bwgstrategy

Todd Hassenfelt is the eCommerce Director of Growth Strategy and Planning at Colgate-Palmolive, an innovative growth company that reimagines a healthier future for people, pets, and the planet. He has extensive leadership experience in brick-and-mortar and eCommerce channels, serving as a leader on both sales and marketing teams. 

Todd has also sold some of the top brands in the US to multiple channels, including C-store, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, supermarkets, and eCommerce. As an eCommerce and content contributor, his articles appear in publications, including BRAVE Commerce, Ecommerce Braintrust, and The Digital Shelf Cast.

In this episode…

Creating engaging content for the digital shelf is more demanding than ever as it requires refining strategies consistently to maintain relevancy and drive conversions. Generative and other AI tools allow content creators to test various approaches and gain actionable insights from the results. How can you optimize your digital shelf content using AI?

According to digital strategist Todd Hassenfelt, private, beta, generative AI tools like Ask Profitero allow you to integrate KPI data from the digital shelf, including availability, retailers, search terms, ratings, reviews, pricing, and promotions. Additionally, you can input prompts to enhance and iterate variations of PDP content with descriptions, bullet points, images, and videos. With in-store and online shopping experiences becoming increasingly centralized and brands losing consumers to competitors, optimizing your PDPs for physical screens and leveraging an AI-driven scoring system to rank content is imperative. 

Join Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he welcomes Todd Hassenfelt, the eCommerce Director of Growth Strategy and Planning at Colgate-Palmolive, back to the show to discuss AI content optimization for the digital shelf. Todd shares how to create content prompts for the digital shelf, the difference between generative and traditional AI, and how to leverage generative AI to summarize product reviews and ratings.

Kevin Weiss is the Vice President of Retail Media at Skai, which powers digital advertising and market intelligence for the world’s top brands and agencies. As an executive eCommerce leader, he has helped enterprise, mid-market, SMB, and emerging businesses with their marketing efforts. Before Skai, Kevin was the VP of Growth and Strategy at Amplio Digital, where he facilitated the company’s acquisition in 2020.

In this episode…

The ever-evolving retail media ecosystem has led digital marketers to experience FOMO (fear of missing out). With incrementality as a coveted retail media trend, brands are looking to incorporate it into their advertising campaigns. But this concept lacks a well-defined, universal meaning. Despite these inconsistencies, how can you harness incrementality to optimize your retail media strategy?

According to marketing industry thought leader Kevin Weiss, incrementality is subjective. Rather than following a linear process, achieving revenue results with this trend depends on unique brand strategies and goals. Determining an optimal level of incrementality requires identifying your desired growth metrics. For instance, you may benchmark incrementality against share-of-voice, top-line sales, or gross margins. Additionally, each retailer offers distinct advertising features and measurements, so you must analyze individual criteria to maximize profit.

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Kevin Weiss, the VP of Retail Media at Skai, who offers clarity on incrementality in the retail media space. Kevin shares foundational strategies for incremental retail media advertising, how to run ads to boost product rankings, and the benefits of product holdout testing for retail media.

Rick Watson is the CEO and Founder of RMW Commerce Consulting, which provides eCommerce strategy consulting to help businesses accelerate their go-to-market processes. Rick founded the company after spending more than 20 years as a technology entrepreneur and operator in the eCommerce industry with companies including ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, and Pitney Bowes. 

During a partnership with WHP Global, he was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a turnkey DTC digital eCommerce platform powering AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com. Rick hosts The Watson Weekly podcast, where he shares his unbiased, expert take on the retail sector’s biggest news and executives. As a television and conference speaker, he has been featured on national news programs and many retail-focused industry events.

In this episode…

Amazon Prime Day results predict how well the company will perform in Q4. If Prime Day sales are strong, it suggests that consumers are spending money and that Amazon is still a popular destination for online shopping. A lucrative Prime Day could lead to substantial sales in Q4, which is typically the most critical quarter for retailers.

