Retail Media Vibes

Brandon Viveiros
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Retail Media Vibes is your marketing lens on the world of shopping, commerce, and culture. Each episode brings fresh conversations with industry insiders who break down the stories driving how brands reach shoppers and how shoppers connect with brands. From big retail moments to the latest shifts in digital media, it’s your front-row seat to the strategies shaping the future of commerce. We keep it smart, energetic, and actionable, mixing sharp analysis with good vibes so you walk away informed and inspired. Whether you’re a retail pro, a marketer looking for an edge, or simply curious about where the industry is headed, this podcast is made for you. Join the vibe and stay ahead in retail media.

  1. 1d ago

    More Data, Better Decisions? Not Automatically

    Data overload is paralyzing brand strategy instead of improving it. With retail media networks expanding rapidly, the ability to turn massive amounts of shopper information into actionable decisions is the dividing line between market growth and wasted ad spend. Laura Weiderhaft, Director of Product at Crisp, joins the show to unpack how brands can stop hoarding metrics and start building scalable intelligence. We sit down to dismantle the current state of retail media measurement and how teams are actually utilizing shopper data. We cover the danger of cherry-picking analytics, the OMG (Objective, Measure, Goal) framework for promotion planning, and how to properly flight budgets by Walmart week based on geographic sensitivity. Laura also reveals a highly effective philosophy on automation, explaining why marketers need to approach AI like software engineers by organizing tasks into specific "jobs to be done" rather than treating the technology like a basic search engine. Managing all of this information is incredibly tedious, and the messy reality is that most teams aren't willing to be held accountable for the bad decisions currently hiding in their reporting. Listeners will walk away with a clear understanding of how to automate mundane data entry, the importance of aligning commercial and brand teams on a single source of truth, and why tracking secondary indicators is vital for long-term category share. If you care about retail media execution, competitive promotion planning, and operationalizing AI, you’ll get a lot from this conversation. Please remember to subscribe and share this episode with your team to help us continue bringing practical insights to the forefront. What is the most frustrating, manual data task you are ready to hand over to an AI workflow? 0:00 Intro & Laura's E-Commerce Background 3:53 Navigating Shopper Data and Retail Media 20:47 The OMG Framework for Measurement 41:25 Building AI Workflows Like a Software Engineer 56:41 Bold Vibes & Closing Thoughts

  2. Jul 18

    The Most Underutilized Channel in Retail Media

    Most commerce teams obsess over bottom-of-funnel search clicks and visual display ads, leaving one of the most effective conversion drivers completely untapped. Despite retail shoppers spending an average of 22% of their digital time streaming music and podcasts, brand investment in digital audio hovers around just 1%. In this episode of Retail Media Vibes, host BV sits down live in Rogers, Arkansas with Adam Ross, Sales Director for Commerce and Retail Media Partnerships at SiriusXM Media, to unpack how marketers can leverage audio to drive measurable, closed-loop commerce outcomes. We sit down to explore the massive operational shift from upper-funnel brand awareness to data-driven retail media execution. Adam breaks down the three tiers of the SiriusXM ecosystem—satellite in-car listening with connected 360L technology, streaming platforms like Pandora and SoundCloud, and the country's largest podcast network—as well as their groundbreaking new role as the exclusive audio advertising partner for YouTube and YouTube Music. We get into why peak audio consumption aligns perfectly with peak daytime shopping hours, how small and mid-tail brands can utilize zero-cost creative production through Studio Resonate to conquer localized DMAs, and why layering audio into an omnichannel media mix dramatically lifts conversion rates across Amazon, search, and connected TV. The operational reality of retail media demands rigorous measurement, and audio is no longer a guessing game. By passing back direct identifiers through partners like Walmart Connect and Amazon Marketing Cloud, brands are now tracking precise multi-touch attribution, sales lift, and new-to-brand metrics—including an average 46% new-to-brand buyer uplift demonstrated in recent Kroger case studies. Adam also details how artificial intelligence is transforming dynamic audio creative, enabling brands to serve hundreds of thousands of personalized ad variations based on real-time weather, inventory, and countdown timers without ballooning production costs. If you care about omnichannel retail strategies, digital merchandising innovation, and maximizing your ad spend efficiency, you’ll get a lot from this. Make sure to subscribe to Retail Media Vibes and share this episode with your commerce and media planning teams. What percentage of your current retail media budget is allocated to demand generation versus bottom-funnel demand capture? 0:00 - Welcome to Retail Media Vibes & Adam Ross Intro 1:04 - From Pandora to SiriusXM: 20 Years in Digital Commerce 5:19 - The Old Spice Story & Wu-Tang Icebreaker 7:54 - The True Role of Audio in the Retail Media Ecosystem 10:50 - The 22% Attention vs. 1% Investment Gap 12:37 - Breaking Down the SiriusXM Ecosystem (Satellite, Streaming, Podcasts) 15:38 - How Small and Mid-Tail Brands Can Scale with Audio Ads 19:33 - Podcast Advertising: Host-Read vs. Targeted Programmatic Networks 24:02 - SiriusXM’s Exclusive YouTube & YouTube Music Partnership 27:04 - Demand Generation vs. Demand Capture in E-Commerce 29:16 - AI in Audio: Dynamic Creative Optimization at Scale 34:06 - Closed-Loop Measurement, ROAS, and New-to-Brand Uplift 36:45 - Bold Vibes: Rapid-Fire Industry Predictions 42:55 - How to Connect with Adam Ross & Final Thoughts

