Vibenomics Expands Sales Team to Capitalize on Retail Media Boom
Leading Audio Out-Of-Home advertising platform adds two sales and retail veterans to support and cultivate digital audio growth
Vibenomics, a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ (AOOH) advertising and audio experience company, announces the transition of Joe Wickman from national advertising director into a new role as retail media advertising director and the hiring of Michele Oger, retail media account director. Vibenomics continues driving its mission to automate another aspect of retail media via AOOH. This technology gives retailers a unique opportunity to integrate in-store audio into revenue growth through retail media.
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In response to its growing partnership with America’s number one pure grocer as well as other top retailers, Vibenomics created new, dedicated roles designed to benefit a company’s commitment to sourcing impression fills through future grocer and convenience store relationships.
With over 40 years of experience combined in B2B sales, data analytics, digital media, retail strategy and creative brand development, Wickman and Oger will enhance Vibenomics sales efforts across various grocery and convenience store departments including category management, personal finance, kiosks, center store and more by expanding audio into a fourth sales channel — retail media.
As partners to Kroger/84.51, the new team will focus on alignment of retailers’ own revenue strategy by growing direct sales while learning, cultivating and communicating new business to support this retail media sales channel.
“The retail industry changed forever when the pandemic shifted consumer purchasing behavior,” said Wickman. “As a result of these shifts, retail media growth forced many retailers to think creatively and source revenue innovatively. In my new role, I’ll keep showcasing Audio Out-of-Home as a true extension of retail media throughout the sales process and advocating for its incorporation as an essential component into future retail plans.”
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Retail media networks’ abilities to access first-party data positions them to dominate the retail space. According to Forrester, brands spent $5 billion on retail media in 2020 alone. As advertisers and marketers scramble to find alternatives to the extinction of third-party data and cookies, retail media is positioned to help marketers reach consumers via exceptional shopping experiences.
Today, retail media primarily leverages e-commerce and mobile ads to connect online with customers, which ignores the onsite in-store opportunities that highlight the opportunity to reach customers at the point of purchase. Notably, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently announced their Retail Media Network (RMN) Committee to create best practices and educate the marketplace on RMN. Vibenomics’ creation of their own retail media team acknowledges the growing revenue monetization for this evolving digital ecosystem.
With retail sales expected to reach $5.63 trillion in 2021, both shopping environments have an opportunity to thrive — and Vibenomics is capitalizing on this growth opportunity. The company alone grew digital audio programmatic advertising sales by 209% in the first six months of 2021 compared to all of 2020.
“Audio Out-of-Home is impacting the booming retail media landscape,” said John McAdams, VP of ad sales, Vibenomics. “Retailers have recognized the necessity of reevaluating their in-store retail strategies.
Implementing Audio Out-of-Home enables retailers to create the personalized, one-to-few shopping experiences their customers expect. Adding Joe and Michele to these very crucial roles aligns our tech and ad sales strategy with retailers to more effectively reach on-the-go consumers at the point of purchase.”
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