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NielsenIQ's Nicole Collida Davis - The State of Consumer Shopping Behaviors
28 Oct 2026
00:30:08
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Nicole Collida Davis, Managing Director & SVP US National Retail Accounts & Agencies at NielsenIQ, the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. Today NIQ has operations in 95+ countries representing 97% of the world’s GDP. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™.
Set the scene for us: what just happened up there, and what's the one-line thesis you want our listeners to walk away with about the 2027 consumer?
Let's start with what's actually keeping consumer attention in this new data. What's newly topping the list of consumer concerns, and why has the picture shifted so much from a year ago?
You're also tracking what NIQ is calling the 2026 economic divide — this K-shaped split between financially secure and financially insecure consumers, with the US diverging faster than the global average. Walk us through that gap, and why 'average consumer' planning is losing relevance for brands.
You're seeing broad-based growth across nearly every savings tactic out there — couponing, loyalty, bulk buying, private label. Is this just belt-tightening, or is something deeper going on in how consumers are defining value?
Talk to us about the 2027 spending map — what's getting cut versus what's holding steady or protected, and why are you framing this shift as 'justification rather than habit'?
Let's talk channel. Club keeps pulling away on structural value, while Grocery and Dollar are struggling on trips per buyer — with real dollars attached to that decline. What's driving that shakeup, and what should traditional grocery be doing about it?
Better-for-you products and private label are both surging even through this tougher economic backdrop. How do those two trends connect, and what does it mean for national brands trying to defend their share?
Online, consumers are clearly paying a premium for convenience and speed — but in-store, promotions are working less even as retailers run more of them. What's driving that disconnect, and which basket metric should brands be watching most closely right now?
Of everything we've covered today, what do you see as a fad, what's a real trend, and what's an enduring shift? And as you look ahead, what are the forces you think will define the next chapter of how people shop?
As brands and retailers start digesting the full Consumer Outlook 2027 report, what's the one action you'd tell them to take right now — and where should people follow you and NielsenIQ to catch the rest of it?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - October 27, 2026
27 Oct 2026
00:14:07
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
Coca-Cola Selects Omnicom for NA Media Agency
Kroger's Plan for "America's favorite Grocer"
Salesforce to Purchase Braze for $5.7 Billion
Boston beer Logs Lower Profit and Revenue as Beer Demand Slides
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Dora Cortinas & Stibo System's Neda Nia - Master Data Management
24 Oct 2026
00:44:09
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Dora Cortinas, Enterprise Data & Analytics Expert & Neda Nia, Chief Product & Growth officer at Stibo Systems which empowers data-led businesses to create and deliver data transparency to their customers and partners. With a single, accurate view, companies can unlock the strategic value of their data by connecting, governing, enriching and syndicating it wherever it’s needed. This enables businesses to make informed decisions and achieve their goals of scale, scope and ambition.
This episode is sponsored by Stibo Systems and was recorded at the Stibo Systems Connect 2026 conference in Austin, TX.
Dora, what do you feel is the #1 data friction point or legacy bottleneck that most CPG C-suites are looking to solve right now?
Neda, as Chief Growth Officer at Stibo Systems, you sit at the intersection of technology, platform innovation, and enterprise needs including global CPGs. Historically, brands managed product data in one tool, customer data in a CRM, and supplier data in an ERP. Why is the shift toward a unified, multi-domain data foundation—connecting product, customer, and supplier domains—becoming the non-negotiable substrate for CPG enterprise transformation?
Looking back at your journey at your prior employer, what was the specific operational tipping point or business bottleneck that convinced leadership that master data management had to become an enterprise strategic priority, rather than just a back-office IT project?
For a massive CPG portfolio, trusted data has to deliver measurable ROI—whether that’s faster time-to-shelf, operational efficiency, or retailer satisfaction. Dora, where have you seen the most tangible business value from your data transformation? And Neda, how are you seeing other global CPGs quantify that same ROI?
In your conversations with enterprise customers, a common theme is breaking away from institutional 'people knowledge'—where critical business rules live in someone's head or an offline spreadsheet. From Stibo Systems’ perspective, how do you help large organizations build systemized, governed processes that teams actually trust and adopt
CPG is built on dynamic portfolios and M&A activity. When a giant like KDP acquires or launches new brands, speed-to-market is everything. How does a standardized Master Data Management architecture drastically accelerate brand onboarding and catalog expansion across channels?
Everyone in CPG is talking about being 'AI-ready'. But as we always say on The CPG Guys: Garbage data in, garbage AI outputs out! Dora, what practically makes enterprise data 'AI-ready'?
We are seeing AI evolve from simple chat prompts and descriptive analytics into agentic AI that executes real-world business actions. As AI agents start autonomously updating catalogs or routing supplier workflows, how does the demand for trusted, governed master data change for an organization?
When CPG brands connect product master data with customer and channel data, it directly impacts the retail relationship—from Joint Business Planning to supply chain execution. Dora, how does having a trusted data foundation elevate execution with major retail partners? Neda, what are you seeing across the retail ecosystem?
Let's give the executives in this room an actionable takeaway. If a CPG Chief Data Officer or Chief Operating Officer were preparing for a major brand acquisition, corporate reorganization, or digital overhaul tomorrow morning, what is the very first thing they should audit in their data foundation?
Looking out a decade from now, do you think CPG organizations will still treat product, customer, and supplier data as separate functional departments—or will the ultimate competitive advantage come from managing the relationships across one fully connected enterprise data graph?
To send our audience here in Austin home with a visionary closing thought: Five years from now, what will fundamentally separate the market-winning, truly data-driven CPG companies from those still trapped in legacy operating models?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Devin Kunysz, Senior Director of Physical Goods Industries, Retail, Consumer Goods, and Manufacturing at Salesforce, the #1 AI CRM—where humans with agents drive customer success together with AI, data, and Customer 360 apps on one platform.
Tech Fueled Sales: Why is CPG selling, still operating the way it did in 2010? So much has changed, but the process looks very much the same. What are some of the leaders doing with “tech-fueled sales” that our listeners should be thinking about?
We talk a lot about 'the cloud' and real-time data, but any field rep will tell you that the back of a grocery store usually has zero cell service. How critical is it for a modern commercial hub to function fully offline, and how does that change the day-to-day life of a field seller?
Let’s make the unified commercial hub concrete. What does it actually mean to connect trade promotion management, CRM, and retail execution — and how does that change the quality of joint business planning and value-creation conversations with key accounts?
There’s this catch-22 we see a lot in CPG right now. Growth slows down, so brands freeze hiring or cut budgets—which means they don’t have the resources to actually chase the channels where the growth is happening. What does this vicious cycle actually look like on the ground, and how can the right tech snap a brand out of it?
Focus on the Consumer: Moving to the consumer side, why should CPG brands be thinking about agentic shopping, and what should they be doing about it?
AI is inserting a new discovery layer between brands and consumers, and a shopper agent can shrink the digital shelf down to just three to five items. How should CPGs operate in that world so both B2C and B2B revenue don’t suffer?
Why does a data flywheel matter? CPG data strategy tends to be siloed — consumer insights in one tool, retailer insights in sales notes and spreadsheets. What changes when data is created at every step and flows from consumer engagement to promotion choices to in-store execution?
One growth pocket is reaching customers that were previously unprofitable to serve, like the long tail of accounts. How does a connected commercial platform make it possible to serve those customers profitably?
Beyond the traditional channels, we’re seeing market leaders explore enhanced direct channels — not just D2C sites, but using that data to power personalized, breakthrough products at the front of store. How should CPGs think about that opportunity?
To wrap us up: if you’re a CPG leader listening today, what is the first step you should take to start building a connected front office, and what should they realistically expect success to look like a year from now?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - October 20, 2026
20 Oct 2026
00:12:14
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
Amazon Closes Its Grocery Partner Storefronts
Albertsons Media Collective Taps a Former Walmart Connect Exec
KFC Ditches Pepsi for Coke
Kimberly-Clark Forecasts a Sales Decline After a Social-Media Firestorm in China
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
DG Media Network's Sean Tinnelly - National Scale, Unique Reach, High Frequency
17 Oct 2026
00:30:31
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Sean Tinnelly, Head of Ad Sales at DG Media Network, a division of Dollar General.
What drew you to Dollar General and DGMN specifically, and how has that mix of experience shaped how you're building out ad sales there?
Dollar General's footprint is fundamentally different from most retail media networks — over 21,000 stores, and roughly 80% of them in markets of 20,000 people or fewer. How does that rural, small-format footprint change the way you pitch DGMN to CPG brands versus how they think about the bigger retail media players?
Walk us through the current shape of DGMN today — onsite, offsite, and in-store. How do those pieces fit together, and where is most of the current advertiser demand concentrated?
DGMN has leaned heavily into first-party data and closed-loop measurement, with partners like The Trade Desk, LiveRamp, and Google Ad Manager. How do you talk to brands about the value of that data given how different the DG shopper looks from a typical grocery or mass retail customer?
DGMN recently expanded its AI-enabled in-store audio network. How are in-store media formats like that performing relative to digital, and how do you help brands think about allocating budget across onsite, offsite, and in-store?
For a lot of CPG brands, rural and small-town shoppers are genuinely hard to reach with traditional digital targeting. What does DGMN unlock for a brand that they simply can't get anywhere else in their media mix?
Let's talk about the advertiser base. DGMN has brought on major partners like Unilever, Coke, Hershey's, and P&G. What has that growth in advertiser demand looked like, and where are you seeing the most momentum right now?
How does DGMN think about the balance between national CPG advertisers and smaller or regional brands that may be trying to break into rural markets for the first time?
Retail media is maturing fast — incrementality, attribution, and proving real ROI are dominating the conversation across the industry. How is DGMN approaching measurement and incrementality specifically for a shopper base and store format that looks so different from a typical big-box or grocery network?
To wrap us up, Sean: as DGMN continues to scale its offsite, onsite, and in-store capabilities, what does the roadmap look like from here, and what's your best advice for a brand that hasn't yet activated in rural America?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Agentio's Arthur Leopold - Enabling Creator-Led Advertising at Scale
14 Oct 2026
00:43:27
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Arthur Leopold, CEO and Co-Founder at Agentio which enables marketers to buy creator led ads as easily and scalably as Meta or Google ads—automating sourcing, pricing, contracting, delivery, and measurement—so work that took months now happens in minutes.
You were president of Cameo, which was built on connecting people with talent. What did you see there that convinced you creator advertising needed its own buying infrastructure, and why was 2023 the moment to start Agentio?
You've said advertising follows attention and attention has moved to creators. If you're right, why do you think less than 2% of digital ad spend reaches creators today?
You've compared your goal to making creator buys as easy as buying Meta or Google ads. What gets lost, and what gets gained, when you industrialize something as human as a creator's recommendation?
Walk us through a campaign for a challenger food or beverage brand. What does a brand actually do, what does the platform do, and where does a human still need to be in the loop?
Agentio’s performance data suggests brands testing ten or more creator verticals find winners more often. For a CPG brand with a limited budget, how do you balance breadth of testing against putting real money behind what works?
Olipop, Graza and Suri have all scaled with you. What do the best CPG programs have in common, and what do the ones that fizzle get wrong?
Several of your case studies argue that media mix modeling shows far more impact than last-click attribution. How should a CPG marketer prove creator spend works when so much of the sale happens at retail, not on a DTC site?
Can creator media drive retail sell-through at Walmart, Target or Amazon, and have you seen brands connect creator campaigns to retail media or shopper data?
Agentio has expanded from YouTube to Meta Partnership Ads. Do creators perform differently when the ad runs as a native YouTube integration versus a boosted post on Meta, and how should brands split budget?
YouTube changed how it counts views this year, and has been moving into brand-creator deals itself. How worried are you about the platforms building what Agentio has built?
What do creators get from a marketplace like yours that they can't get from a talent agent or direct deals, and how do you keep a program from feeling like an ad network to their audiences?
It's 2030. What share of a CPG brand's media plan is creator-led, and what does the CMO's team look like when the operational work is automated?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - October 13, 2026
13 Oct 2026
00:14:40
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
7-Eleven's New CEO Is “Stealing With Pride” From Japan
Mars Maps the Next Decade of Shopping
How Reckitt Is Thriving With China's Social-Media Shoppers
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
SmartScout's Scott Needham - Understanding Categories Worth Pursuing on Amazon Marketplace
12 Oct 2026
00:40:02
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Scott Needham, CEO and Founder at SmartScout, The most extensive Amazon brand and product finder ever made! A tool built for Amazon sellers, by Amazon sellers. SmartScout is a tool for Amazon sellers to use as their own personal treasure map of Amazon!
You built and sold real Amazon businesses before you ever built SmartScout. What was the recurring frustration in your own account-level data that made you say, ‘I need to build a tool for this’?
For a large, established brand that already has strong retail measurement and thinks it has visibility into Amazon, what's the blind spot they usually don't know they have — around third-party sellers, category share, or where their business has quietly shifted?
When you sit down with an enterprise brand for the first time and show them what's actually happening in their category, where does that conversation usually go?
You recently launched TikTok Shop analytics. For a senior brand leader, what's the real question they should be asking — not how a video performs on TikTok in isolation, but which trends there actually translate into Amazon category growth, and which are just noise?
Can you walk us through an example — a TikTok Shop trend that clearly moved the needle on Amazon versus one that looked exciting but never translated into real growth?
Category concentration is one of the more interesting patterns in your data — some categories consolidating around a handful of brands, others fragmenting into hundreds of undifferentiated sellers. What does category concentration tell a brand about where to defend share and where to invest?
How does a brand tell the difference between a category that's fragmenting because of real innovation versus one that's fragmenting because of low-quality, undifferentiated competition?
What does good, data-led marketplace decision-making actually look like at scale — and what's the most common mistake you see when a brand treats Amazon as just another sales channel?
If you're advising a CMO or VP of e-commerce at a mid-size CPG brand, what's the first strategic question they should be asking about their category before they touch a single tactic?
You've offered to pull real numbers on a specific category ahead of a conversation like this one. Tell our audience about that offer — and looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for brands as AI-driven discovery and TikTok Shop-style commerce keep reshaping where purchases actually happen?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Liquid Death's Benoit Vatere - Brand Disruption in the Agentic Age
07 Oct 2026
00:35:04
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Benoit Vatere, Chief Media & Digital Commerce Officer at Liquid Death, one of the fastest growing non-alcoholic beverage brands, Liquid Death uses comedy and entertainment to make health and sustainability 50 times more fun.
This episode was recorded in Las Vegas at the 2026 Groceryshop conference.
What's actually changed for Liquid Death's retail media approach in the months since, and what hasn't?
As a brand that guards its identity fiercely, how do you decide which of these networks are actually worth Liquid Death's money versus which are just more standardized inventory to say no to?
Now that you're negotiating Joint Business Plans with grocers specifically — not just retail broadly — has that fandom leverage translated the way you expected?
AI shopping agents are showing up inside the grocery experience itself now — in-app assistants, list builders, reorder predictors. If one of those intercepts a shopper before they ever see your brand page, how is Liquid Death optimizing to stay “machine-preferred” in a grocery app specifically, versus the broader retail context we discussed at Cannes?
How do you run a Liquid Death-style disruptive activation inside a delivery experience that's built for speed, not spectacle?
Has grocery media gotten any better at supporting the kind of involved, culturally loud activations Liquid Death is known for, or is it still an uphill fight?
How tightly are your media optimization loops tied to actual shelf and delivery-dark-store inventory data today?
Is grocery retail media a defensive tool to protect your space on that shelf, or still purely offensive for you?
What's the biggest gap you see between how grocery retail media talks about innovation and what it's actually able to deliver for a brand like Liquid Death?
For a CPG media leader walking the floor here at Groceryshop trying to modernize their grocery retail media strategy, what's the single biggest reality check you'd give them to stop playing it safe?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - October 6, 2026
06 Oct 2026
00:11:28
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
Costco reports higher fourth-quarter profit on resilient consumer spending
Grocery inflation is primed to rise
Kroger details its AI strategy at Groceryshop 2026
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Mondelēz International's Rick Shuman & InMarket's Stan Turek - Measurement-Led Joint Business Planning
30 Sep 2026
00:29:54
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Rich Shuman, Chustomer Director, Omnichannel Activation at Mondelēz International and Stan Turek, GM of Media Measurement at InMarket, the outcome intelligence platform built for marketers who demand results over proxy metrics.
This episode was recorded in Las Vegas at the 2026 Groceryshop conference.