  3. Jul 4

    What Brands Need to Know About Sparky, AEO, and GEO

    The rapid shift toward AI search is causing massive anxiety for brands expecting optimal performance without a clear roadmap. With tools like Walmart's Sparky rolling out to the masses, figuring out how to balance traditional SEO with conversational commerce is critical to maintaining brand visibility and market share. Blake Taylor of AdFury.ai returns to break down the mechanics of Sparky and how brands can actually win in this evolving digital retail landscape. We get into the exact mechanics of how agentic shopping operates within the Walmart ecosystem. The discussion covers the critical differences between open conversational queries and product-specific questions, the enduring weight of content quality scores, and why the hidden shelf description field is an untapped resource for optimization. Blake shares a crucial realization that Sparky isn't replacing the search bar just yet, but rather acting as a translation layer that relies heavily on traditional search functionality behind the scenes. The frustrating reality of optimizing for AI is that there is no magic button or one-size-fits-all playbook to bypass the hard work. It requires a tedious commitment to the fundamentals, from filling out back-end attributes to rigorous trial and error on the platform itself. Viewers will walk away with a clear understanding of how to establish their own benchmarks, track personalization impacts, and structure their product pages to build trust with both the algorithm and the shopper. If you care about digital commerce, organic ranking, and navigating the future of AI in retail, you’ll get a lot from this. Please subscribe and share this episode with your team to help us keep bringing you these deep industry insights. What specific product detail page attribute are you prioritizing first to adapt to these new shopping behaviors?

