The CPG Guys – "Commerce Acceleration with Flywheel’s Claudia Johnson"

Podcast: The CPG Guys
Hosts: Peter V.S. Bond & Sri Rajagopalan
Guest: Claudia Johnson, Technical Advisor to the CEO, Flywheel Commerce Network (an Omnicom company)
Date: September 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on commerce acceleration in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail world, as brands and retailers confront the challenges and opportunities of omnichannel commerce, advanced retail media, and the ongoing digital transformation. Claudia Johnson, a CPG industry veteran from Flywheel/Omnicom, joins Peter and Sri to unpack her career journey, discuss the evolution of ad tech, break down the nuances of personalized advertising, and dig into retail media’s ecosystem and the promise (and pitfalls) of data "clean rooms." Notably, she lends insight into what sets Flywheel apart — from culture to technology — in a crowded agency field and shares perspectives on how brands, agencies, and retail media networks can work better together to win with today’s consumer.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Claudia Johnson's Career & Leadership Journey

• Background Highlights ([04:09]):

  • Started at Target.com (while it was hosted on Amazon’s platform):

    "Back in the day when we were still on Amazon's platform, which is a whole nother bag of things to unpack..." (A, 04:11)

  • Moved into supply chain at Kimberly Clark, eventually helped stand up the eCommerce function.
  • Joined Flywheel (~7 years ago), taking on a variety of leadership roles — from operations to HR and content to client partnerships.
  • Expanded her scope to serve as Chief Client Officer before her current role as Technical Advisor to the CEO at Omnicom Commerce Group.
  • Emphasizes Flywheel’s "bias for action" and entrepreneurial spirit, with several roles being created specifically for her as business needs evolved.

    "My last five roles, and really my last six, didn't exist until I sat in them." (A, 05:12)

• On Mentorship & Intentional Career Planning ([06:47]):

  • Importance of defining your ambitions clearly before approaching mentors.
  • Family’s unique "Johnson family national sales meeting" tradition to align on career and life goals.

The Changing Landscape of Ad Tech & Omnichannel Commerce

• Complexity of Modern Consumer Behavior ([09:12]):

  • The consumer journey is now less predictable, making old cohort-based models less effective.

    "Consumer behavior in many ways has become less tidy... these silos that organizations have historically created ...are no longer at the service of meeting the consumers or driving the brand's business." (A, 09:22)

  • Emphasizes the need for holistic, deterministic measurement, which the industry still lacks.

• Personalization & Identity Management ([11:17]):

  • Envisions true 1:1 relationships with consumers across all retailers—not just Amazon.
  • Example: Managing communications and offers based on loyalty and purchase behavior.

    "We just need to keep Bob's product in stock. And so I'm going to invest in Bob and a cohort like Bob very differently..." (A, 12:10)

  • Advocates for cumulative, learning-based personalization strategies that inform both targeted and mass marketing.

The Data "Clean Room" Revolution

• Amazon's Lead with AMC ([16:55]):

  • Clean rooms like Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) provide brands with privacy-safe, actionable, long-term (5-year) consumer data.

    "Even with that, [AMC] is still a lot more operationalized and democratized than some of the other retailers data sets... AMC makes it easy to go look, find an insight and with one button build an audience and deploy it." (A, 17:08)

  • Contrasts Amazon’s self-service, integrated approach with slower, manual processes from other retailers.

• The Five-Year Lookback Window ([19:25]):

  • Flywheel played a key role in advocating for (and shaping) Amazon’s five-year data window, enabling deeper ROI insights and long-term consumer journey analysis.

    "We had a very candid conversation with the leadership over at Amazon... and even helped co-author some of their internal write up to influence that." (A, 20:19)

Retail Media: Dominance, Fragmentation, and What’s Next

• State of Retail Media Networks ([21:59]):

  • 84% of US retail media spend resides with Amazon and Walmart, leaving a fragmented, crowded field of 175+ RMNs competing for crumbs.
  • For smaller networks to grow, they must:
    • Surface unique audiences or signals.
    • Deliver actionable data transparency for brands.
    • Open themselves to feedback and rigorous measurement.

    "If your platform ... actually works in driving sales and share, then the brands will give you your dollars. It's as simple as that." (A, 23:35)

• Coalitions & Scalability for Smaller RMNs ([25:46]):

  • Brands prioritize scale and transparency—small RMNs should consider coalitions and tech partnerships (e.g., with Criteo), and leverage AI to lower effort for bespoke campaigns.

    "How can we leverage tools ... and AI to make it easier and more cost effective... because right now ... the Walmart shopper marketing lead ... nothing goes in the walls of Walmart unless it’s bespoke for Walmart." (A, 27:05)

Power Dynamics: Brands & Retailers in an Omnichannel Age

• Shifting Balance ([28:54]):

  • Growth in retail media and broader budget accountability means brands now have more input and leverage with retailers.
  • Movement away from siloed decision-making as national brand/platform budgets merge with retail media.