Proving incremental return on Ad Spend is now the hardest thing marketers have to do ... 67% call it their top challenge, ahead of cost. And only 22% say they can act on a measurement insight in time to matter. Why is 'incremental' the number that matters, and where is the industry actually stuck?
From the Mondelēz side: walk us through what a Joint Business Planning conversation looks like today when your customer team sits down with a retail customer. What’s missing when a brand shows up with a blended sales number instead of proof of what the media actually drove at that specific retailer?
InMarket sees actual purchase transactions from real people across the retailers that matter most to CPG — Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, Amazon, Kroger, ALDI, Albertsons, and Dollar General, with augmented coverage across C-Store. Talk about how that data turns one blended iROAS number into a retailer-by-retailer incremental breakdown, and why that granularity changes the conversation.
Once your customer team walks into that room with a retailer-specific incrementality number, how does that actually change the dynamic? Does it elevate what Mondelēz asks for, or what the retailer is willing to give back?
Let’s talk speed. You’ve said what happened last week is measurable this week — no quarterly lag, no long wait on reports. Why does that in-flight speed matter as much as the accuracy of the number itself?
Rick, On the brand side, if you had access to this data in-flight, how would that change the conversation or the actions you would consider taking?
Stan, Maestro, InMarket’s AI-powered optimization engine, flags what’s incrementally lifting and what’s not, in time to act on it. How does that actually work, and how much of that optimization is automated versus a human decision?
Stan, you've said the decisioning side is where this breaks, and fixing that inside a big CPG is a long road ... reorganizing teams and processes doesn't happen in a quarter. So what can a brand do tomorrow, while that longer work is underway? Where should they be holding their agencies, their publishers, and their retail media networks accountable ... and what should they stop taking at face value?
Let's look forward. AI is about to make the execution side of media dramatically faster ... more creative, more audiences, more combinations, tested continuously. Rick, two years out, what would you want to be able to do with measurement that you can't do today? And Stan, what has to get built for him to have it?
To close us out: Stan, InMarket is picking up new recognition in the measurement space and you’re stepping into a seat on the IAB Board of Directors — as you take on that industry role, what’s the biggest structural change you think needs to happen in how the industry measures retail media? And Rick, what’s your advice to another CPG customer team that’s still walking into JBP without proof?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - September 29, 2026
30 Sep 2026
00:10:17
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
Costco reports higher fourth-quarter profit on resilient consumer spending
Grocery inflation is primed to rise
Kroger details its AI strategy at Groceryshop 2026
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Walmart's Mark Hardy - Scintilla, the Commerce Intelligence Platform
26 Sep 2026
00:32:19
The CPG Guys are joined in today's episode by Mark Hardy, SVP and head of Data Ventures at Walmart.
We’re back at Inspire for another year. For those who may not be familiar, Mark, what is Inspire — and what’s been different about the event this year?
We were here last year, and one of the things that stuck with us was your introduction of the Scintilla Insights Model. Remind us what that is — and how are you thinking about that?
Why was Scintilla such a game-changer in helping Kao introduce new life into their 125 year old Jergens brand.
Yesterday, you laid out a much bigger vision for where Scintilla is headed — evolving from the insights platform you’ve built into what you’re calling a commerce intelligence platform. What does that mean?
Let’s unpack that. Starting with “integrated” — suppliers already have access to an enormous amount of data. What still needs to be connected?
You also shared some exciting new AI capabilities yesterday. It sounds like Scintilla is getting a lot smarter in how it helps suppliers make sense of all this information. What does that experience start to look like?
Then you get to the third piece: actionable. If Scintilla can tell me what’s happening and help me understand why, how do you get me closer to actually doing something about it?
And one of the places where that becomes very tangible is Scintilla In-Store. What changes when you bring this intelligence all the way onto the sales floor?
Two years ago the story was "how did I do," last year it was "what should I do." If that arc continues, what' does this look like in 2027?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Sarp Tuncay - Moving from Operators to Orchestrators of AI in Retail Media
23 Sep 2026
00:42:20
The CPG Guys are joined in today's episode by Sarp Tuncay, a retail media and e-commerce strategy leader in the CPG/Retail industry.
You open with a bedtime story about your son Kai — and it perfectly frames the human-AI collaboration dynamic. How did that moment crystallize your thinking about what’s actually changing in retail media?
You say the central risk isn’t job loss, it’s that work becomes less important as platforms automate. That’s a more unsettling thesis than “your job disappears.” How are practitioners actually reacting when you frame it that way?
You describe AI as already embedded in bidding, budget pacing, targeting, and reporting — not a future state. Which retail media network do you think has gone furthest in automating execution, and what does that mean for the practitioners using it?
If automation creates an “illusion of control” — your phrase — what does that actually look like on the ground for a brand team that thinks they’re managing a campaign?
You draw a sharp line between Operator and Orchestrator. What’s the hardest part of that identity shift for practitioners who built their career on execution excellence?
You argue AI optimizes locally while humans must optimize globally across retailers and business goals. Can you give us a real-world scenario where that distinction made or broke a brand’s retail media outcome?
Your framework identifies two practitioner paths — platform specialist versus growth partner. Are brands and agencies hiring and promoting differently based on that split yet?
You say success metrics need to shift from ROI charts to business impact — growth, penetration, profitability. Who in the organization needs to change first: the practitioner, their manager, or the client?
“The real risk is irrelevance” — being seen as a reporter rather than a decision support partner. How do you help someone audit whether they’ve already drifted into that reporter role without realizing it?
You recommend mastering margin calculations, supply constraints, and leadership’s definition of incrementality. How much of that business fluency exists today across the retail media practitioner community, honestly?
We’re headed into Cannes Lions, where AI and commerce are dominating the agenda. What’s the conversation you most want to have there that you think isn’t happening loudly enough yet?
You close with “Let AI write the draft. You own the story.” How would you advise a brand to apply this philosophy?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Ace Hardware's Kim Lefko & Molly Hjelm - RedVest Media 2027 Upfront
19 Sep 2026
00:42:29
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Kim Lefko, Chief Marketing Officer and Molly Hjelm, Corportae Vice President of Retail Media at Ace Hardware, a co-operative of 5,300+ hardware stores.
This episode was recorded at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, during Ace Hardware’s RedVest Media 2027 Upfront.
We are recording at Wrigley Field following RedVest Media’s inaugural Upfront. What does this moment represent for Ace and for the brands that grow with you?
We talked to you a year ago around this time, as you were preparing to launch RedVest Media. Why did it feel important to host this event? What were you looking to accomplish?
You built a career on the brand side prior to Ace, and you've been at Ace for nearly a decade now. What has stood out to you in this first year? Did anything surprise you about how the organization and vendor community responded?
To the extent that an event like today is designed to celebrate partnerships, news and progress, We'd love to know: How do you separate a meaningful opportunity from retail media noise?
Okay now let's get down to it and talk about today's announcements!
RedVest already had a full funnel portfolio and now you've announced a broad set of new capabilities this morning. Give us the lay of the land on what you announced.
Put yourself in the shoes of the audience: everyone here will need to go back and share back these updates with their organization. If you were a CMO at a vendor, which of these announcements will resonate most?
Let's start with measurement. Molly you are passionate about measurement and have data as an undercurrent in your career. How are vendors and merchants responding to performance so far and what will these enhancements do for the dialogue?
As the person responsible for how customers perceive and engage with the Ace brands; What differentiates the Ace customer from other customers?
Give us your perspective on purchase based audiences. Why an audience library now and how does that differ from the way you've targeted to date?
Tell us a little about why these felt important to launch to your vendors in Y1
What is the role of social within the context of Ace's marketing strategy?
Talk about the value of DoorDash to Ace
Talk about what you've announced and why it matters
If we are back at Wrigley Field one year from now, what would make each of you most proud?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Spotify's Sam Bevan - Performance Marketing Through Cultural Connections
16 Sep 2026
00:38:08
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Sam Bevan, Global Director, Mid-Market, SMB & Global Expansion at Spotify, the most popular global audio streaming service with 365m users, including 165m subscribers across 178 markets.
You’ve built SMB and mid-market advertising businesses at Google, Facebook, and Snap before landing at Spotify. What drew you to audio as the next frontier — and why now?
Your current remit spans emerging and scaled business, mid-market, SMB, customer success, and market expansion globally. That’s a massive scope. How do you think about prioritization when everything is simultaneously “on”?
CPG brands have historically been heavy TV and display spenders. What’s the honest conversation you have with a CMO who still sees audio as a “nice to have” rather than a core channel?