However, Rick Watson, an eCommerce strategist, explains there are other factors to consider when interpreting Prime Day results. Prime Day is a promotional event that can be a false indicator of how well Amazon will perform regularly. To remain ahead of the competition, the retailer must consider that its competitors will likely offer deep discounts, too.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes the Founder and CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting, Rick Watson, back to the podcast for a holiday preview of Q4. Rick and Aaron also address growth trajectories for Amazon and brick-and-mortar, how deep discounts affect company profitability, and how re-platforming affects integration and headless eCommerce.

Jordan Brannon is the President of Coalition Technologies, a company that provides SEO services in digital marketing, design, web development, and PPC advertising. Jordan’s expertise in digital strategies has shaped his career for more than a decade, where he focused on developing solutions that allow for more qualified leads, better traffic conversion, and SEO optimization.

In this episode…

Shopify is pivoting to compete with prominent online marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart. This summer, the platform has released many new offerings, including AI products with an emphasis on entrepreneurs and small businesses. With so many retail options and capabilities on the market, how can you determine if Shopify is right for your business?

As Shopify gains dominance in the market, the platform has positioned itself as a leading choice for brands by solving their most pressing challenges. Yet with this authority, Shopify can market to any audience, forcing brands to share their customers. For some companies, this is a viable growth opportunity, but others struggle to demonstrate value. With deep insight into eCommerce marketplace performance, Jordan Brannon recommends viewing Shopify as a separate strategy from your website storefront to acquire diverse audiences. Digitally native brands with engaging content and strong marketing campaigns benefit significantly from this platform.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, President of Coalition Technologies Jordan Brannon returns to speak with Aaron Conant about Shopify’s growth. Jordan shares advice for transitioning to alternative platforms, unique use cases for AI, and Shopify’s plans to expand its offerings.

Declan Kearney is the CEO and Founder of Digital Commerce Global (DCG), a company empowering brand leaders to make informed decisions on investing in digital commerce capabilities. He is also an advisor for private equity and venture capital firms. With over 20 years of experience, Declan has seen the ever-evolving landscape of eCommerce and has been at the forefront of driving success for consumer brands. Having witnessed the successes and failures of consumer brands’ efforts to optimize online sales and market share, Declan pioneers industry standards in digital commerce capabilities. Before DCG, he was the Managing Director of Ascential.

In this episode…

In 2022, digital commerce grew by 8.9%, making omnichannel strategies pivotal to brand success. Yet the high-growth turbulence has forced executive teams to focus on supply chain disturbances and budget cuts, preventing them from integrating eCommerce capabilities. How can you consolidate your approaches to benchmark them effectively?

With firsthand involvement in Asia’s digital commerce market, Declan Kearney recognizes that brands’ most pressing concerns involve communication discrepancies between executive teams, selecting tech stacks, and navigating the digital divide. He recommends articulating cross-functional channel strategies throughout your organization. Additionally, brands often analyze ineffective metrics when rationalizing tech stacks for their eCommerce strategies, so assessing comparable markets is crucial in identifying traffic and developing new benchmarks.

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Declan Kearney, the Founder and CEO of Digital Commerce Global (DCG), about establishing metrics for eCommerce capabilities. Declan shares why you should support digital teams in eCommerce efforts, Amazon’s influence on digital commerce, and top benchmarks for retail media.

Chase Alderton is the Senior Partner and Field Marketing Manager at Recharge, which helps merchants launch and scale their subscription businesses by turning one-time buyers into loyal repeat customers. In his role, he works with the Recharge Agency Partner network. Chase has held multiple positions at Recharge, including Marketing Associate and Partner Marketing Manager. He also hosts the Hit Subscribe podcast, which shares stories of entrepreneurs scaling eCommerce businesses. 

In this episode…

Customer lifetime value and retention remain top-of-mind as brands spend their advertising dollars generating website leads and conversions. Subscription programs are optimal for acquiring customer loyalty, but companies must structure them accordingly to accelerate profitability. How should you leverage subscriptions for your business model?

eCommerce professional Chase Alderton observes three distinct types of subscription models. Subscribe and save programs offer customers discounts on repeat purchases, while subscription boxes are products curated to consumer preferences. The most overlooked yet fruitful offering is the membership model, which requires customers to sign up to receive exclusive access to deals, promotions, and support. Optimizing these offerings requires upselling and cross-selling products by building a community of brand advocates. You can also employ various communication touchpoints to deliver additional value. 