  4. Jun 20

    Ep. 21 - The Club Channel Mindset

    Treating the club channel like a standard big-box retailer is an expensive mistake that drains marketing budgets. Brands routinely dump capital into oversized packaging and assume the job is done, completely ignoring how membership dynamics radically alter consumer intent. This week, TJ Palladino from Genesis X breaks down the practical realities of winning at Sam's Club and scaling retail creative with AI. We sit down to unpack the unique architecture of warehouse clubs and how brands can leverage high-fidelity member data to build long-term customer value rather than chasing immediate ROAS. TJ shares tactical insights on executing within an instant savings booklet, maximizing physical sampling, and utilizing in-club digital screens to capture valuable first-party insights. He also dives into the accelerating speed of retail creative, offering a fresh philosophy on using artificial intelligence to handle scale and regional versioning while keeping human taste and judgment at the center of the strategy. The reality of the club channel is unforgiving: with highly curated, limited assortments, your product can easily be replaced by a competitor if it fails to perform immediately. High-end sampling programs are exceptionally pricey, and flooding digital channels with unoptimized AI creative only generates noise that alienates modern shoppers. Viewers will walk away with a functional framework for running pre-shop exposure campaigns and a clear understanding of why machines cannot replicate lived human experience. If you care about retail media networks, club channel growth, and the intersection of technology and creative production, you’ll get a lot from this. Hit subscribe and share this episode with a peer who is trying to crack the code on modern commerce. What is the biggest mistake you see brands make when transitioning their strategy from mass retail into a club environment? Let us know in the comments. Stay up to date with Doing Business in Bentonville: LinkedIn: @ Doing Business in Bentonville https://www.dbbnwa.com/ 0:00 - Introduction & Guest Background 6:14 - Quick Hits: AI Trust, Private Label, and Pizza Hut Nostalgia 19:11 - Demystifying the Club Channel Strategy 34:01 - Core Club Marketing Tactics: ISB, Sampling, and Kiosks 43:28 - The Future of AI in Retail Creative 56:52 - Bold Vibes & Episode Wrap-up

  5. Jun 6

    Extra Vibes: Exploring Shopper Psychology

    The retail media landscape is shifting at a breakneck pace, leaving many brands chasing every shiny algorithmic object while ignoring the actual infrastructure underneath. Speed is often mistaken for progress, but moving fast without a grounded strategy simply accelerates your mistakes. In this special 20th episode milestone, host Brandon Viveiros sits down for a comprehensive recap of recent powerhouse discussions to unpack how the intersection of e-commerce, automated tech, and consumer psychology impacts real business outcomes. We sit down to revisit tactical insights from industry leaders including Jessica Hendrix, Amanda Danish-Wineland, Blake Taylor, and Lindsey Hamm, alongside a live panel recorded at Heroes Coffee. The deep dive covers the mechanics of agentic commerce, the technical realities of the digital shelf, and how back-end data cleanliness directly impacts your visibility. We break down the functional differences between alternative optimization strategies like AEO and GEO, moving past generic search parameters to understand how automated systems evaluate product attributes. Brandon Viveiros also shares a rare look behind his own operational philosophy, revealing the specific framework of balancing the business, the work, and the people. The unglamorous reality of the modern commerce ecosystem is that no amount of advanced tech will save a brand with messy data assets or fractured professional relationships. True market survival requires navigating a saturated paid-placement market while building internal team agility from the ground up. Viewers will walk away with a tactical blueprint for optimizing content quality scores, a clear understanding of why micro frictions protect brand loyalty, and a framework for preparing the next generation of marketing talent to be functional on day one. If you care about commercial scale, organizational leadership, and algorithmic optimization, you’ll get a lot from this rerun. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and share this breakdown with your team. We want to hear from you in the comments below: As automation scales across your digital shelf, what is the biggest human element you refuse to delegate to a machine?

  6. May 23

    Ep . 19 - Breaking the Rules: How Challenger Brands Can Win at Big Retail

    Downtime is a profit leak and playing by the old rules of retail is a guaranteed way to get buried by legacy corporations. Navigating the modern marketplace requires a distinct level of agility, especially when smaller companies are expected to run the same race as industry giants without the same resources. We sit down with Allisha Watkins, CEO and founder of Paradox Retail, to break down how emerging brands can disrupt the status quo and win shelf space. We get into the specific tactical elements that separate successful startups from companies that flame out early. Allisha shares insights on why a single channel strategy fails across diverse environments like Walmart, Costco, and Instacart, and how to identify true shopper barriers. We explore the realities of building a boutique agency, shifting marketing budgets during economic headwinds, and the operational friction of digital shelf labels. Allisha also highlights her unique agency philosophy, noting that working with these founders is often fifty percent execution, thirty percent teaching, and twenty percent therapy. The unglamorous truth is that building a brand from nothing is an emotional, high-stakes grind that forces founders to place massive personal bets. You cannot rely on a generic cookie-cutter approach or piece-meal tactics like jumping onto every new social media commerce trend without a stable foundation. Viewers will walk away with a systemized understanding of retail logistics, a realistic look at margin pressures, and the ultimate reminder that clarity beats complexity every single time. If you care about retail media, brand scaling, and tactical marketing execution, you will get a lot from this conversation. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who is building something from the ground up. What is the biggest roadblock your business is facing when trying to break into major retail spaces? Let us know in the comments below.

