Vistar Media intensifies its focus on retail media: Industry expert Sean Cheyney is now tasked with integrating Vistar’s OoH platforms into retail media networks to create a complementary in-store offering.
Vistar Media doubles down on its retail media strategy by creating a new management position: Sean Cheyney is appointed Global Head of Retail Media. Cheyney, an industry veteran with extensive experience, will be responsible for integrating Vistar’s out-of-home solutions, such as its ad server, content management system (CMS), and Supply Side Platform (SSP), into retail media networks.
Vistar Media has traditionally focused on out-of-home advertising, connecting advertisers with a broad range of digital networks through its SSP. This platform, integrated with Broadsign’s SSP, offers advertisers access to global DooH networks.
Vistar Media’s platforms are traditionally more focused on out-of-home. Vistar’s main product, the Supply Side Platform, connects advertisers with a broad range of DooH networks. The platform is also integrated with Broadsign’s SSP. In addition, Vistar’s SSP also includes more focused offerings at major retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Whole Foods, although these predominantly consist of out-of-store or front-of-store screens.
Bridging DooH and Retail Media
By creating this new management position, Vistar acknowledges the subtle differences between DooH and retail media, and the potential that in-store networks bear for both brands and retailers: “While DooH can reach a large and diverse target group in public spaces, retail in-store advertising offers personalized offers and experiences through the use of first-party data”, says Ravi Ahluwalia, Country Manager DACH bei Vistar Media. “Both media complement each other well, as they cover different phases of the customer journey and can increase both brand awareness and customer engagement.”
Sean Cheyney brings expertise from both the online and offline retail media world, having worked as Executive Vice President of Global Retailer Sales at Citrus Ad, where he is said to have played a pivotal role in the company’s acquisition and rebrand to Epsilon Retail Media. Prior to that, he served similar positions at Triad Retail Media, one of the early operators in the retail media space.
“I’m excited to join Vistar at a time when retail media is on the cusp of transforming how brands reach consumers in the real world,” says Cheyney. “By leveraging Vistar’s powerful programmatic solutions, we can help retailers unlock new revenue streams while giving brands more ways to connect with shoppers along their entire journey.”
What’s beneath the retail media hype was just demonstrated by a German frozen Pizza start-up which reported a 62 percent sales uplift following an in-store campaign. The case shows how valuable this channel can be for non-e-commerce brands because it provides a similar level of attribution to online ads.
