1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 Nobody wants to walk into their their grocery store and it to be 2 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:05,280 NASCAR. No one's looking for ads 3 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:07,760 everywhere all the time. Yeah, use the screens 4 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,480 intelligently to deliver messages that are maybe 5 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:23,400 relevant. Hello and welcome back to the 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,920 Retail podcast Live from I was going to say shop talk live from 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,120 grocery shop. I'm here with Harles Fischman, 8 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,400 VP and general Manager of encounter RRD underneath the 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,680 umbrella of RRD. So, Hans, for those who don't 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,080 know what you guys do, why don't you tell us what you do? 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,720 We work with both retailers and advertisers and what we try to 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,400 do is for a retailer, we're trying to take the idea of 13 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,040 digital signage to the next level for their customers. 14 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,760 How do you use digital signage to personalise the shopping 15 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,520 experience to put more items into carts and baskets and and 16 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,960 how do you to create a more bespoke and modern experience 17 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,640 for an advertiser who wants to be in the store? 18 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,560 We managed to solve actually something very similar, which is 19 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,000 that we're putting more items into baskets and carts. 20 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,240 We're trying to personalise and customise the targeting of a 21 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,480 message that goes to a consumer as they go through their through 22 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,560 their shopping journey and more importantly, providing back the 23 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,080 relevant data that's necessary for them to make smarter 24 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,120 marketing decisions. You must meet a lot of 25 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:22,800 customers. I mean, there's these, these are 26 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,760 sort of some of my hard getting go to question. 27 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,440 You must meet a lot of customers, yes. 28 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,560 What's the number one problem that they're trying to solve 29 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,840 when they come to talk to you? Well, I think for a customer, 30 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,080 and let's let's define this, there's 2 customers, there's 31 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,600 retailers, and then there's advertisers, brands. 32 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,480 For a retailer, they have a challenge with margin for linear 33 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:44,240 foot. And so by bringing in 34 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,960 advertising, by selling more items for linear foot, by by 35 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:50,280 activating data in a way that they've never been able to 36 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,920 actually create a value for it, we're actually allowing them to 37 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,280 think of their store in a different fashion in terms of a 38 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,960 blended margin. And for the advertiser, we're 39 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,960 helping them deliver messages directly to consumers when 40 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,360 they're actively making a purchase decision. 41 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,400 If I'm in a grocery store, for example, I'm there to buy 42 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,199 something. So if you can influence that 43 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:11,480 purchase decision in real time, you actually have created an 44 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,400 entirely new marketing channel, an opportunity for attribution 45 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,160 and conversion. What are some of the outcomes 46 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:20,280 that you're creating that? So you've obviously mentioned 47 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,000 that you've got two types of customers, the agency and then 48 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,120 the the the retailer. What's the main outcome then 49 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:27,640 that you're producing for either or? 50 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:29,120 Obviously you're trying to convert. 51 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,400 For, for a retailer, the number one thing that we create is 52 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,080 revenue and it's now revenue through a couple of different 53 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,600 revenue streams for the advertiser. 54 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,520 We're providing a different level of data that's ever been 55 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,960 possible before in a real store. And when we look at the growth 56 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,720 of retail media networks and, and the growth really is 57 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,440 tremendous, but it's based on a couple of pieces of information. 58 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:53,440 It's based on being able to target effectively, it's being 59 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,680 able to have attribution and attract conversion. 60 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,720 And as you do that in the digital world, which is actually 61 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,520 very straightforward and easy. The challenge is, is that if 62 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,240 you're a retailer, most of your traffic is in the physical 63 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,720 world, it's not digital. And if you're an advertiser, 64 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,440 most of the sales are happening in the physical world, not 65 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,800 digitally. As big as e-commerce is, it's 66 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,400 still only 20% of retail and that's globally. 67 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,760 So as we look towards what are the possibilities for an 68 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,720 advertiser, we are allowing for and delivered to them the data 69 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,720 necessary to make smarter marketing decisions. 70 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,880 And for a retailer, what we're providing is the ability to 71 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,280 activate and to create value for arts of their store that 72 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,760 haven't, they haven't really been able to figure out how to 73 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,200 make that U on par with what they're able to do digitally. 