Join Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he speaks with Chase Alderton, Recharge’s Senior Partner and Field Marketing Manager, about building subscription models for customer retention and lifetime value. Chase shares strategies for boosting subscription revenue, examples of effective subscription models, and the importance of experimenting with various subscription programs.

Zach Riegle is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Blue Wheel Media, an omnichannel digital commerce agency delivering end-to-end D2C, retail, and marketplace solutions. He has held various roles at Blue Wheel, including Director of Digital Strategy and Director of Business Development. With experience in SEO, content, marketing automation, Amazon, social media, and digital strategy, Zach develops online strategies focused on eCommerce and lead generation. 

In this episode…

In the digital marketing landscape, traditional creative strategies involve generating a comprehensive brand video for multiple social platforms. But this lacks consideration for audience segmentation and the nuances within each platform. How can you develop a digital-first creative strategy to increase conversions and ROI?

Instead of reshooting videos and editing choppy footage, digital creative involves strategizing how to optimize content for each channel before developing a campaign. Digital marketer Zach Riegle maintains that each social platform has exclusive engagement methods, so you must produce consistent content to convey a cohesive brand story. For instance, TikTok is distinguished by social communities, so identifying and capitalizing on trends is crucial to reach target audiences. Ultimately, video content should generate at least a 20% click-through rate, where audiences watch three or more seconds, enhancing campaign efficiency.

Join Aaron Conant in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he welcomes Zach Riegle, Blue Wheel Media’s VP of Sales and Marketing, who talks about the importance of digital creative strategies. Zach addresses how to analyze digital creative campaigns, techniques for generating TikTok content, and the future of TV advertising.

Adam Gausepohl is the CEO and Head of Creative and Social Strategy at PopShorts, a social media strategy and influencer marketing agency. As a leader in the social marketing space, he serves as a judge of The Shorty Awards, The Webby Awards, and The Lovie Awards. Adam was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 finalist in marketing and advertising and has crafted award-winning campaigns for the world’s largest brands, studios, and agencies. His past clients include NBC, Sony, Geico, Chase, Nordstrom, Ford, and Adobe.

In this episode…

Despite reports of a potential ban, TikTok remains one of the leading social media platforms, so brands must develop a strategy to engage their audiences. Influencer marketing has a high success rate on the platform, but selecting an ideal creator to boost campaign performance is essential. How can you optimize this approach to maximize ROAS and sales?

Social media strategist Adam Gausepohl affirms that creating a viral video is not a necessary component in generating sales. Instead, you should identify a campaign objective so the TikTok algorithm displays your videos to the appropriate audience. When evaluating influencers, Adam recommends selecting creators who market to your target audience and align with your brand goals. Creating a high-performing campaign requires collaborating with creators to integrate your messaging with their style. 

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Adam Gausepohl, the CEO and Head of Creative and Social Strategy at PopShorts, to discuss best practices for influencer marketing. Adam shares how to generate audience engagement on TikTok, key metrics for evaluating TikTok campaign performance, and how influencer marketing has evolved. 

Gautam Kanumuru is the Co-founder and CEO of Yogi, a product sentiment analysis platform that enables brands to gain deeper visibility into customer feedback and voice-of-customer. With a background in AI and natural language processing, he played a crucial role in developing Microsoft products, including Cortana and Xbox. Before co-founding Yogi, Gautam was the Vice President of Engineering at Clarke.ai and a Program Manager at Microsoft.

In this episode…

As the digital space becomes increasingly competitive, brands are harnessing customer-centric, data-driven growth strategies. Reviews and ratings have unexplored potential to implement rich feedback from shoppers, but this data source is underutilized as most brands emphasize insights from potential purchasers rather than existing customers. How are leading brands capitalizing on customer sentiment analysis to optimize products and drive sales?

According to product sentiment specialist Gautam Kanumuru, reviews and ratings are more than a measurement of volume. Rather, these data sets provide insight into your products, enabling you to develop and improve PDPs, reframe product messaging based on majority feedback, and create ad campaigns for new product launches. A robust customer sentiment analysis approach involves utilizing automated platforms like Yogi to aggregate, prioritize, and disseminate data to meet customer expectations effectively.