Spotify has stated that audio ads on the platform are two times more effective than display ads for both purchase intent and information intent. How does that data land with CPG performance marketers who are laser-focused on ROAS and attribution?
Retail media has exploded as a category because of purchase-signal data. Spotify sits outside the transactional data loop — how do you make the case that listening behavior is a proxy for buying behavior?
We talk a lot on this show about the “commerce moment” — the point where brand intent converts to purchase. How is Spotify thinking about bridging the gap between audio impression and point of sale?
You joined Spotify from Snapchat, where you led SMB sales, having also held SMB-focused roles at Facebook and Google. What’s the universal truth about selling advertising to scaled and emerging businesses — regardless of platform?
You described 2025 as a “breakout year” for Spotify’s emerging and scaled business, driven by rapid adoption of Ads Manager and Ad Exchange. For CPG brands that haven’t yet leaned in — what are they leaving on the table?
Agentic AI and programmatic buying are reshaping how media gets planned and purchased. What does Spotify’s ad exchange strategy look like in a world where AI agents may soon be making the media buys?
We’re here at Cannes Lions, the festival of creativity. Spotify sits at the intersection of culture, creativity, and commerce. How do you think about Spotify’s role in helping CPG brands show up more culturally — not just commercially?
What’s one thing CPG brand teams consistently get wrong when they approach audio creative — and how should they fix it?
Final question: if you could wave a wand and change one thing about how the advertising industry thinks about audio and Spotify specifically, what would it be?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - September 15, 2026
15 Sep 2026
00:12:30
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Hershey's Jessica DuQuesne & Flywheel's Allyson Gill - Building a Winning Global Omnichannel "Scream for Reese's" Campaign
12 Sep 2026
00:41:24
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Jessica DuQuesne, Global Brand Marketing & Strategy Lead at The Hershey Company and Allyson Gill, Managing Director at Flywheel, the commerce accelerator division of Omnicom.
1. The "Scream for REESE'S" campaign was described as Hershey's first partnership of this kind. What was the internal case you had to make to greenlight something so unprecedented — pairing a candy brand with an R-rated horror franchise — and how did you overcome skeptics?
2. The explicit goal was to establish REESE'S as the quintessential Halloween treat in five key international markets where U.S.-style Halloween culture is still emerging. How do you localize a Halloween campaign for markets where the holiday doesn't have the same roots, and what did success look like differently country to country?
3. The Effie-winning "Be So Eggstra" Easter campaign at Walmart was all about converting shopper interest into action. How does the consumer psychology of Halloween differ from Easter when you're building a commerce strategy — and did those Easter learnings inform how you approached the Scream activation at retail?
4. From Flywheel's vantage point sitting across dozens of CPG clients, how rare is it to see a brand successfully stitch together an entertainment IP partnership, international expansion, and seasonal retail activation all in one campaign? What made Hershey's execution stand out?
5. The campaign delivered "compelling seasonal concepts and highlighted opportunities to prioritize REESE'S product placement" at retail. How do you actually influence product placement in international markets where Hershey's retail relationships are far less established than in the U.S.? What's the commerce infrastructure playbook for markets like Mexico or Puerto Rico?
6. Seasonal confectionery is one of the most contested shelves in retail — every brand is fighting for the same holiday display real estate. From a commerce strategy standpoint, how should CPG brands think about the interplay between in-store placement, digital shelf, and social to amplify a limited-time partnership activation like this one?
7. In the UK, the campaign gave consumers a chance to win exclusive tickets to a private screening of Scream 7 through in-store promotional materials. Sweepstakes and experiential prizes are classic shopper mechanics — but how do you measure their commerce impact beyond entries? What are the right KPIs for a promotion like this?
8. Scream is a franchise with a specific fan base — older, horror-savvy, nostalgic. REESE'S skews much broader. How did you make sure the partnership reached the casual Halloween consumer and not just the Ghostface superfan? Where was the creative tension in that balancing act?
9. We're seeing more CPG brands pursue entertainment IP licensing — from candy to beverages to snacks. Is this a durable strategic playbook, or a moment in time? And what separates a partnership that genuinely builds brand equity from one that's just a short-term sales bump with a logo slap?
10. Agentic commerce and AI-driven shopping are beginning to reshape how consumers discover and buy seasonal products. If an AI agent is doing a consumer's Halloween shopping — choosing between REESE'S and a competitor — what does a brand need to have in place to win that moment? Does a Scream partnership even register?
11. Seasonal is the highest-stakes, most compressed window in CPG. The entire campaign has to land in 6-8 weeks. How is the rise of AI-powered media planning and retail media networks changing how you resource, pace, and measure a seasonal program like this one?
12. You've described this campaign as "just the beginning" and a template for future collaborations that deepen brand relevance and seasonal impact. What's the evolution of this playbook — and as Scream 7 actually hits theaters in February 2026, how does Hershey sustain the cultural connection beyond the Halloween window?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
The Digital Shelf Institute’s Lauren Livak Gilbert - Impact of AI in Winning On The Digital Shelf
11 Sep 2026
00:55:32
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute, part of Salsify.
How is generative AI changing the way shoppers actually discover and evaluate products online — and is “search” even the right word anymore?
With AI-powered shopping assistants and chat-based commerce emerging, how should brands rethink product content that's optimized for an AI intermediary rather than a human scrolling a page?
What does “digital shelf readiness” mean in an AI-driven world compared to five years ago?
Are retailers' own AI tools (like retail media search and generative product Q&A) creating new data or visibility gaps that brands need to manage?
How is AI changing the economics and workflow of content creation — copy, imagery, A+ content — at scale across thousands of SKUs?
What early use cases of AI in digital shelf analytics have actually moved the needle on sales or share, versus ones that are still more hype than results?
How should brand and eCommerce teams be restructuring roles or skill sets as AI takes over more manual digital shelf tasks?
What are the biggest risks — misinformation, hallucinated product claims, brand voice drift — as AI generates more customer-facing content, and how are brands guarding against them?
How is AI reshaping competitive intelligence and price/promotion monitoring on the digital shelf?
Where do you see agentic AI — bots that shop, compare, and even purchase on a consumer's behalf — heading, and how prepared is the CPG industry for that shift?
What's a common mistake you see brands make when they adopt AI tools for digital shelf management too quickly or without a strategy?
Looking two to three years out, what's the single biggest way AI will change how brands compete for shelf space and share of search?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - September 8, 2026
08 Sep 2026
00:08:17
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
Campbell's swings to a loss, cuts 13% of its salaried workforce
PepsiCo hands its global media business to Publicis
Barilla adds mac-and-cheese disruptor Goodles
Walmart adds Dunkin' to its restaurant delivery lineup
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Cornell University’s Dan Hooker - Omnicommerce Leadership
05 Sep 2026
00:55:20
The CPG Guys are joined by Dan Hooker, Executive Director of the Food Industry Management Program at Cornell University’s S C Johnson College of Business along with eight participants from the 2026 Omnicommerce Leadership Executive Education Certificate Program.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - September 1, 2026
01 Sep 2026
00:12:59
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
This week’s topics:
Dollar General & Dollar Tree ride the value wave
Levanta raises $22 million to build out creator commerce
Walmart extends Scintilla to Sam's Club
Ace Hardware's RedVest Media goes big at its first Upfront
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
RBC Capital Markets’ Nik Modi - Modi’s Musings: Themes That Will Define the CPG Industry
26 Aug 2026
00:44:14
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by returning guest Nik Modi, Co-Head of Global Consumer & Retail Research at RBC Capital Markets for Nik’s recent release .
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - August 25, 2026
25 Aug 2026
00:16:16
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Instacart’s Adam Silverblatt & Media Ads & Commerce’s Andrew Lipsman - Live from Cannes Lions 2026
22 Aug 2026
00:43:14
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Adam Silverblatt, Head of Off-Platform Ad Sales & Strategy at Instacart and Andrew Lipsman, Independent Anlayst at Media, Ads & Commerce.
This episode was recorded in Cannes France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
In this era of Retail Media 3.0, how is the network escaping the walled garden, and what is the strategic importance of retail media transitioning into a full-funnel, omnichannel commerce engine?
For emerging and legacy brands listening, how does off-platform retail media structurally change the programmatic playbook? How does targeting a "logged-in" active Instacart shopper compare to buying legacy programmatic audiences?