74 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,440 So would you, would you say that you're earlier on you mentioned 75 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,480 that you're an advertising company that's come into tech, 76 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:49,840 correct, right. So therefore you understand that 77 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,480 world better, right? Is that right? 78 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,200 That's correct. So we are, we are an advertising 79 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,360 company that does tech and we've been like this now for decades. 80 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,360 That's what we do, which is that we find technologies and we 81 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,400 adapt them for purposes of delivering marketing messages. 82 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,040 Over time, as digital has come to the forefront, we've of 83 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,080 course adopted digital technology to allow us to target 84 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,320 more effectively. And we do that in a variety of 85 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,760 ways depending on what the medium is. 86 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,079 If it's digital advertising, display, we do that. 87 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,480 If it's CTV, we do that. Depending on which each one has 88 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,280 had their advantages and mechanisms for this, for 89 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:28,920 purposes of growing this out, where what we've built is the 90 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,680 ability to take the digital methodologies that we've 91 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,520 developed, the learning and iteration that we've done over 92 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,160 decades and we're now applying it physically in the real world. 93 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:39,960 So we're bringing the capabilities that you would do 94 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,400 digitally to bear inside of a store. 95 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,720 And that's what I mean by being an advertising company that does 96 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,360 technology. If I were a technology company 97 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,280 and I'm trying to say, oh, here's my crazy widget, First 98 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,600 off, odds are it isn't born over the course of decades of 99 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,920 learning and iteration. You don't have the relationships 100 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,000 with the brands that you need that are necessary to actually 101 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,040 build the business around that. And more importantly, you're not 102 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:05,600 providing solutions for retailers. 103 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,440 In other words, you have a solution in search of a problem. 104 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:13,040 We have a problem that we have learned how to solve through 105 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,120 literally years and years of working from the advertising 106 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,640 perspective and bringing that into retail environments. 107 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,400 Perfect, final two questions. Where do I start and where is it 108 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,320 going? So you start by calling me. 109 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,480 So we, we, we, where we start is actually by building up the 110 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:31,960 supply. And what does that mean? 111 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,080 It means by working with retailers to be able to build a 112 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,160 larger scale to the business. So you're agnostic to the 113 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,360 retailer then, in terms of what? So we are agnostic to both 114 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,480 retailers and to brands. Our our goal is to actually 115 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,480 facilitate business between them by providing solutions for both 116 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:50,520 sides. Got you. 117 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,160 OK. So this if I've got a retail 118 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,040 media network already, you're providing the content for me. 119 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:56,920 We I can. And the medium. 120 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,120 I can, we can do two things. We can we can work with you as a 121 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,320 retail media network. Let's say you're a large 122 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,720 retailer today and you have a retail media network, an RMN. 123 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,760 We can work with you to figure out how to deploy these into 124 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,760 your stores and incorporate them in. 125 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:12,440 So you can now have increased scale. 126 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,120 So in other words, you have demand that you've generated 127 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,400 digitally. We can help you bring that into 128 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,680 store and we do that by the programmatic capabilities that 129 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,960 we can bring to bear by tying this into a back end system that 130 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,320 is fully modern and designed specifically to deliver digital 131 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,200 advertising from a demand perspective. 132 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,280 We can actually help you with either bespoke pieces where 133 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:35,400 you're doing custom installations in the store very 134 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,560 similar to like an end cap or something along those lines. 135 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,560 Today. We're also working with you to 136 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,960 help encourage the retailers to adopt and that comes in the form 137 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,960 of your media spend goes to the retailer to a much higher degree 138 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,480 than they do through other channels than you typically see 139 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,400 through programmatic channels. That allows for the retailer to 140 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,760 recognise a return on their investment that much more 141 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,880 quickly. This creates a healthy cycle, a 142 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,920 circle of virtual, a cycle of virtue, if you will, That a 143 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:04,640 virtuous circle. That's what I was looking for. 144 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:06,880 Thank you. To create a virtuous circle. 