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. 1H AGO

    Ep. 13 - Trust vs. Sales: The New Retail Rule with Amanda Danish-Wineland

    What if smarter shopping isn’t about zero friction, but the right friction? We sit down with Amanda Danish-Wineland, SVP of Strategic Planning at Mars United, to unpack how AI and shopper psychology can actually make commerce feel more human. From Super Bowl ads that nailed the brief to the hidden driver of decision-making; risk. We trace the path from choice overload to real confidence, and why co-creating with agents beats handing over the keys. We start with the timeless why behind purchases; discovery, security, identity, and reveal how the changing how across channels rewires expectations. Amanda breaks down the power of micro frictions: small, intentional checkpoints that signal care, reduce regret, and keep control with the shopper. We explore where automation helps (repeat decisions, clear constraints) and where it hurts (assumptions, opaque pushes), then dive into trust: transparent trade-offs, clear sources, and a conversational advisor tone that explains the “why” behind each recommendation. For brands and retailers, this is a call to move beyond rank-chasing. Performance still matters, but trust compounds. We map a shopper-first approach: define who you truly serve, articulate the job your product does, and engineer backward so agents can recommend for the person, not the push. We also draw a sharp line between strategy and planning, evidence framing versus creative leverage, and show how AI is a force multiplier: cleaning data, accelerating synthesis, and even arguing with our assumptions so humans can push into sharper insights and braver ideas. If you care about agentic commerce, retail media, or just making buying easier without losing agency, this conversation is a field guide. Hit play, then tell us: where do you want advice, and where do you want full control? Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more curious listeners find the show.

    59 min

  2. FEB 14

    Ep. 12 - CEO to Reset: Jessica Hendrix on Leadership and Letting Go

    Leadership isn’t a title; it’s a set of choices you make when the ground won’t stop moving. That’s the through line of our conversation with Jessica Hendrix, former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi X and a leader who’s navigated retail, agencies, and a CMO seat while keeping culture and clarity front and center. We trace Jessica’s path from selling phones at a mall cart to guiding a global agency inside Publicis. She breaks down how she set vision in shifting markets using a simple framework, business, work, people, and why choosing fewer goals with more intention can actually accelerate results. We dig into the evolution from “shopper marketing” to commerce, the rise of retail media, and how Gen Z now steers family purchases from a phone. Her take is practical: the channels changed, the job didn’t: meet people in the moments that move them to buy, reduce friction, and measure what matters. Culture comes alive in the details. Jessica talks transparency with limits, vulnerability that builds trust, and the power of authenticity to unlock talent. We go deep on the Enneagram, her Two, wing Three wiring, and how leaders can pair high performance with high humanity without burning out. She shares real boundaries that worked, two-night travel caps, morning school walks, quarterly solo resets, and the grace-and-accountability balance that keeps teams healthy and productive. There’s a raw, important chapter here, too: a year of breast cancer, skin cancer, and spinal surgery that ended with a clean bill of health. Jessica’s lessons are urgent and universal, keep the checkups, design for recovery, accept help, and they reinforce her central message: take care of your people by taking care of yourself. Today she’s consulting and coaching, helping leaders set cleaner goals, build resilient cultures, and navigate AI-era change without losing their center. If this conversation sparked something for you, follow the show, share it with a colleague who leads teams, and leave a review with one takeaway you’ll act on this week. Your note helps others find the podcast and keeps these stories flowing.