Why are brands so frustrated with traditional attribution reporting right now, and how does verifying incremental outcomes protect a brand from double-paying for the same shoppers?
Can you walk us through the recent McCormick case study, where leveraging off-platform programmatic targeting managed to cut CPMs by 25% with only a 7% audience overlap? What is the structural lesson there?
How must RMNs adjust their data infrastructures to ensure their product catalogs are preferred and trusted by an autonomous AI agent?
Are we finally at an inflection point where streaming and commerce are genuinely converging, and have you seen any brand executions recently that made it feel real?
What makes grocery purchase data uniquely valuable off-platform, and are there campaign results that have surprised you with how well it translated?
If you could issue a single "reality check" to a CPG Chief Media Officer or Head of Sales who wants to maximize the return on their data and media investments over the next 12 to 24 months, what is the single biggest blind spot they need to fix this quarter?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
The Insights Association’s Anita Watkins on the Benefits and Risks of AI in Insights Development
20 Aug 2026
00:47:17
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Anita Watkins, CEO of the Insights Association which empowers more than 30,000 data and insights professionals. Its collective voice fuels growth, strengthens advocacy, and advances careers. Guided by ethics and truth, we bring understanding to an uncertain world.
You spent two decades at Kantar, most recently as Chief Solutions Leader for Creative, Innovation, and Qualitative — and now you’re leading a trade association. What drew you to the Insights Association at this particular moment in the industry’s evolution?
The IA represents over 30,000 data and insights professionals. In your first months as CEO, what surprised you most about stepping into an advocacy and membership role versus a commercial one?
CPG companies are under enormous pressure — tariffs, private label competition, shrinking research budgets. How is the insights function holding up, and where do you see it either gaining or losing strategic influence in the C-suite?
The IA just held its Ignite: CPG event in Cincinnati. What were the dominant themes that emerged, and what does that tell us about what CPG insights leaders are most anxious about right now?
You have a webinar series literally titled “Simulating Humans” — that’s a provocative framing. How should CPG brands think about AI-generated synthetic respondents vs. real consumer research, and where does the IA draw the line on standards?
AI is both a threat and an opportunity for the insights profession. In your view, what’s the single biggest risk AI poses to the integrity of consumer data — and what is the IA doing about it?
The IA has been driving the Global Data Quality Excellence Pledge and launching new resources around procurement and incentive guidelines. For CPG brands buying research, what should they actually be demanding from their vendors right now that most of them aren’t?
Survey fraud and data integrity issues have become a serious industry problem. How bad is it, and what levers does the IA have to enforce quality standards across the ecosystem?
The IA is actively tracking state-by-state privacy legislation, GDPR, and now the proposed SECURE Data Act. How does a fragmented U.S. privacy landscape create operational headaches for CPG brands doing consumer research at scale?
The IA recently raised concerns about how the Department of Labor classifies research respondents. That’s a sleeper issue with real cost implications — can you walk our listeners through what’s at stake?
Anita, you’ve been recognized for developing the next generation of insights leaders throughout your career. With burnout high among market researchers and AI changing the job description rapidly, what would you tell a young person today about why this profession is still worth pursuing?
You said upon your appointment: “I’ve spent my career believing in the power of insights to drive better decisions and better outcomes.” For CPG brands that are deprioritizing primary research in favor of data lakes and retail media signals — what’s the cost of that trade-off that they might not be seeing?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Flywheel's Phil Camarota - Running a Jury at Cannes Lions
15 Aug 2026
00:46:37
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Phil Camarota, Chief Creative Officer at Flywheel, the commerce acceleration division of Omnicom.
1. Walk us through what it actually means to be Jury President — how much of it is scoring work versus managing a room of strong personalities with different creative instincts?
2. Before you even got to Cannes, what did the prep work look like — building a "shared language" or judging framework with your jurors before deliberations began?
3. Creative Commerce is a relatively young category compared to Film or Print — did that shape how you approached defining what "great" looks like this year?
4. You've talked about expecting "AI tension" going into this year's judging — where did that show up in the room, and how did the jury navigate it?
5. With jurors from Singapore to South America to Europe, how do you reconcile genuinely different regional definitions of great commerce creativity into one Grand Prix?
6. Were there moments where you, personally, had a strong point of view on a piece of work but had to hold back because — as you put it — you're "not the arbiter of taste"?
7. Commerce creativity spans everything from in-store experience to retail media to end-to-end digital journeys — how do you judge fairly across such different formats and channels?
8. You're Global CCO at Flywheel, one of the biggest players in commerce creativity — how did you handle the optics and reality of judging a category so close to your day job?
9. Were there conflict-of-interest guardrails Cannes puts in place for Jury Presidents whose own agencies or clients might have submitted work?
10. Did anything from your Flywheel vantage point — pattern-spotting across retailers and brands — sharpen or distort your lens as a judge?
11. What did last year's Grand Prix winner, VML's "Preserved Promos" for Ziploc, teach you about what separates good commerce work from truly great work — and did that shape your criteria this year?
12. Now that it's behind you, what's one thing about the jury process that surprised you, and what would you tell next year's Creative Commerce Jury President to expect?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - August 11, 2026
11 Aug 2026
00:14:27
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Newell Brands' CMO Nick Hammitt - Live from Cannes Lions 2026
08 Aug 2026
00:37:23
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Nick Hannity, CMO at Newell Brands, a major American global consumer and commercial products conglomerate. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company manufactures, markets, and distributes over 50 well-known brands across three core segments: Home & Commercial Solutions, Learning & Development, and Outdoor & Recreation.
This episode was recorded in France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Chris told us at CAGNY and then again on the podcast that Newell's digital content output increased 500% in 2025 with the same headcount. As CMO, walk us through what that transformation actually felt like inside the marketing organization — was it exhilarating, terrifying, or both?
We're sitting here at Cannes Lions, the global festival of creativity. There's a real tension in our industry right now between AI-generated content at scale and genuinely breakthrough creative work. How does Newell think about that balance — and does AI make your creative better or just faster?
Chris described Newell's "Inogen" platform — digital AI personas built on consumer segments that function as always-on focus groups. As CMO, how are you actually using those in briefing and campaign development, and how much do you trust them versus traditional research?
Chris was incredibly sharp on the shift from SEO to GEO — optimizing content for LLMs rather than search engines. What does that mean practically for how your brand and content teams are now being briefed and structured?
Given the scale of what Newell is building internally on AI, how has your relationship with your agency partners evolved? Are they keeping pace with where you are internally, or are you finding yourself ahead of them?
Chris mentioned that retailers are actually coming to Newell and asking to be taught what you're doing with AI. That's a remarkable reversal of the traditional power dynamic. How are you as CMO leveraging that credibility in your joint business planning conversations?
You're here at Cannes Lions surrounded by the best creative and marketing minds in the world. It’s your first time here. What are you here to learn or solve? And what's the one conversation you're hoping to have this week that you can't have anywhere else?
Chris talked about younger employees being hungry for AI training and threatening to leave if they don't get it. From a marketing talent perspective, what does the ideal marketer at Newell look like today versus three years ago, and how are you recruiting and developing for that?
If the Chris Peterson episode was the enterprise AI masterclass, what's the one chapter you'd add that he didn't cover — the CMO's perspective that doesn't necessarily get told when the CEO is in the room?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Sensor Tower’s Ian Simpson, EMarketer’s Sarah Marzano, Retail Breakfast Club’s Kiri Masters, Media, Ads + Commerce’s Andrew Lipsman & Sonata Insights’ Debra Aho Williamson: Retail Media Executive Brief
05 Aug 2026
00:30:49
This episode was recorded in France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and features a panel called “Retail Media Executive Brief” which was produced by EMarketer and sponsored by Sensor Tower, featuring Sensor Tower’s Ian Simpson,
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - August 4, 2026
04 Aug 2026
00:14:45
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Roundel's Shawn McGahee and EMarketer's Sarah Marzano - How Consumer Behaviors are Reshaping Commerce
01 Aug 2026
00:21:32
This episode was recorded in France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and features a panel called “The New Rules of Discovery: How Consumer Behaviors are Reshaping Commerce” which was produced by EMarketer featuring EMarketer's Sarah Marzano interviewing Roundel's Shawn McGahee.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
SVP of Walmart Connect Int'l & Sam's Club Connect's Rich Lehrfeld: Driving Brand Growth Through Full Funnel Unified Advertising
29 Jul 2026
00:43:32
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Rich Lehrfeld, SVP and General Manager of Walmart Connect International and Sam's Club Connect, the retail media business units of Walmart.