Join Aaron Conant in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he hosts Gautam Kanumuru, Yogi’s Co-founder and CEO, to address the value of reviews and ratings for product innovations and brand growth. Gautam shares best practices for evaluating reviews and ratings, how to experiment with AI for review analytics, and how data aggregation facilitates business growth.

Hannah Blackburn is the Co-founder and Director of The Hawkers Club, a company that helps vendors and sellers solve their most pressing challenges and navigate eCommerce marketplaces, including Amazon and Target. In her role, Hannah advises online sellers and vendors on how to directly position their brands and value offerings as Amazon partners to increase profitability and revenue. 

Before co-founding The Hawkers Club, she joined Amazon as a brand specialist with an initial focus on vendor excellence and marketing before transitioning to stock management and profitability. Since she’s written the business logic powering some of the algorithms that run Amazon, Hannah knows how you can systematically make profitable decisions that Amazon’s algorithms reward.

In this episode…

As brands seek to maximize profitability on Amazon, hidden fees, overcharges, and shortages remain a prevailing concern within the platform. How can you identify and address these chargebacks to structure your account spending?

Although you may have a plan in place to mitigate chargebacks and shortages, Amazon expert and accounting veteran Hannah Blackburn says you can leverage additional strategies to safeguard your vendor central account. Amazon places fines and claims on each of its services that brands must recover. These include cost price claims, shipping costs for returns, unjustified provisional rates, overcharges on trading terms, and high direct fulfillment freight costs. When disputing these oversights, it’s essential to prepare invoices and present precise account data to prove your claims. You can also leverage Amazon’s various incentives to facilitate the dispute process.

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Hannah Blackburn, the Co-founder and Director of The Hawkers Club, to discuss how to dispute Amazon fines. Hannah explains how to identify chargebacks, shortages, and fees on Amazon, considerations for fulfillment-related charges and shortages, and how to use automation to monitor purchase orders.

Michael Zakkour is the Founder and Chief Strategist at 5 New Digital, a consultancy that advises clients on strategy, structure, implementation, and transformation in the digital realm. Michael has over 20 years of experience in eCommerce, specializing in digital transformation, data science, the China/APAC market, digital commerce, and new retail strategy. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of China BrightStar, LLC. As an author and speaker, Michael has been interviewed for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, the BBC, and many other media outlets. 

In this episode…

As the digital landscape evolves to include modern technology and performance-driven marketing strategies, brands are looking to increase profitability, drive conversions, and maintain customer loyalty. With so many trends influencing these factors, it’s tough to know where to begin. How can you adapt to the disrupted eCommerce and retail spaces to boost the customer experience and streamline growth?

Digital-savvy marketing strategist Michael Zakkour stresses the importance of unifying online and offline channels to scale sustainably and elevate the customer journey. This involves integrating supply chain operations, content, and marketing to develop an immersive retail experience that includes 3D product images and augmented reality stores, increasing conversions and reducing customer acquisition costs. Michael also cites the value of AI in personalizing customer recommendations and strengthening experiential commerce.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Michael Zakkour, the Founder and Chief Strategist at 5 New Digital, to discuss unified and immersive commerce. Michael explains how immersive commerce differs from the Metaverse, how to create experiential retail experiences, and how to integrate online and offline retail to drive growth.

Corey Apirian is the CEO of Davinci Micro Fulfillment, a full-service logistics company that uses technology and partners with brands and retailers to help market, sell, fulfill, and ship their products. As an accomplished supply chain and operations leader, Corey has over 15 years of senior management experience. With more than 20 years of experience in the eCommerce fulfillment industry, Corey has been drop shipping for every major retailer since 2004 and has launched over 50 different subcategories through individual online and brick-and-mortar channels.

In this episode…

As Amazon’s marketplace becomes progressively convoluted, brands are amplifying their advertising and marketing strategies. But with customer acquisition and ad costs rising, this tactic is insufficient for generating influence, so brands must leverage hyperlocal fulfillment centers to enable 1-2 day deliveries. How can you optimize these micro facilities to enhance the customer experience and remain top of mind?

