Podcast
Unlocking Retail Media
Hosted by Kevel · ENGLISH
Unlocking Retail Media is the essential podcast for leaders and marketers navigating the rapidly evolving world of retail advertising. We move beyond day-to-day operations to explore the strategic future of the industry, covering major investment trends, the shift to hybrid marketplace models, and the existential disruption posed by Agentic Commerce. Host James Avery brings in top industry veterans and visionary founders to analyze how ground-breaking technology is transforming customer journeys, influencing product catalogs, and forcing retailers to rethink on-site, in-store, and digital media strategies to remain competitive in the modern age.
15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
ROAS is the root of all evil: Debunking the ROAS Trap with Andrew Lipsman
1w ago00:36:18Tap to summarizeJames Avery sits down with Andrew Lipsman, independent analyst and former eMarketer principal, to challenge the industry's dangerous obsession with "magical black boxes" and short-term KPIs. Andrew explains why ROAS is a fundamentally flawed metric that often rewards "cookie stuffing" and branded search rather than true business growth, urging brands and retailers to graduate toward incrementality (iROAS) and market share. The conversation dives into the "nightmare" of over-optimization, the cautionary tale of Nike’s recent brand erosion, and why the future of retail media lies in upper-funnel high-quality channels like performance TV and digitized in-store media. Whether you are a retailer building a network or a brand marketer looking to avoid the "AI hand-wave," this episode provides a blunt, data-driven reality check on what actually drives long-term advertising effectiveness.
Transcribe →The Engineering Engine: First-Party Data and the Kevel Acquisition with Paulo Cunha
3w ago00:41:45Tap to summarizeJames Avery sits down with Paulo Cunha, Kevel’s VP of Product, to explore the historical convergence of data infrastructure and ad tech. Drawing from his journey as the founder of Shift Forward (later Velocity), Paulo recounts the early days of building foundational first-party data tools in Europe and how his team’s expertise in real-time segmentation and forecasting became the backbone of Kevel’s audience product. The conversation dives into the strategic nuances of the European market, the "API-first" mandate, and why the cultural alignment between their two engineering-heavy organizations led to an incredibly successful post-acquisition integration. Paulo also provides a unique lens on GDPR as a competitive advantage and how global retailers can leverage rapid, first-party data activation to outpace traditional marketing cycles and drive higher yield.
Transcribe →Breaking Through the Noise: The Power of In-Store Audio with Sean Cheyney
Apr 800:35:34Tap to summarizeJames Avery welcomes Sean Cheyney, EVP of Global Business Development at QSIC, to discuss the untapped potential of the physical store as a high-performance media channel. Drawing on his deep background at Triad and CitrusAd, Sean explains how modern AI-driven in-store audio is solving legacy pain points by providing closed-loop measurement, incremental ROAS, and hyper-localized creative that can be deployed in minutes. The conversation highlights the "omnichannel" future where audio, digital screens, and on-site media work together to surround the consumer, and Sean makes a bold prediction that 2026 will be the breakout year for retailers globally to integrate audio into their retail media programs
Transcribe →The Power of Customer Data Science: Lessons from the Front Lines with Michael Schuh
Mar 2500:40:14Tap to summarizeJames Avery sits down with Michael Schuh, Global Head of Media at dunnhumby, to explore the evolution of one of the most sophisticated retail media ecosystems in the world. Drawing on his extensive experience building Kroger Precision Marketing, Michael discusses the shift from off-site and loyalty-driven data to the current surge in digitized in-store media. The conversation delves into the strategic necessity of maintaining a "customer-first" focus, the role of measurement standards in building brand trust, and why retailers must move beyond the "noise" of the industry to build bespoke solutions that align with their unique core value propositions. Michael also provides a forward-looking perspective on the impact of agentic commerce and how physical stores can serve as a "competitive moat" for retailers in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.
Transcribe →Unifying the Fragmentation: The Evolution of Commerce Media with Melissa Burdick
Mar 1100:36:37Tap to summarizeJames Avery is joined by Melissa Burdick, Co-founder and President of Pacvue, to discuss the complex, multi-touchpoint journey of the modern consumer. Melissa breaks down the three pillars of commerce media: discovery, retail media, and the emerging world of agentic commerce. She also explains why brands are shifting their focus from basic ROAS to sophisticated incrementality (iROAS) models. The conversation highlights the technical necessity of an "API-first" strategy for retailers to attract top-tier brand spend and explores how tools like Amazon’s Rufus and AI-powered assistants are reshaping discovery and increasing basket sizes.
Transcribe →Measurement Science and the Future of Performance with Andrew Covato
Feb 1800:34:04Tap to summarizeJames Avery sits down with Andrew Covato, founder of Growth by Science, to demystify the complex world of advertising measurement. With a career spanning leadership roles at Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Snap, Andrew explains why traditional attribution is no longer enough and why sophisticated brands are moving toward incrementality (iROAS) and Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM).
Transcribe →Democratizing Premium TV Advertising with James Borow
Feb 400:38:40Tap to summarizeJames Avery talks with James Borow, advisor and lead for Universal Ads at Comcast, about the convergence of premium TV and digital self-serve advertising. Borow discusses how Universal Ads is making TV inventory approachable for brands of all sizes by removing traditional barriers like high minimum spends and complex creative requirements. The conversation covers the shift toward incrementality in measurement, the "halo effect" TV has on social media performance, and how retailers can leverage their first-party data for high-performance CTV reach extension. They also dive into the future of agentic commerce and "vibe coding," exploring how AI-driven tools are rapidly expanding digital consumption and creating a new "golden age" for personalized advertising.
Transcribe →Navigating Product Leadership in Retail Media with Ben Johnson
Jan 2100:42:32Tap to summarizeJames Avery sits down with Ben Johnson, Senior Director of Chewy Ads, to discuss the critical role of product management in building a successful retail media network. Drawing from his experience at both Chewy and Coupang, Ben explains why retailers must move beyond "cookie-cutter" playbooks to develop bespoke ad solutions that reflect their unique customer behaviors—such as Chewy’s high-growth subscription model. The conversation explores how to build internal credibility with established teams, the importance of establishing a "good, neutral, bad" framework for experimentation, and why hiring product leaders with cognitive diversity is more effective than simply sourcing ad tech experts.
Transcribe →Building Scalable Commerce Media Networks with Sam Wright
Jan 1300:36:04Tap to summarizeJames Avery is joined by Sam Wright, Kevel’s strategic advisor, to discuss the essential steps for launching and maturing a retail media business. Drawing from his experience globalizing Klarna Media, Sam breaks down how businesses of all sizes—from small startups to billion-dollar enterprises—can diversify their revenue through targeted advertising. The conversation explores critical growth strategies, including how to align C-suite leadership with product teams, transition from trade dollars to measurable performance media, and leverage granular SKU-level data to create a competitive "transaction graph". Whether navigating the tension between user experience and monetization or evolving into a sophisticated commerce media network, this episode provides a practical roadmap for scaling a modern ad business.Get in touch with us! https://www.kevel.com/contact
Transcribe →Driving Commerce Media: From Food Delivery to the Automotive Marketplace with Gareth Menton
Jan 700:31:32Tap to summarizeIn this episode, James Avery talks with Gareth Menton of Carwow about his journey through retail media, moving from the transactional, spur-of-the-moment food delivery space at Just Eat to the high-value, long-consideration automotive marketplace. Gareth shares how Carwow uses rich first-party data for effective offsite advertising, proving sales attribution for brands. A key takeaway for all RMNs is his focus on making ads highly relevant to user intent, which has led to sponsored listings having the same click-through rate as organic listings.
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