    1h 4m

  3. JAN 31

    Ep. 11 - Breaking Silos, Building Retail Wins | With Toby Willse

    The most expensive mistake in retail media isn’t bad targeting, it’s planning in silos. We sit down with media leader Toby Willse to map how the field evolved from banner buys to agentic commerce, why teams still talk past each other, and what it takes to turn retailer-specific wins into brand-level growth. From his design roots to ad tech tours through AOL and Millennial Media, Toby explains how creative strategy, data access, and relationship management shape outcomes more than any single tactic. We unpack the headliners from CES and NRF, including Google’s momentum in AI shopping, retailer partnerships, and the coming wave of sponsored prompts. Expect smart provocation on the “collapsed funnel” narrative: CTV with QR codes lowers friction, but it doesn’t magically become a conversion channel. Instead, think of new side doors to the bottom of the funnel and measure accordingly. We lay out a realistic framework for attribution that pairs platform signals with retail POS and modeled incrementality, while admitting there’s no silver bullet and AMC is a powerful slice, not the whole pie. This conversation also goes human. Retail media teams juggle overlapping retailers, expanding JBPs, and constant change. We share practical ways to fight burnout, from using AI agents for repetitive work to establishing daily learning habits and grounding decisions with store and site walks. And if we could fix one systemic issue? Tear down the walled gardens to enable privacy-safe, interoperable measurement and smarter creative orchestration across channels. If you care about better KPIs, cleaner alignment between brand and sales, and making AI work for your team instead of against it, you’ll find plenty to steal here. Follow the show, share it with a teammate who’s buried in dashboards, and leave a quick review to tell us your number-one retail media headache.

    1h 1m

  4. JAN 17

    Ep. 10 - Agentic Shopping Takes Over

    The year retail media stopped living on the product page and started shaping the whole journey came with growing pains, and big wins. We dig into what really changed in 2025: retail media going full-funnel with connected TV, social integrations, and creator programs, while brand and commerce teams finally learned to plan together. CTV’s role gets a sober look, yes, it’s premium and powerful, but it sits higher in the funnel for retailers and needs smarter targeting and frequency. The conversation then shifts to agentic shopping, where AI agents help with discovery and routine reorders but haven’t fully earned the right to “press buy” for most shoppers. We unpack the signals these systems read, from product data to price and availability, and how to prepare content and assortments for a world beyond classic SEO. Commerce media also takes center stage as industries like travel and fintech monetize their first-party data. That expansion creates more options and more complexity, so we share a practical approach: anchor to the shopper, choose fewer but better-fitting networks, and orchestrate messages across touch points. In-store media returns as a meaningful lever when paired with aligned digital creative and measured with lift, traffic, and market tests rather than one-to-one attribution. And because no strategy survives bad metrics, we tackle measurement head-on: ROAS as a useful indicator, incrementality as the proof brands want, and the need for clearer standards on item sets and attribution windows. We wrap with our retail media word of the year, agentic, and a round of bold 2026 predictions on creative vs targeting, AI’s share of ad production, and where standardization might finally land.  If you enjoyed this deep dive into the trends shaping retail and commerce media, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show.

    57 min

  5. JAN 3

    Ep. 9 - When Ads Tap the Heartstrings

    Nostalgia doesn’t just sell; it sticks. We sat down with Sarah Gillmer to explore how memory, family ritual, and pop culture can turn everyday products into emotional anchors, and why that approach still beats a thousand loud impressions. From Barbie’s cross-generational comeback to Nike’s retro magic and McDonald’s adult Happy Meal, we map when heritage fuels love and when brands risk costume-playing a past they never owned. We also tackle the elephant in the media room: is traditional media dead? Not quite. Print catalogs with QR stickers are back on kitchen counters, local radio still drives action, and the right billboard can outwork a dozen forgettable banner ads. The smartest plans now pair tactile, trusted channels with digital precision. We talk about how to choose moments where analog wins; regional launches, community trust, and high-frequency routes, and how to keep the art in marketing without ignoring the numbers. In quick hits, we react to Instacart’s variable pricing controversy and the transparency gap it exposes. Then we look ahead as Google signals ads inside Gemini AI chat, debating what “useful” looks like in an answer-first interface. Finally, we swap campaigns we love: Chevy’s memory-rich family spot that sells without shouting, and Dunkin’s munchkin tale that turns a donut hole into a holiday hero. If you care about brand building, media mix strategy, and the next wave of ad experiences, this one’s for you. Enjoyed the conversation? Follow and share the show, and leave a review so more curious marketers can find us.

