"There's been a lot of pushes to take a screen and slap it everywhere, and I think there's a lot of risk in doing that," says Looma VP of Product Denny Cmiel.

"You end up with kind of an experience that doesn't feel like it was designed to be there. It feels like it was stitched on or kind of stuck on as a Band-Aid."

Denny joins host James Kotecki to share Looma’s product philosophy for screens that are actually in the right place.

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Topics include:

• The Looma mantra "it's not the screens, it's what you put on them" that guides product development

• How "Project Nightcap" expanded from cocktail recommendations to mattress selection

• Why AI serves as an "efficiency machine" and "sounding board" rather than decision maker

• The misconception that in-store screens necessarily reach shoppers at the point of decision

• The balance between standardization and customization for individual store locations

"I think that ROAS is overhyped," says Liz Roche, VP of Media and Measurement at Albertsons Media Collective. "It's something that we live and die by, but it doesn't show the full picture at all."

Liz joins host James Kotecki to talk measurement from the perspective of one of America's largest grocery retailers, reaching 37 million customers per week across 2,200+ stores.

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Topics include:

• Surprising silos - and the power of breaking them down

• How Albertsons leverages local store formats for testing and learning at scale

• Tech for tracking shopping cart movement through stores

• A vision for holistic measurement that goes beyond the campaign level

• The value of "spirited debate"

“I think retail media is very chaotic right now,” says Claire Wyatt, The Trade Desk's GM Client Service - Retail. “We're still really in the wild, wild west. I think retail media is in its teenage years.”

Claire tells host James Kotecki that retail media networks have had “a little bit of a grace period. They don't really have that grace period anymore.”

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Topics include:

• America’s in-store experience lags behind global peers
• Implementation challenges: cost and logistics
• AI for media optimization
• The dream of connected on-site, off-site, and in-store media
• The central role of consumer privacy

The Ad Council's Director of Media Engagement Maya Warburg joins host James Kotecki to explore how and why its iconic social impact campaigns are showing up for shoppers. 

Retail media networks provide scale, audience alignment, and attentive consumers for messages that make a difference.

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Topics include:

• The full-funnel “superpower” of retail media

• The Ad Council’s position on tech’s cutting edge

• How augmented reality is fighting hunger

• The role of localization in national campaigns

• How The Ad Council gives partners confidence to tackle serious issues

"Content still drives the majority of incremental sales," says Bayer's Vice President of Emerging Digital Platforms Chelsey Alexander. 

Retail media can’t just be about the technology - she emphasizes that content quality and clear differentiation remain fundamental to success.

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Interview topics include:

• The importance of execution for merchandise-integrated media
• Why storytelling is becoming more important as consumers learn to tune out advertising noise
• The importance of understanding specific shopping experiences when designing in-store media
• The inconsistent state of retail media measurement
• The return of “retail-tainment”

Looma's Chief Creative Officer Ned Brown joins James Kotecki to discuss the creative vision behind effective in-store digital media. 

Brown shares insights on balancing commercial performance with authentic storytelling, and how "stubborn intentionality" helps Looma create experiences that serve both brands and shoppers in the increasingly screen-rich retail environment.

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Topics include:

• How brand goals, screen types, and specific in-store locations guide content strategy
• Why adding audio is powerful - and how it can go wrong
• Whether artificial human hosts have a place in stores

Instacart VP, Ads Product Ali Miller joins host James Kotecki to explore how smart shopping carts and retail media transform the in-store experience.

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Topics include:

• Instacart's Caper smart cart: how sensors, cameras, and screens help shoppers track spending and find products

• Promising results: why smart carts can boost basket size by 10%

• Adding value through patterns, not personal data: why smart carts don't need to know who you are

• Building "connected stores": how smart carts could interact with deli counters, shelf labels, and in-store screens

• From test phase to industry standards: in-store retail media is at the beginning of its growth journey

• Why in-store retail media “starts to make omni-channel real”

• Why our kids will love smart carts - and how gamification could make grocery shopping fun for the whole family

• Measuring impact: from awareness and impressions to causal incrementality

• Technical challenges from WiFi connectivity to weights and measures certification

Ali Mirian, advisor to retail media and tech startups, joins host James Kotecki to discuss why retailers face an existential moment as they transform their traditional brick-and-mortar operations into digitally-sophisticated, omnichannel businesses.

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Topics include:

• Retailers’ “slow-burn innovators dilemma” - the tension between what’s happening today and what’s coming tomorrow

• Why retail's digital transformation echoes the decline of local news – and what that could mean for your favorite stores

• The surprising truth about retail media's real size: why focusing only on digital touchpoints misses the bigger picture

• Inside the shopper's mind: why reaching the right person isn't enough if you catch them in the wrong "mode"

• Words collide: when your supplier is also your customer, terms like “inventory” get tricky

Looma Founder & CEO Cole Johnson in conversation with James Kotecki.

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Topics include:

• Addressing the skepticism surrounding in-store digital media, focusing on past failures due to poor technology, content, and ROI.
• The equipment and installation process for in-store digital media, including end cap screens and holistic design approaches.
• Managing the in-store audio experience to ensure it is clear yet unobtrusive.
• Creating authentic, story-driven, and educational content rather than repurposing TV commercials.
• Consumer attitudes towards ads in stores, highlighting the preference for engaging stories over traditional advertisements.
• Different screen types (atmospheric, merchandise-integrated, and in-aisle interactive) and their relative effectiveness in driving sales.
• Various KPIs for measuring the success of in-store digital media campaigns, including impressions, incremental first-time customers, and incremental sales.
• What it costs to implement Looma in stores.
• Utopian vs. dystopian future - comparing a seamless, inspirational shopping experience to an overwhelming, ad-saturated environment.

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Industry experts share their insights as we explore The Future In-Store.

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