  7. May 9

    Ep. 18 - Retail Media Talent: Why the Pipeline is Breaking

    Wes participated in this conversation in a personal capacity. All views are his own. The retail media industry is moving at a breakneck pace, but while the technology scales, the talent pipeline is hitting a massive bottleneck. We are operating in an environment where expectations for perfection are higher than ever, yet there is no "Retail Media School" to prepare the next generation of leaders. If we don’t figure out how to bridge the gap between entry-level tasks and high-level strategy, we risk a total collapse of upward mobility in the modern workforce. In this episode, we sit down with Wes, a Director of Media at a retail media agency, to discuss the "softer side" of the industry. We get into his unique "side door" entry into the field from a 15-year career in professional photography and how systematic mindsets translate across disciplines. We explore the rise of "Walmazon" as Walmart and Amazon begin to mirror one another’s strategies, the tactical necessity of clear summarization over AI-generated "novels," and the high-stakes reality of managed service vs. self-serve social tools. Wes shares his unique philosophy on why managers must find their own replacements to move up and the "aha" moment that led him to prioritize humility over individual wins. The unglamorous truth is that AI might be able to handle menial tasks, but it cannot replace the "boots-on-the-ground" experience of walking a store floor or understanding a shopper's psychology. There is a real danger in over-relying on automation; if you turn in work without validating it, you aren't saving time, you’re devaluing your own expertise. You will walk away from this conversation with a fresh perspective on how to take initiative in your own career development and a warning about why "the way we've always done it" is already out of date.

  8. Apr 25

    Ep. 17 - AI Readiness Overcomes Entry-Level Fear

    AI is raising the bar for everyone entering the workforce, and it’s also creating a lot of noise about what matters most. We recorded this conversation live from Heroes Coffee in Rogers, Arkansas to get grounded in the real question students are asking: how do I land my first role and thrive when the tools, titles, and expectations keep changing? I'm joined by Dr. Anne Velliquette from the University of Arkansas (Walton College of Business), Karson Feuerbacher (graduating senior and Hershey intern), Sarah White (omnichannel marketing at Nestlé), and Victoria Van Dusen (SVP at Mars United Commerce). Together, we unpack “AI readiness” without the hype. You’ll hear what hiring managers actually look for in entry-level talent, what great first 90 days behavior looks like, and why agency roles often start with foundational work before you earn client-facing responsibilities. We also talk about using AI responsibly, avoiding copy-paste mistakes, and keeping the human touch through curiosity, emotional intelligence, and relationship building. We get practical on how to stand out beyond GPA: internships, career fairs, side projects, personal brand, and transferable skills that prove you can execute in the retail media and retail commerce world. We even tackle the uncomfortable parts like managing up, professional polish, and how COVID still shows up in communication habits. Subscribe to Retail Media Vibes, share this with a student or new grad, and leave a review if it helps. What skill do you think will matter most when AI becomes the default tool at work?

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About

Retail Media Vibes is your marketing lens on the world of shopping, commerce, and culture. Each episode brings fresh conversations with industry insiders who break down the stories driving how brands reach shoppers and how shoppers connect with brands. From big retail moments to the latest shifts in digital media, it’s your front-row seat to the strategies shaping the future of commerce. We keep it smart, energetic, and actionable, mixing sharp analysis with good vibes so you walk away informed and inspired. Whether you’re a retail pro, a marketer looking for an edge, or simply curious about where the industry is headed, this podcast is made for you. Join the vibe and stay ahead in retail media.

Information

  • Creator
    Brandon Viveiros
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Retail Media Vibes
  • Show Website
    Retail Media Vibes