When structuring your D2C business, logistics specialist Corey Apirian emphasizes diversifying your inventory by utilizing multiple micro fulfillment centers, including Amazon Direct. This promotes agility and allows for precise control of inventory through your network. You can strengthen your fulfillment strategy by incorporating order management and checkout optimization software to reduce inventory shortages and costs. It’s also essential to evaluate the KPIs for each potential 3PL and local carrier facility to ensure they possess these capabilities.

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes the CEO of Davinci Micro Fulfillment, Corey Apirian, back to the show to discuss how brands can adapt to Amazon’s fulfillment model. Corey addresses strategies for evaluating 3PLs, how to integrate marketing, product assortment, and delivery into your DTC model, and Flexport’s acquisition of Shopify Logistics.

Udayan Bose is the Founder and CEO of NetElixir, a digital marketing agency designed to help the growth of eCommerce businesses, B2B companies, and retail brands through strategic solutions and an AI-powered platform. Udayan is also the Co-founder of The Udaan Trust, a nonprofit foundation of NetElixir that supports underprivileged young women in India to pursue their education goals and build successful careers.

In this episode…

When it comes to Google searches, approximately 20% of customers venture past the first results page. Consequently, the platform has monetized that page, obstructing results and compromising brand visibility and discovery. The emergence of ChatGPT and generative AI further complicates search marketing efforts, as customers receive answers instantly. How can brands get ahead of these new developments to improve success with the technology?

According to digital marketing and AI specialist Udayan Bose, fully comprehending a new technological advancement takes two to five years. To expedite the process, he says organizations must dismantle departmental silos and encourage all team members to exchange ideas, experiment, and innovate. Although failure can be inevitable in this tumultuous landscape, this approach facilitates learning and growth. As search marketing evolves with ChatGPT, you can also input brand-specific prompts to train the software and assess your processes for future integration and automation.

NetElixir’s Founder and CEO, Udayan Bose, is Aaron Conant’s guest on this episode of The Digital Deep Dive to discuss generative AI’s impact on search marketing. Udayan also shares how experimentation and collaboration facilitate AI adaptation, the effect of conversational search on traditional search results, and his framework for navigating the evolving search ad landscape.

Jon Reily is the SVP of Commerce and Loyalty at Bounteous, a leading global digital experience consultancy. In his role, he leads Bounteous’ Commerce Center of Excellence, providing best practices, thought leadership, and co-innovation for brands. With more than 20 years of experience in the digital space, Jon is a Top 100 Retail Influencer, an eCommerce expert, and a UX/CX specialist. Before Bounteous, he was the Head of User Experience and eCommerce Design at Amazon, where he played a role in the platform’s growth and served as a voice for strong customer experiences and accessible eCommerce. 

In this episode…

Although the digital space has transformed considerably in the past four years, many brands haven’t adapted their strategies. Some utilize antiquated customer acquisition strategies by offering loyalty programs that benefit the business rather than the customer. Yet 20% of a brand’s customer base generates 80% of its revenue, and while the average consumer enrolls in 14 loyalty programs, they only use seven. How can you retain your existing customers by meeting their demands?

Customer experience veteran Jon Reily advises against employing customer loyalty programs. Instead, loyalty involves creating positive experiences to help customers resolve their most pressing concerns, keeping you top of mind in your category. You can leverage the customer lifetime value flywheel to generate existing consumer loyalty by personalizing content and accessing and managing data to assess experiences and make informed decisions.

Jon Reily, SVP of Commerce and Loyalty at Bounteous, joins Aaron Conant in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive to discuss customer loyalty and the lifetime value flywheel. Jon talks about the barriers to customer personalization, optimizing the flywheel through content creation and customer feedback, and how to access and organize customer data.

Dries Buytaert is the Founder, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, and Board Member of Acquia, a venture-backed software company offering products and services for Drupal, an open-source website-building platform he founded and leads. Honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, he has also been recognized as CTO of the Year by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and a Young Innovator by MIT Technology Review, among other recognitions. Before Acquia and Drupal, Dries was the CEO and Founder of Mollom, which Acquia acquired.