    "It's definitely more of a fair division of power. And I think brands that have large budgets, who know how to wield that power appropriately, will find it easier to negotiate..." (A, 31:05)

• Collaboration & Breaking Down Silos Still Needed ([31:28]):

  • Despite progress, legacy silos persist on both brand and retailer sides.

    "There's still silos within the brand. There's still silos within the retailer. That would be my hope, but I don't know." (A, 31:55)

Agencies’ Value in Retail Media & Flywheel’s Differentiation

• Why Work With Agencies (and Flywheel in particular)? ([32:43]):

  • Agencies provide cross-client perspective, category expertise, and unbiased partnerships.
  • Flywheel uniquely blends:
    • Practitioner-led culture (from senior leadership down).
    • Deep investments in purpose-built ad tech.
    • Strong creative and operational integration.

    "Tech and culture." (A, 36:30)

• Importance of Breaking Silos:

  • Full-spectrum teamwork between creative, commerce, and analytics stakeholders leads to better outcomes.

• How RMNs Can Partner Better with Agencies ([37:39]):

  • Use agencies as the "unfiltered voice of the client."
  • Bring agencies into the product & solution development process.
  • Prioritize APIs, data access, and stable integrations.
  • Creative, scaled communication between agencies and RMNs reduces friction and drives innovation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Career Growth (A, 05:12):

  "My last five roles... didn't exist until I sat in them. I've had to write job descriptions. This last one, I had our Omni AI tool help me."

• On Clean Rooms vs. Manual Data Handling (A, 17:08):

  "It doesn't really matter how good the data is if someone can't go into the system and decipher it and harness insights and do something."

• On the Future of Personalization (A, 12:10):

  "We just need to keep Bob's product in stock. And so I'm going to invest in Bob and a cohort like Bob very differently..."

• On the Reality of Retail Media for Smaller Players (A, 23:35):

  "If it works, you get the money. If it doesn't work, you don't. And if you can't prove that it works. You also don't because other people can prove that it works."

• On Coalition-building Among RMNs (A, 27:05):

  "I don’t know if that's a normal answer for people to give, but that's my answer... If we can make it easier to do bespoke creative and bespoke shopper and bespoke retail for these other guys..."

• On Brand-Retailer Power Shift (A, 31:05):

  "...they've sort of not completely lost their bargaining chip because they still own the stores and the shelves. But it's definitely more of a fair division of power."

• On Agency Value Proposition (A, 36:30):

  "Tech and culture."

Important Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic / Segment | |-----------|-----------------| | 04:09 | Claudia’s Career Journey & Value of Entrepreneurial Culture | | 06:47 | Mentorship, Personal Intentionality, & Family Traditions | | 09:12 | Complexity in Shopper Behavior & Ad Tech Needs | | 11:17 | Identity Management & Full-Funnel Personalization | | 16:55 | Clean Rooms, Amazon’s Data Platform, and Advantages | | 19:25 | Flywheel’s Push for Five-Year Lookback Window at Amazon | | 21:59 | State of RMNs: Amazon/Walmart Dominance, Survival for Others | | 25:46 | Scale, Transparency, & Need for Coalitions | | 28:54 | Shifting Power Between Brands and Retailers | | 32:43 | Agency Value; Why Flywheel? | | 35:20 | Flywheel’s Differentiation: Practitioner-Led, Tech, & Culture | | 37:39 | How RMNs Should Work with Agencies to Drive Value | | 40:04 | Hosts’ Takeaways: Clean Room Advantage, Five-Year Lookback |

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Claudia Johnson’s leadership path underscores the role of adaptability and entrepreneurial culture in driving eCommerce innovation.
• As retail and advertising become more data-driven, consumers’ journeys are increasingly complex, demanding better cross-channel measurement, identity management, and personalization.
• Amazon's sophistication with AMC and its five-year lookback window is a distinct technical and strategic advantage, empowering both brands and agencies to measure long-term ROI and lifetime value.
• Smaller RMNs must focus on unique audiences and actionable data transparency to stay relevant. Coalition-building and embracing tech/AI may hold the key to unlocking brand investment.
• Agency partnerships—especially practitioner-led, tech-savvy ones like Flywheel—remain essential as brands and retailers look to execute, innovate, and break down silos in retail media.
• True consumer-centric collaboration remains an aspiration—but progress is being made as the ecosystem evolves.

Standout Quote:

"If it works, you get the money. If it doesn't work, you don't. And if you can't prove that it works. You also don't because other people can prove that it works."
(A, 23:35)

For brands, retailers, and anyone navigating the changing tides of digital commerce and retail media, this episode is a candid, insightful guide to what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next.