad servers were integrated with the internal tech stack, enabling dynamic campaign execution and analytics.

3. Marketing Automation & Operational Efficiency

Even before the AI boom, the focus was on automation to reduce manual processes.
With a lean team of just five people (media and creative specialists), internal macros and templates were developed to generate compliant tags, naming conventions, and campaign structures automatically.
This allowed the team to move faster, eliminate repetitive tasks, and maintain full campaign consistency.

• Campaign builds
• Media plans
• Tracking codes
• Reporting structures

This allowed our team to manage campaigns worth tens of millions — without the need for large headcount.

Later, we introduced DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization) to automatically update product prices across banners and ad units. In the fast-moving FMCG environment (where product pricing can change hourly), this was a game-changer for speed, accuracy, and compliance.

4. Real-Time Performance: Lidl’s Online Store Launch

The impact of automation and direct media buying became most visible during major campaigns — especially the launch of Lidl’s online store.
Using programmatic tactics across the entire funnel, from awareness to conversion, a fully digital campaign was executed without any TV support.

Results:

• Comparable outcomes to TV + digital blends
• Significant budget savings
• Shortened campaign setup time

This project demonstrated that with the right strategy, automation, and tech stack, fully digital activations can outperform traditional media mixes.

5. Technology as a Competitive Advantage

Technology was never adopted for its own sake — every platform, process, and automation script had to directly support the defined media objectives.

Core components included:

• Real-time pricing updates integrated with DCO
• Inventory rules and placement strategies within the DSP
• Internal macros to generate compliant tags, creatives, and plans

The goal was performance through simplification, not complexity. The implementation avoided the typical pitfall of investing in tech without a clear plan.

Key takeaways from the project:

• Time savings and ROI were measured across every tool
• Full ownership was maintained over logins, data points, and tags
• Data integrity and strategic governance were secured internally

6. Regional Inspiration: Scaling Across Europe

The success of the Lidl Polska transformation quickly gained attention across the region.
Colleagues in Greece and Cyprus began replicating the model, adopting similar in-house processes and automation frameworks.
The shared know-how and tooling accelerated their digital maturity – all while preserving local flexibility and operational independence.

Key Learnings: What In-House Transformation Really Takes

Building an in-house media operation isn’t just about technology or structure — it’s about mindset.
Success depends on the willingness to experiment, take ownership, and continuously optimize every process.

This project at Lidl Polska showed that:

• Internal talent can outperform traditional agency setups when given the right tools and autonomy.
• Automation is the backbone of scalable efficiency — not a future trend, but an operational necessity.
• Transparency and data ownership are strategic advantages that redefine how media budgets deliver value.

The in-house journey proved that digital transformation is most effective when driven from within — step by step, decision by decision, until independence becomes a competitive edge.