This episode was recorded in France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
1. Now that you’re leading Walmart Connect alongside International advertising and Sam’s Club Connect, what does “one connected global advertising ecosystem” actually look like operationally — and how soon will advertisers feel the difference?
2. What capabilities or playbooks from Walmart Connect US are you most excited to bring into international markets, and conversely, what can Connect and international teach the core US business?
3. This is Sam’s Club Connect’s first time at Cannes Lions — what’s the headline message you want advertisers and agencies to walk away with?
4. How does a presence at Cannes fit into COnnect’s broader growth strategy, especially as it scales offerings like in-club, Omni Experiences, and audio/fuel screen ads?
5. The industry conversation is shifting from impressions and ROAS toward broader business outcomes — what does that shift look like in practice for how Walmart structures its advertiser partnerships?
6. What’s the biggest misconception brands still have about what “success” should look like in retail media today?
7. How does Walmart’s first-party data — and Sam’s Club’s membership model specifically — change the kinds of insights and long-term value you can offer advertisers compared to transaction-only data?
8. Where do you see the lines blurring most between media, commerce, and in-store/in-club experience — and which of those convergence points is Walmart investing in most aggressively right now?
9. With Walmart’s scale, data, and tech now spanning Walmart Connect, International, and Sam’s Club Connect, what’s your vision for the next big unlock for advertisers — and how do you think about translating that scale into measurable growth for both Walmart and your partners?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - July 28, 2026
28 Jul 2026
00:11:43
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Costco's Mark Williamson - Live from Cannes Lions 2026
25 Jul 2026
00:38:49
In this episode, the CPG Guys are joined by Mark Williamson, AVP of Retail Media at Costco, the world’s largest club format omnichannel retailer.
So Mark, let’s kick it off with the big news that completely shocked the industry. At recent industry events, you took the stage and did what almost no other Retail Media Network does: you completely exposed Costco's full technology stack—revealing every single identity vendor, DSP, and clean room provider you use. Why did you make the deliberate choice to embrace absolute transparency, and how has that transparency directly influenced ad spend from skeptical brands and agencies?
Transparency builds the ultimate trust, no doubt. Now Mark, you have a beautiful phrase that we absolutely love: "Retail media at Costco exists to accelerate merchandise sales." You maintain a strict structural hierarchy where merchandise velocity and member loyalty sit firmly at the very top. If a digital ad campaign doesn't help move a physical pallet of product or reinforce the value of a membership card, it simply doesn't belong in your ecosystem. How do you enforce this "merchant-first" philosophy when national brand managers come in with legacy KPIs focused entirely on vanity ad metrics?
Pallet velocity over vanity metrics every single day of the week! Mark, let's talk about your unique "Last-Mover Advantage." While other networks rushed to stand up brittle, overly complicated platforms out of the gate, Costco spent its time quietly observing the market and engineering a robust private data cloud from the ground up. How did waiting and prioritizing a clean, unfragmented data foundation allow you to completely leapfrog the "black box" reporting traps that have frustrated CPG teams for years?
That backend data foundation is the real secret sauce. Let’s look at a highly disruptive offsite capability you recently rolled out: Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs). This isn’t typical offsite audience extension or standard Connected TV (CTV) storytelling; you are moving Costco's first-party retail media directly into Google Shopping search. For the brands listening, why does leveraging Costco’s high-intent audience data inside Google's open shopping engine radically perform better than a brand trying to buy those generic keywords on their own?
Tying high-intent open web search to verified warehouse data is a game-changer. Mark, let's look at what you call "In Real Life" (IRL) Activation—the third pillar of your omni-channel media strategy. Costco's physical club warehouses are legendary for their high-frequency, massive-basket foot traffic. How are you taking real-world, physical-store signals—everything from fuel pumps to warehouse digital screens—and dynamically connecting them back into a single, cohesive digital loop?
Physical-digital loop integration is exactly where the massive volume lies. Mark, let's talk about building a Composable Architecture. Your technical setup is intentionally designed as a cohesive orchestration layer where identity, activation, and clean room metrics can evolve independently without disrupting the core business. Why should global CPG technology heads stop trying to build rigid, custom end-to-end stacks and instead adopt Costco's modular, composable blueprint?
Composable modularity is the ultimate future-proofing play. Mark, we are rapidly entering the "Agentic Era" of commerce, where autonomous AI agents are beginning to manage complex segmentation, path recommendations, and real-time budget optimization behind the scenes. How is Costco utilizing advanced AI orchestration layers to cut through operational friction, making your complex, multi-partner systems intuitive and highly usable for brand teams?
AI-driven demand generation is going to separate the winners from the laggards. Let's double-click down on The Merchant-Media Collaboration Loop. In many traditional retail environments, the media network operates as an isolated, outside fiefdom that frequently causes friction with the actual category merchants. At Costco, you have deliberately fused media capability directly into the merchandising lifecycle. Can you take us under the hood of that internal relationship? How do your media specialists work harmoniously alongside the warehouse buyers to drive mutual top-line growth?
Tying the merchant loop directly to the ad stack is how you achieve sustainable scale. Mark, Costco is world-renowned for its hyper-curated, disciplined product assortment—you don’t carry 50 versions of an item; you carry the absolute best value selections. How does this strict, limited-SKU club environment fundamentally change the digital shelf auction on your onsite properties? Does a highly curated box mean that retail media real estate on Costco is infinitely more valuable and defensive for an incumbent brand?
Highly curated spaces demand highly precise execution. Alright Mark, final question for today, and we want to send our global practitioner audience home with an absolute golden nugget of advice. If you could look a corporate CPG Chief Customer Officer or Head of Sales dead in the eye today, what is the single biggest "reality check" or piece of blind-spot advice you can give them to help them stop treating retail media as a lower-funnel marketing tax and instead unlock true, closed-loop incremental volume this quarter?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Instacart's Ali Miller and Tim Castelli - Live from Cannes Lions 2026
22 Jul 2026
00:43:09
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Ali Miller, GM of Advertising and Tim Castelli, VP Global Ad Sales at Instacart.
This episode was recorded in France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
So Ali, let’s kick it off with you on a massive macro trend. We just read Nik Modi's latest RBC Capital report, Modi’s Musings Volume 4, and theme number one is that Cultural Relevance > Brand Equity—meaning scale alone doesn’t protect you anymore; you have to turn online platforms into an active "economic substrate" for identity and transaction flow. How is Instacart evolving its ad tech stack to let legacy CPG giants quickly move at the speed of a viral TikTok trend or cultural moment, turning immediate social media inspiration into a converted grocery basket?
That speed to conversion is everything. Tim, let’s talk about some news you announced at Cannes this week. Let’s start with your AI Shopping assistant. What makes Instacart’s AI assistant different?
As consumers look to collapse choice complexity because of low mental energy and rising anxiety, the visible shelf is shrinking from 50+ items down to 1 or 2 AI-curated recommendations. How does this radically compressed digital real estate change your ad business strategy and Joint Business Plans with brands? You mentioned you're intentionally not running ads in AI experiences yet. Walk us through how you’re thinking about that.
Jumping back to the news…Immersive Feed feels like a direct response to how consumers are already discovering food on social media. How do you make sure that experience feels additive and not just like another ad unit? Does this foreshadow more to come with media publishers and creators?
And for Ads Studio – is that essentially opening up Instacart's own marketing engine to brand partners? What made you confident enough in that internal capability to turn it into a commercial offering?
Tim, let’s pivot to New Revenue Streams and Business Models. CPG brands are desperately trying to evolve from old-school, unit-driven transactional models toward ecosystem-based monetization. With Instacart Caper Carts rolling out smart screens right into the physical brick-and-mortar aisles, you guys have built a literal physical-digital loop. How should brands rethink co-created, real-time physical store experiences using your connected hardware?
Connected hardware in the physical aisle is the ultimate frontier. Ali, we can't talk about Cannes Lions without talking about Closed-Loop Measurement. Marketers are completely burnt out on self-attributed platform metrics. Instacart’s entire value proposition is anchored on receipt-level, purchase-verified deterministic truth. For the brand marketers listening who are caught in the "Validation Trap," what does mathematically clean, independent attribution look like over the next three years, and how does Instacart enforce it?