In this episode…

With digital transformation becoming increasingly prevalent, composable architecture has gained traction in the eCommerce landscape. Yet there’s uncertainty surrounding this concept as organizations struggle to transition from monolithic systems to more flexible software. So what does composability entail, and how can you pivot and adapt to this solution to prepare for the digitally native future?

For Dries Buytaert, composable commerce is a philosophy involving an organization’s ability to acclimate to evolving business needs by incorporating various tech stack components into a comprehensive application. This requires evaluating multiple modules from assorted vendors, testing their synergy, and exchanging them to ensure your system remains agile. But composability extends beyond mere architecture to include no and low-code approaches, which entails unifying content, data, and team participation to create ubiquitous customer and business experiences. 

Aaron Conant sits down with Acquia’s Founder, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, and Board Member, Dries Buytaert, in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive to talk about composable commerce approaches. Dries explains how MACH (microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and headless) differs from composability, content management strategies for composable architecture, and how to adapt to composable commerce solutions. 

Martin Heubel is the Strategy and Amazon Consultant at Consulterce, a strategy consultancy helping B2C household and CPG brands increase their 1P vendor profits on Amazon. As the founder, he has over five years of experience assisting CPG and household brands to master their bottom line. Before Consulterce, Martin was a Senior Category Manager at Amazon, where he helped brands such as Nestle and Mars turn their digital retail operations into high-performing, eight-figure accounts.  

In this episode…

During Q4 in 2022, Amazon withdrew inventory to prevent overstocking, disrupting availability and trade relationships between brands, Amazon, and suppliers. With this risk aversion impacting supply and demand, how can brands remain savvy to sustain inventory and profits?

According to Amazon consultant Martin Heubel, Amazon Vendor Negotiations (AVN) are crucial in developing an operational strategy for the coming year. During these mediations, Amazon determines fair trade agreements, including product pricing and margins, that brands must observe to prevent listing removals, Buy Box suspension, and inventory shortages. Maintaining stock and profitability requires analyzing your portfolio structure to mitigate risk and engaging with Amazon throughout the year. It’s imperative to understand and manage your margins, orders, catalogs, and financials to communicate market value and stay relevant.

Martin Heubel, Strategy and Amazon Consultant at Consulterce, is Aaron Conant’s guest on today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive. They discuss the current and future states of Amazon’s business model. Martin also shares how brands can maintain inventory in 2023, advice for winning AVNs, and how the platform’s risk aversion affects brands.

Franz Jordan is the General Manager and Vice President of Perpetua, a SaaS platform that helps brands, media agencies, and Amazon sellers improve ad performance through AI-powered automation. He has nearly 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the Amazon, eCommerce, and market intelligence spaces. Before Perpetua, Franz was the Co-founder and CEO of Sellics, the premier provider of AI-powered B2B SaaS solutions that Perpetua acquired.

In this episode…

Advertising is becoming increasingly complex as platforms seek to drive revenue by increasing ad volume and value. With so many factors influencing ROAS and sales, how can you leverage the precise data and strategies to outperform competitors and maintain relevance?

Market intelligence expert Franz Jordan urges brands to analyze long-term, holistic performance data on multiple advertising formats, including DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). This data should encompass acquisition costs and customer lifetime value. Yet brand-specific data and goals aren’t sufficient enough to optimize ad performance, so Franz recommends leveraging market-aware and competitive intelligence by evaluating pricing, top-selling ASINS, product reviews, and keyword rankings. 

Join Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he sits down with Franz Jordan, General Manager and VP of Perpetua, to talk about competitive and market-aware advertising strategies. Franz also shares how brands should consider the evolving ad landscape, how to leverage AMC, and cutting-edge strategies to differentiate yourself from competitors. 

Todd Hassenfelt is the eCommerce Director of Growth Strategy and Planning at Colgate-Palmolive, an innovative growth company that reimagines a healthier future for people, pets, and the planet. He has extensive leadership experience in brick-and-mortar and eCommerce channels, serving as a leader on both sales and marketing teams. 