    50 min

  6. 12/27/2025

    Extra Vibes: Live Shopping In 2025

    Live shopping is booming, just not equally everywhere. We tackle why China’s live commerce machine towers over the U.S. and what has to change for 2025: cultural expectations, seamless payments, and the invisible tech that makes “watch, want, buy” feel effortless. From the early QVC playbook to TikTok Shops, Amazon Live, and Whatnot, we break down where the channel wins, where it stumbles, and how to design streams that people actually want to watch, and buy from. We dig into the power of story over category, showing why beauty, fashion, cooking, home improvement, and collector communities respond when the format teaches and entertains rather than hard‑sells. You’ll hear why hybrid models, creator‑led on camera, retailer‑led on operations- consistently outperform, and how the best hosts turn chat into real conversion. We share a creator‑driven haircare stream that outpaced expectations, then list the practical fixes that move the needle: one‑tap wallets, persistent carts, clean variant selection, bundles that simplify choices, and rehearsal that stress‑tests every link. To keep things fun, we also spotlight Crocs x T‑Pain’s “boots with the fur” moment, a playful, meme‑friendly collab that shows how cultural resonance drives attention and action. If you’re building a live commerce strategy for the year ahead, consider this your checklist: lead with narrative, pair the right host with the right platform, and make checkout disappear. Subscribe, share this with your team, and drop a review telling us which category you think is primed to break out next.

    11 min

  7. 12/20/2025

    Ep. 8 - Secondhand Is the New Mainstream

    Attention is scarce, noise is cheap, and shoppers are rewriting the rules. We sit down with brand and growth strategist Erin Campbell to map the new terrain: how to reach people who spend 13 hours a day with media yet crave less clutter and more connection. The core idea that anchors our exchange is simple and hard: tactics are table stakes, meaning is the moat. Erin breaks down how to identify the heart of your audience, connect it to the soul of your brand, and build a brand world that travels across touchpoints with texture instead of repetition. From there, we dive into the boom in secondhand shopping, and why it’s more than thrift. Resale blends value, sustainability, and identity, empowering buyers to access rare goods and express taste with provenance. We compare platforms like eBay and GOAT, talk authentication and trust, and explore why brands shouldn’t rush to “own” the resale moment so much as craft products and stories worthy of second lives. You’ll hear practical angles on scarcity with purpose, community lore, and making goods that age into artifacts. We also explore the analog comeback: vinyl, paper books, film cameras, even corded phones for kids. After years of chasing frictionless everything, intentional friction feels like relief. Analog rituals offer presence, delayed gratification, and shared memory, things digital rarely sustains. We spotlight LEGO’s mindful build experiences and why designing for calm can be a competitive edge. Along the way we weigh quick hits, from Toys "R" Us 2.0 and experiential retail to Apple’s pricey phone sock and Doug McMillon’s Walmart legacy, and extract lessons any operator can use. If this conversation sparked ideas, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a review.

    1h 9m

  8. 12/06/2025

    Ep. 7 - Influence with Integrity: Mixing AI and Authenticity

    What happens when brand safety and speed meet the messy magic of real human influence? We bring on influencer marketer Emma Curry to explore where AI-driven creators can help, where they can harm, and how transparency keeps audiences on your side. From synthetic personas that never miss a talking point to the irreplaceable trust earned by human voices, we map the tradeoffs and share a practical framework: keep humans in the loop, use AI to pressure-test briefs, and pick categories wisely so you don’t sell perfection where people need honesty. Then we get tactical. Retail media keeps accelerating, demanding more assets, more often. We break down how to structure creator shoots for evergreen use, capture both short video and lifestyle stills, and design modular CTAs that swap by retailer without losing the story. Emma shares a favorite move, bring social into the store. An original song cut for in‑store radio during the holidays became prime exposure and a masterclass in stretching one asset across channels where buying actually happens. We also wade into the contracts that decide your ROI: usage windows that match retail turnover, the extra costs of in‑store and CTV, and when SAG-AFTRA rules apply. The headline: don’t commission content without a plan. Decide where it will live, how it will refresh, and what success looks like before you press record. Plus, we have fun with quick hits on ads in public restrooms and smart fridges, BNPL holiday habits, and “Campaigns We Love,” featuring Huggies’ cheeky “Do It for the Team” and Walmart’s nostalgia-rich WhoKnewville. If this gave you ideas for your next creator brief or retail media pitch, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more marketers can find Retail Media Vibes.

    52 min
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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
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Retail Media Vibes
  • Show Website
    Retail Media Vibes