If it doesn't move actual volume off the shelf, it’s just noise. Tim, looking at your front-row seat to enterprise sales, what separates the North Star CPG brands—the progressive companies that are aggressively growing their volume share on Instacart right now—from the legacy laggards who are still trying to run 20-year-old, static, distribution-only playbooks? What core corporate competency or operational rhythm allows them to win?
Incredible, provocative insights. Now, before we pack up the mics and head out onto the Croisette for a glass of rosé, we have to save a special final question. Cannes Lions is famously the birthplace of massive, landscape-shifting partnership announcements and enterprise platform reveals. Ali, Tim... what do you guys have cooking up under the hood for Instacart that you can uniquely share with the CPG Guys community live today?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - July 21, 2026
21 Jul 2026
00:15:37
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Liz Roche, Claudia Johnson, Sarah Marzano, Angela Myers & Shweta Bhardwaj - How Retail Media Becomes a Growth Engine
18 Jul 2026
00:30:58
This episode was recorded in France at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and features a panel called “How Retail Media Becomes a Growth Engine” which was produced by EMarketer and sponsored by Sensor Tower, featuring Albertsons Media Collectives' Liz Roche, Omnicom's Claudia Johnson, EMarketer's Sarah Marzano, Goodway Group's Angela Myers & Bain & Co's Shweta Bhardwaj.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Walmart's SVP Deepak Maini: How Membership in Walmart+ Delivers Value to Engaged Shoppers
15 Jul 2026
00:46:31
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Deepak Maini, SVP and GM of Walmart +, Walmart’s membership program helping members save more time & money with exclusive benefits.
Walmart+ has grown from 3 benefits at launch to 12 today — still at $98 a year. How does that expanding benefit stack change the behavior of the Walmart+ member in ways that matter to CPG brand partners — in terms of basket size, purchase frequency, and category loyalty?
Walmart reaches 150 million shoppers every week across ecommerce and 4,600 stores, with data mapped to the SKU level. How does Walmart+ membership amplify the quality and fidelity of that first-party data signal — and how should CPG brands be thinking about activating against it differently than they do with non-member data?
Before running Walmart+, you led the VP/GM role for Customer Digital Identity and Data Platform at Walmart. How does a logged-in, identified Walmart+ member change the economics of the digital shelf for CPG brands, particularly as agentic commerce and AI-powered discovery reshape how shoppers find products?
The honest question your CPG audience wants answered: when brand partners think about their joint value creation with Walmart, how should they be weighting Walmart+ member households versus non-member households in their investment strategies? Is the gap in lifetime value as dramatic as what your major online competition has seen with their loyalty subscription program?
The addition of Peacock to Walmart+‘s streaming choices drove a record number of sign-ups in Q3. What does entertainment engagement tell you about a member’s overall relationship with the Walmart ecosystem — and does streaming behavior surface any insights that CPG partners can act on?
Walmart Connect grew 33% in the U.S. last quarter, representing, along with membership fees, about a third of Walmart’s operating income . How tight is the integration between Walmart+ membership data and the Walmart Connect advertising platform — and what does that mean for a CPG brand trying to close the loop from impression to in-store purchase?
Walmart tested its first advertising formats tied to the Sparky AI shopping agent in fall 2025, with 81% of surveyed Walmart customers saying they’d used Sparky to check product availability and review specs before buying . How do you think about Walmart+ membership as a foundation for agentic shopping — and what does that mean for how CPG brands show up in those AI-mediated discovery moments?
Walmart has publicly highlighted share gains with upper-income households as a strategic priority. Does Walmart+ skew toward those households — and if so, what does that mean for premium CPG brands that may have historically underinvested at Walmart?
You ran Fire TV, Alexa Skills, and Amazon Music — all businesses that lived at the intersection of media, identity, and commerce. What’s the most important thing you brought from that Amazon experience that directly shaped how you’re building Walmart+?
Walmart+ is five years old. If you fast-forward five more years, what does the relationship between Walmart+ membership and CPG brand investment look like — and what should brand and agency leaders be doing right now to position themselves for that future?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - July 14, 2026
14 Jul 2026
00:16:56
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Ibotta CRO Chris Riedy and Circana’s Yeimy Garcia Smith: Media Performance with Measurement
11 Jul 2026
00:39:07
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Chris Riedy, Chief Revenue Officer at Ibotta and Yeimy Garcia Smith, SVP, Global Measurement and Enablement at Circana. Ibotta is is a performance marketing platform allowing brands to deliver digital promotions to over 200 million consumers through a network of called the Ibotta Performance Network.
This episode is sponsored by Ibotta and was recorded in Cannes Francine at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
From Circana's macro perspective, where does the traditional measurement infrastructure break down first in this fluid loop?
Are you guys competing, complementing, or building a completely distinct layer of demand?
Where do brand equity investment and performance investment harmoniously meet in this modern loop, and how do you ensure one isn't starving the other?
What does trustworthy, mathematically sound measurement actually look like in 2026, and why is it an absolute baseline requirement right now?
When you listen to CPG brands express their deep frustrations with modern attribution models, what is the core complaint you hear, and how do you define "trustworthy truth" to a skeptical CMO?
Yeimy, what does it mean for the industry that promotions can now be evaluated on equal footing with media? And Chris, for a brand CMO sitting here at Cannes today, how should this change the way they think about where promotions sit in their investment mix?
Yeimy, when Circana runs the numbers across the entire consumer staples landscape, what unexpected, baseline operational traits do a legacy multi-billion-dollar giant and an agile, emerging challenger brand have in common when it comes to capturing actual volume growth today?
Chris, expanding on that, when Ibotta double-clicks down on a hyper-growth challenger brand like Chomps — which Circana crowned a Growth Leader and which has blockbuster velocity across the IPN — the independent Circana Household Lift study told a striking story: households exposed to the Ibotta campaign outperformed the snacking category household penetration benchmark by 9x. What does that kind of new buyer acquisition data reveal about how challenger brands should think about promotions as a growth lever, beyond the traditional discount mechanic?
If you two could completely re-architect the ideal measurement infrastructure from the ground up for a CPG brand trying to successfully navigate the next three years, what does that blueprint look like, and exactly who needs to be in the corporate room to enforce it?
For a CPG brand CMO or commercial executive sitting in this room today who leaves Cannes and has to make one decisive change to how they evaluate, measure, or deploy capital across the commerce funnel this quarter—what is the single piece of practitioner advice you would give them? Yeimy, you first, then Chris.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Omni CEO Christine Gambino - Omnichannel, Real ID & the Full-Funnel Future
08 Jul 2026
00:49:50
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Christine Gambino, CEO of Omni, Omnicom's next-generation marketing and sales intelligence platform. It connects strategy, creativity, media, CRM, commerce, data, and AI to help brands grow with greater clarity, speed, and measurable business impact.
Christine, you came up through Flywheel — one of the most commerce-native organizations in the industry — and now you're operating at the platform level as CEO of Omni. What did that journey from commerce practitioner to enterprise platform operator teach you about what CPG brands actually need from a marketing intelligence system?
Your move from Flywheel to Omni was a deliberate cross-capability appointment. What was the mandate when you stepped into the CEO role, and what did you see as the biggest operational gaps you needed to close?
At CES you demonstrated Omni live — walking through a campaign brief in real time, from media budget breakdowns to synthetic audiences to creator suggestions. For a CPG brand team watching that demo, what's the "aha moment" you're trying to create? In other words, What should click for them?
You've been clear that Omni is additive, not a replacement — your words were: "It's meant to give real-time insights to teams and brands through our agentic environment." For CPG marketers who are worried about what AI means for their jobs, how do you make that case authentically, not just rhetorically?
Omni now integrates Acxiom's 2.6 billion consumer profiles, Flywheel Commerce Cloud, and IPG's data and technology assets. That's a massive data convergence. How are you ensuring that consolidation creates clarity and speed for CPG clients rather than complexity?
Omni is reported as having 41+ frontier LLM models and 24,000 monthly active users across 77 countries. What does it actually mean operationally to manage a platform at that scale — and how do you govern consistency of outputs when so many models and markets are in play?
Flywheel's Commerce Cloud is described as the largest digital transaction data set in the world. Now fused into Omni, that commerce signal is live inside a broader marketing intelligence platform. For a CPG brand running retail media across Amazon, Walmart, and a dozen other RMNs, how does that change what's possible from a targeting and measurement standpoint?