Todd has also sold some of the top brands in the US to multiple channels, including C-store, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, supermarkets, and eCommerce. As an eCommerce and content contributor, his articles appear in publications, including BRAVE Commerce, Ecommerce Braintrust, and The Digital Shelf Cast.

In this episode…

Chat GPT’s widespread adoption has initiated the release of GPT-4, with capabilities extending far beyond text to include images and videos. GPT-4’s potential has opened up additional opportunities for workflow efficiencies and creativity. What should you consider about this revolutionary technology, and how can you apply it in your organization?

Todd Hassenfelt maintains that adopting GPT-4 requires a delicate balance between use case opportunities and risk mitigation to avoid copyright infringements and other lawsuits. Once you’ve executed the appropriate due diligence with your legal team, you can leverage GPT-4 to analyze product reviews, optimize content, and personalize ads for consumers. For instance, this generative AI can examine a product detail page to determine common themes among customer reviews. It can also recommend top keywords for SEO.

Todd Hassenfelt, eCommerce Director of Growth Strategy and Planning at Colgate-Palmolive, joins Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive to talk about how GPT-4 is disrupting generative AI. Todd mentions how brands can implement GPT-4, generative AI’s role in customer personalization, and how to train generative AI models. 

Andrew Lipsman is the Principal Analyst at Insider Intelligence, the leading research, data, and insights provider helping companies maximize revenue, optimize ad spend, and anticipate digital disruption. In his role, he reports on retail and eCommerce, following trends, including holiday shopping, retail media, social commerce, DTC brands, and leading marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart. Andrew has spoken at multiple conventions, including Big Show, Shoptalk, and Groceryshop. He is quoted frequently by publications, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times. 

In this episode…

Retail media has monopolized the digital advertising landscape, and major retailers are developing ad networks to compete with Amazon. Walmart is the second largest media system with a $6 ROAS, and Target and Instacart aren’t far behind. Given the recent growth and competition, omnichannel strategies are essential to profit in this evolving space. So how should you structure your advertising efforts to prepare for impending retail media developments?

Digital analyst Andrew Lipsman has observed three key drivers of retail media. With prominent retailers like Walmart and Target optimizing the customer experience, brands must ascend the advertising funnel by leveraging onsite media to deliver ads across social platforms and TV streaming. Traditionally, brands have analyzed ROAS for online sales. Now, you can capitalize on in-store retail media and attribution data to drive offline sales. But Andrew warns against over-personalizing in-store advertising to risk losing customer trust. Instead, develop brand awareness by incorporating on-screen QR codes that tap into loyalty programs and encourage purchases across multiple channels.

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant chats with Andrew Lipsman, Principal Analyst at Insider Intelligence, about the current and future state of retail media. Andrew also talks about AI’s role in data analytics, the challenges retailers face when developing ad networks, and the ideal metrics for optimizing ad spend.

Jacob Harrison is the Director of eCommerce Investment Strategy at CMI Media Group, a full-service media agency specializing in strategic healthcare marketing. For more than eight years, he has launched, developed, and implemented some of the largest marketing programs in the retail, finance, and consumer goods spaces. Jacob has built and led world-class teams and driven significant growth for agencies, including Sparkroom and retailers such as Toys R Us and DSW.

In this episode…

In recent years, retail media has dominated the digital landscape, and various industries, including consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fashion, have pioneered major advertising networks to market and sell their products. DTC channels provide viable opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry to target consumers and improve the healthcare experience. But Rx distribution is heavily regulated as brands must comply with HIPAA and other data privacy laws. So what’s the most effective way to employ eCommerce marketing to build brand awareness?

Healthcare has experienced a significant shift to digital with online patient forms, virtual doctor visits, and more. Jacob Harrison says that brands can leverage patients’ growing familiarity with digital to offer information on medications and provide seamless prescription refills. Partnering with leading pharma retailers like Walgreens and CVS allows you to capitalize on consumer data to develop targeted ads, maximizing conversions and ROI.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Jacob Harrison, Director of eCommerce Investment Strategy, to talk about how the healthcare industry is utilizing eCommerce to enhance the patient experience. Jacob also shares how organizations are leveraging ad networks to market products, the limitations of pharmaceutical distribution, and the importance of a digital R&D budget.