145 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,280 That virtuous circle then actually encourages retailers to 146 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,080 adopt more technology because they're making more money from 147 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,760 them more effectively. So to answer your question, 148 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,160 where do we begin? The proverbial chicken or egg? 149 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,720 Yeah, We work today with existing networks and our goal 150 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,560 is to actually maximise the opportunity with them. 151 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,360 We then work in conjunction with several large global technology 152 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,720 providers and not as a vendor relationship, but as a partner 153 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,720 relationship to build an ecosystem where all of these 154 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,720 different companies can now succeed and help bring the 155 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,600 capability into retailers and large retailers, small 156 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,840 retailers. And then so where did you see 157 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:43,840 the future? What, what? 158 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,280 What is the future of this? Industry, the the future of this 159 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:50,560 industry is it starts where it began, which is how do we look 160 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,360 at the retail experience? We as consumers, not not me as a 161 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:56,880 technologist or you. You're hosting this podcast. 162 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:58,920 Yeah. How do we as individuals that go 163 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,440 into a store, how can I create an experience that is more 164 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,680 bespoke, more personalised and customised, very similar to what 165 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,720 I might get off of my mobile device, right. 166 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,680 When we get our mobile device, it's universal. 167 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,600 It applies to everybody, but over days and weeks it starts 168 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,200 personalising to how I want to see information. 169 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,520 If I'm a retailer, how do I bring that capability to bear 170 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,760 inside my store? So I think that over time what 171 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:26,040 we're looking at is the the increase of more individual, 172 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:31,240 smaller discrete displays that deliver personalised recommended 173 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,600 messaging based on behaviours I may have taken or based on 174 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,880 perhaps a loyalty programme or other some other form of first 175 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,280 party data that allows for us to develop systems to the target 176 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,760 messaging that helps drive consumer behaviour. 177 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,960 Most importantly, when I say drive influence, it's really 178 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,320 about how do you influence a consumer to take action? 179 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,800 Yeah, that's beneficial to them. And in many respects in digital 180 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,360 advertising, it's overload, right. 181 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,640 Nobody wants to walk into their their grocery store and it to be 182 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:02,640 NASCAR. No one's looking for ads 183 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,280 everywhere all the time. Yeah. 184 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,840 Use the screens intelligently to deliver messages that are maybe 185 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,320 relevant for maybe it's Peach season. 186 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,880 Peaches are now in season. So here's a delicious cobbler 187 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,200 recipe. By the way, for cobbler, you 188 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,840 also need butter and you need milk and you need Graham 189 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,320 crackers and you need these things. 190 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,920 So that creates the opportunities to deliver 191 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,440 targeted marketing messages as we start thinking about the 192 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,280 context of the shopper in that environment and how do we 193 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,200 deliver that message, That's what Encounter is. 194 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:31,800 It's the platform that enables it. 195 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,920 I myself am not a marketer. Yeah, I'm a product person. 196 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,760 As a product person, I've listened to marketers, but I've 197 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,120 also listened to retailers. And we believe that we've 198 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,360 figured out the solution that meets both of their criteria, 199 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,840 their needs and their requirements, but at the same 200 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,480 time allows for us as consumers. And it's always starts with the 201 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,560 consumer, right? It's like, yes, brands want 202 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:53,880 everything and retailers want everything, but if you annoy 203 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,600 your customer, you got nothing. Yeah, So you have to start 204 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,640 there. So to create that experience and 205 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,360 how do you do this? How can we be privacy safe? 206 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,600 How can we put privacy at the forefront of artists of how we 207 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,960 look at this? How do we then tie the the 208 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,760 messaging and making sure that I am delivering that message for 209 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,520 Peach cobbler when it's time? How do I allow the local manager 210 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,760 to who knows their customers and greets them by name as they walk 211 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:19,400 in the store? How do you how do you create 212 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:21,320 that environment? How do we create an environment, 213 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,640 a technology platform that allows for ADA compliance or for 214 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,280 people that have you know, that are differently abled? 215 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,960 How do we how can we support them better using the exact same 216 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,280 technology? When we look at this in its 217 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,280 holistic platform, the same technology that allows me to 218 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,440 deliver a targeted ad for somebody for Peach cobbler can 219 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,080 also identify somebody that has especially different needs. 220 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:44,440 And by making this work at an enterprise grade, that's what I 221 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,120 think the future looks like. Miss Brilliant Hans, thank you 222 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:47,880 so much. Thank you.