Omni includes what you're calling "Return on Consumer" — tracking consumer progression through Opportunity, Awareness, Interest, Purchase, and Loyalty — rather than just campaign metrics. That's a fundamental reframe. How ready are CPG brand teams to actually buy into that measurement model, and what's holding back adoption?
There's a real tension in the industry right now between AI as efficiency play and AI as growth driver. Omnicom's own data points to 25-55% faster production times. But CPG CMOs are being asked to prove incrementality, not just efficiency. How does Omni help brands make that leap from "we're saving money" to "we're growing share"?
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization — is becoming a major conversation as AI-driven search displaces traditional keyword rankings. Omni appears to have a point of view here through AI Optix on the PR side. How is the broader Omni platform thinking about brand visibility in an era where the algorithm deciding what consumers see isn't Google anymore?
You are sitting at the intersection of the largest data asset in advertising, the largest commerce platform, and a next-gen agentic interface. If you had to name the one capability that CPG brands are most dramatically under-utilizing today — what would it be, and why?
Christine, you came from Flywheel, which has deep roots in CPG. What's your message to the brand leaders, the commerce managers, and the retail media practitioners in our audience about what Omni means for them specifically — not for the holding company, but for them, in their day-to-day work?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - July 7, 2026
07 Jul 2026
00:15:39
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
NielsenIQ NA President Liz Buchanan - Live from C360
04 Jul 2026
00:34:19
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Liz Buchanan, President, North America at NielsenIQ, the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and full retail tracking/measurement while revealing new pathways to growth.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Tale of Two Cannes (Lions) with Retail Media Breakfast Club's Kiri Masters
01 Jul 2026
00:54:37
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Kiri Masters, Founder & Host of the Retail Media Breakfast Club Podcast.
This episode was recorded in Cannes France during the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity at the House of Consumer Goods & Retail.
We explore behind-the-scenes undercurrents ofthe festival.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - June 30, 2026
30 Jun 2026
00:16:03
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Mondelēz International's VP of Brand Oreo Matt Foley Talks BTS Brand Collaboration
27 Jun 2026
00:45:13
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Matt Foley, VP of Brand Oreo at Mondelez International, an American multinational confectionery, food, and beverage company based in Illinois which employs approximately 80,000 individuals around the world, leading the future of snacking with iconic brands such as Oreo, belVita and LU biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum.
CPG brands love to do celebrity endorsements, but usually, it’s just slapping a face on a billboard and calling it a day. This Oreo and BTS partnership feels fundamentally different because it was built from the ground up. Can you take us inside the initial rooms? How do you pitch a collaboration of this magnitude internally to ensure it becomes a structural joint-venture rather than a temporary marketing badge?
I love that. Let’s talk about product-level authenticity, because you guys didn't just change the packaging. You introduced a completely unique, Hotteok-inspired flavor profile and custom BTS-themed embossments right on the cookie itself. From a supply chain and R&D standpoint, altering the literal stamp and wafer formula of a multi-billion-dollar brand is no small feat. How did you manage those operational constraints to ensure that deep authenticity was physically baked into the product touchpoint?
"Physically baking in the authenticity"—I love that phrase. Now Matt, let's talk packaging and creative content. The BTS ARMY is arguably one of the most visually observant and detail-oriented fan communities on earth; they notice everything. How closely did your creative teams collaborate directly with the band to co-design the packaging, and how did you ensure the digital content felt culturally native to the fanbase rather than like a forced corporate script?
Vibe check passed! Now Matt, on every single episode of this show, Sri and I talk about moving from a legacy "Reach Economy" to a modern "Trust Economy." To win, a brand has to go beyond a simple endorsement to build genuine, unconditional brand love. When you are engaging a passionate, hyper-connected global community like the BTS ARMY, what are the strict guardrails for engagement? How do you prevent the brand from looking like a "cultural tourist" trying to cash in on a trend?
Total cultural respect—that is the baseline. Let’s talk about setting a new standard for CPG partnerships. We recently sat down with Conagra's Bob Nolan, and he talked about the "Validation Trap"—how relying on legacy focus groups and copy-testing scores causes brand teams to play it safe and launch boring, predictable activations. Did your team rely on traditional validation metrics for a disruptive play like this, or did you rely purely on cultural intuition and raw community behavior to guide the execution?
Let’s pivot to driving culture versus just joining the conversation. On the CPG Guys, we argue that scale without distinction leads to absolute invisibility. Oreo has masterfully moved from just running standard media flights to actively participating in major cultural milestones. From your seat, how do you define the ROI of a "cultural activation," and how do you prove to senior leadership that driving culture ultimately moves product off the physical shelf and drives total trips?
Driving total trips is music to a merchant's ears, Matt. Let’s talk about the retail execution side. When you roll out a massive global collaboration like this, retail partners like Walmart, Target, and Kroger want to know how this will drive their specific digital and physical shelves. How do you translate the massive digital fandom of an AMA-winning band into a tailored retail media network (RMN) strategy that helps your retail buyers win their specific category goals?
Fascinating take, Matt. Let’s talk about data and the path to purchase. We keep warning the industry about the "Sasspocalypse" of data fragmentation and the rise of the "Agentic Era," where AI agents might intercept a consumer before they ever look at an application. When a brand builds a deep, direct-to-consumer emotional connection through music and fandom, does that emotional equity act as a defensive shield against algorithmic curation? Does genuine brand love make you "machine-immune"?
"Machine-immune equity"—that is a powerful concept to think about. Let's look out over the next 12 to 24 months. Now that Oreo has set this incredibly high benchmark for what a deeply authentic, co-created partnership looks like, where does the commercial strategy go next? Are we entering an era where CPG brands behave more like entertainment studios and lifestyle platforms rather than simple manufacturing companies?
Alright Matt, final question for today, and we want to send our listeners home with a concrete piece of advice. There are brand managers listening right now who want to stop playing it safe, stop repurposing old assets, and actually drive culture the way Oreo is doing. What is the single biggest "reality check" or piece of blind-spot advice you can give them to help them modernize their partnership models this quarter?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Dollar General CMO Tony Rogers: CPGGUYS SPECIAL EPISODE 600
17 Jun 2026
01:01:26
The CPG Guys are joined on its 600th episode by Tony Rogers, CMO of Dollar General which serves as America’s neighborhood general store. Founded in 1939, Dollar General lives its mission of Serving Others every day by providing access to affordable products and services for its customers, career opportunities for its employees, and literacy and education support for its hometown communities. As of May 1, 2026, the Company’s 21,055 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico provide everyday essentials including food, health and wellness products, cleaning and laundry supplies, self-care and beauty items, and seasonal décor.
Dollar General has a very clear value proposition—convenience, everyday low prices, and a store that feels close to home. How would you articulate the brand promise today, and how has it evolved with changing consumer expectations over the last few years?
Dollar General serves millions of daily shoppers. What consumer insights have most surprised you since you joined, and how do you translate those insights into marketing programs that scale across thousands of stores?
Data is the backbone of modern marketing. How does Dollar General balance data-driven decision making with the realities of privacy, consent, and a broad shopper base? Can you share an example of a data-enabled campaign that delivered measurable impact?
How has Dollar General’s approach to e-commerce and omnichannel evolved, especially as more shoppers expect online ordering, curbside pickup, and ship-to-home options? What role does in-store activation play in that mix?
Private brands has become a strategic driver for many retailers. What’s Dollar General’s approach to product assortment and private brands, and how do you decide which initiatives to invest in?
With so many channels and touchpoints, how do you measure retail media marketing ROI at Dollar General? What metrics matter most, and how do you tie marketing investments to store traffic, basket size, and long-term loyalty?
Dollar General has a distinctive presence in local communities. How do you weave community impact and social responsibility into your marketing strategy without compromising value for customers?
Can you share your philosophy on creative that resonates with Dollar General’s shopper base? Are there any campaigns in the last few years that you’re particularly proud of, and what made them effective?
Building a high-performing marketing organization in a discount retailer requires special talent and culture. How do you attract and retain top marketing talent, and what changes have you championed to keep the team energized and innovative?
Looking ahead, what are the big bets for Dollar General in the next 3–5 years? How do you see the role of discount retailers evolving in the broader CPG ecosystem, and what should brands watch for when partnering with DG?
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - June 16, 2026
16 Jun 2026
00:12:04
Each week, the CPG Guys will riff on the hottest topics in the world of omnichannel commerce.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.
CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.