Beyond The Shelf – Details, episodes & analysis

Dave closes out September with Gabe Wight, General Manager at 1WorldSync. Gabe's illustrious marketing career has taken him to several major agencies and organizations, and in 2019 he founded Webata, a software and analytics firm, which was acquired by 1WorldSync in 2023.

They discuss the story of Webata's founding (6:13), why you don't need an eComm degree to excel in the space (10:07), the amazing story of how Gabe got into marketing (16:08), the 3 things to keep in mind about content (20:13), and how 1WorldSync's algorithm helps clients optimize their SEO results within e-retailer platforms (22:56).

Connect with Gabe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabe-wight-23711038/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave speaks with Brad Santanna, Head of Omnichannel Marketing, Strategic Customers, Insights & Analytics at The Hershey Company. Brad has been at The Hershey Company for his entire career - over 20 years! - a rarity in this day and age.

Dave and Brad discuss the disconnect in KPIs between online and in-store (10:02), the importance of targeting occasions and not just audiences (13:07), an overview of the successful Shaq=A-Licious Gummies launch (16:42), what the Hershey team is looking at over the next 12-24 months (21:36), and how the shopper journey is no longer linear (25:35).

Connect with Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-santanna-mba-4a32b411/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave sits down with Joe Gaudreau, Co-Founder and CEO of Lettuce Commerce.  Joe founded Lettuce Commerce last month, after nearly a decade at Salsify, where he was VP of Corporate Development.

Dave and Joe discuss the secret to forecasting upcoming trends (4:45), Joe's journey at Salsify (9:58), an overview of "Value Engineering" (11:56), what Lettuce Commerce is trying to accomplish (22:26), and what Joe foresees over the next few years of PIM (28:16).

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joegaudreau/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week, Dave speaks with Joel Ponce, Co-Founder and CEO of Hashku.  Hashku is a leader in the gaming marketing and advertising space.  Joel offers his expertise and perspective on the fast-growing but often-misunderstood world of gaming.

They discuss how the evolution of gaming over the last decade inspired Joel to start his own company (6:46), how brands are working with Hashku (9:55) (the latest stats on the size and scale of the gaming industry (12:34), leveraging in-game items to influence commerce behavior (18:41), and how the next 12 months and beyond will push gaming from emerging channel to an established one, similar to retail media (21:24).

Connect with Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelponce/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave's guest this week is Danny Silverman, Partner - Digital Commerce Practice at The Partnering Group (TPG).  Danny helped build Johnson & Johnson's eComm presence before pivoting to leading digital consultancies including Catapult Ecommerce and Flywheel.  At TPG, he helps drive omnichannel ROI for leading retail and CPG companies.

They discuss how Danny became passionate about marketing (3:58), learnings from his time at J&J (6:00) and why he pivoted to smaller companies (13:16), how marketing fills the gap between a perfect product and the reality of said product (17:02), how to properly advise decision-makers on their marketing budgets (24:08), and his predictions for the rest of 2024 (25:29).

Connect with Danny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljsilverman/

Check out Danny's YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@dannysilverman1459

Get in touch with TPG to request a copy of "9 Digital Commerce Trends that are Shaping 2024": https://www.thepartneringgroup.com/contact-us/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave has an illuminating conversation with Parbinder Dhariwal, VP and General Manager at CVS Media Exchange (CMX).  For over 20 years Parbinder has had a successful career driving performance at multiple industry-leading global organizations, including Walmart Connect and Spotify, among many others.

Parbinder shares the incredible story of his family's business (6:44), an overview of his previous experience working for big brands (11:34), what makes CMX stand out from other retail media networks (15:25), the transition from "trade dollars" to "brand dollars" driving retail media business, and what "Retail Media 3.0" looks like in the aftermath of cookie deprecation (29:09).

Connect with Parbinder on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parbinderdhariwal/

Learn more about CMX: https://www.cvsmediaexchange.com/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave sits down with Marlow Nickell, Founder of Grocery TV, the largest digital advertising network in US grocery.  With over 21,000 displays in grocery stores across the US, and over 200 retail partners, brands leverage Grocery TV to reach over 70 million shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores.

They discuss Grocery TV's journey since its founding in 2016 (3:17), how in-store ties into overall retail media strategy (11:15), the growth of grocery in-store advertising in particular (17:43), and how the in-store space is evolving (22:30).

Connect with Marlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlow-nickell/

Learn more about Grocery TV: https://grocerytv.com/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave connects with Chris Perry, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer at firstmovr.  firstmovr is an Omni Education and Change Management organization for CPGs, retailers and agencies.  They host many industry events throughout the year and publish a number of free resources, including the recently-released ebook, "Omnigeddon: 2024 Commerce Expectations for Boomsday Preppers."

Chris shares an overview of firstmovr (7:57), an outline of their "Smarter Growth" concept (13:21), some recent client creative examples he's a fan of (16:57), his hopes and concerns about AI (26:48), and his predictions for the next 12 months and beyond (34:02).

Download "Omnigeddon" for free here: https://firstmovr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Omnigeddon.pdf

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://firstmovr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Omnigeddon.pdf

Get in touch with the firstmovr team: hello@firstmovr.com

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave's guest on today's show  is Leah Logan, General Manager, Retail Media at Inmar Intelligence.  Leah has been working within the retail media space for over 15 years.  They discuss why you don't need to have all of the answers all of the time (10:39), an overview of Inmar Intelligence (11:39), why VoC is so important (16:20), 3 areas that brands are placing a big focus on (23:34), and how to tailor campaigns to reach "dual decision-makers" (28:53).

Connect with Leah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-logan-a595668/

Contact Inmar Solutions: solutions@inmar.com

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

Dave speaks with Wayne Blum, Director of Ecommerce & Distribution at Dexcom. Wayne's career experience has included managing digital marketing and ecommerce for a number of big brands including American Express, Nestle and Diageo. They talk about finding new ways to bring different categories and brands online (7:55), how alcohol ecommerce management really isn't all that different than other categories (13:57), why companies need to always be operating in a test-and-learn environment (18:16), the importance of sell sheets (26:51) and an overview of Dexcom and its mission (27:52). 

Connect with Wayne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-blum-6128293/

Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"

Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker