News Briefs

Loblaw Cos.' retailer media network, Loblaw Advance, has made Criteo its preferred demand partner in Canada.

The agreement appoints Criteo as a direct sales agent for Loblaw Advance email display placements, expanding advertiser access to premium audiences across Shoppers Drug Mart, PC Optimum and PC Express newsletters.

The move brings Criteo's demand capabilities to the Loblaw Advance network, giving brands and agencies a new path to reach high-intent Canadian shoppers.

The Loblaw Advance connected commerce ecosystem is backed by:

• More than 18 million active PC Optimum loyalty members,
• 2,500 store locations,
• a leading e-commerce business,
• and approximately 25 million opted-in emails deployed each week.

"Loblaw Advance is focused on building high-quality, measurable retail media solutions that help advertisers connect with Canadian shoppers in more relevant ways," Leanne Gibson, SVP at Loblaw Advance, said in a statement. "Criteo brings established commerce media expertise, strong agency and brand relationships, and the demand capabilities to help more brands activate through our loyalty-linked email channels. This partnership allows us to extend our sales reach while maintaining the quality, control and trusted execution standards that define Loblaw Advance."

The partnership underscores both companies' commitment to advancing retail media in Canada and creating more effective ways for brands to connect with shoppers through trusted, high-intent environments.

Barrows Connected Store has appointed Brian Anthony vice president of connected creative strategy for North America.

In the role, Anthony will be tasked with helping retailers and brands develop in-store retail media strategies, creative experiences and performance-driven content. 

He'll lead the development of creative frameworks and strategic programs tied to the company’s technology platform, according to a company announcement. This will include developing creative systems and agentic workflows; advancing storytelling across physical and digital channels; and working with commercial, product, technology and client teams. 

He will also develop capabilities intended to help retailers and brands generate greater value from connected retail media.

Anthony previously held leadership roles at Triad Retail Media and CitrusAd, where he worked with retailers and consumer brands on creative solutions that connected marketing strategy with business outcomes.

The appointment follows the addition of Kathryn Mazza as chief growth officer for North America and the promotion of Tim Bagwell to chief technology officer. 

Love's Media Group, the retailer media network operated by Love’s Travel Stops, says it has surpassed 20 brand partnerships less than a year after launching and is expanding its team as it looks to build on early momentum.

Introduced in October 2025, the network allows advertisers to reach Love's customers across more than 600 travel stop locations through a mix of in-store, on-site and off-site media. The company said brands can engage professional drivers, road trippers, commuters, families, RV travelers and EV drivers before, during and after their visits.

Advertising opportunities available through the network include pump screen messaging, in-store digital displays, store signage, email marketing, push notifications, mobile app placements and off-site display advertising.

To support continued growth, Love's Media Group has also added three retail media professionals to its team: Alyssa Anttila and Evan Chefalo as sales managers, and Sara Andary as manager of retail media operations. The hires bring experience from retail media organizations including Lowe's Media Network, Hy-Vee RedMedia and Target’s Roundel.

"We've been intentional about building a team that combines deep retail media expertise with a commitment to innovation, collaboration and partner success," Tommy Greenberg, senior director of Love's Media Group, said in a media release.

The announcement reflects continued investment in retail media beyond traditional grocery, mass and drug retailers, as convenience and travel-stop operators expand their advertising offerings to connect brands with shoppers across multiple touchpoints.

Ahold Delhaize USA is teaming with Pear Commerce to further its digital commerce capabilities across the grocer’s Food Lion, The Giant Co., Giant Food, Hannaford and Stop & Shop banners.

Through Pear Commerce’s technology, shoppers can now add items to their carts from recipes on consumer packaged goods partner websites, brand product pages and store locator tools, creating a more seamless journey from meal inspiration and product discovery to their online grocery carts.

Through the integration, Ahold Delhaize USA's stores and e-commerce platforms will be connected to a broad network of CPG partners and digital touchpoints. This includes shoppable recipe experiences that let shoppers browse recipes and add ingredients directly to their carts, as well as shoppable product pages and store locator tools that help facilitate purchases online and in stores.

For Ahold Delhaize USA, the partnership with Pear Commerce supports more efficient paths to purchase and allows brands to engage customers across a variety of digital experiences. The integration also creates new opportunities to connect AD Retail Media investments more directly to shopping actions, helping brands engage shoppers closer to the point of purchase.

“This partnership reflects how we are continuing to evolve our digital ecosystem to better serve our customers and our partners,” Keith Nicks, chief commercial and digital officer, Ahold Delhaize USA, said in a media release. “By creating more intuitive connections between inspiration and purchase, we’re helping shoppers move from discovery to cart with fewer steps, while unlocking additional opportunities for our CPG partners to engage shoppers in more meaningful and actionable ways.”

In-store retail media platform Grocery TV has added more than 3,500 audience attributes across categories including automotive, finance, health and wellness, telecom, and CPG through a partnership with Esri. The move marks an expansion of Grocery TV's behavioral and psychographic targeting that spans its national retailer-owned network of more than 6,700 stores.

The partnership, which includes Esri's Market Potential dataset, lets brands and agencies plan against in-store audiences aligned with how they already plan to buy TV and digital, the company said. While in-store media has historically relied on broad demographics or geographic proxies, Grocery TV allows advertisers to build custom store lists based on shoppers who over-index on behaviors including prioritizing organic food.

"In-store media is increasingly being viewed as an extension of video and digital strategies, not just an out-of-home buy," said Marlow Nickell, co-founder and CEO of Austin, Texas-based Grocery TV. "The partnership with Esri enhances our ability to let media buyers approach in-store by audience, not just by placement. Most purchases still happen in physical stores, and reaching the right shopper at the point of decision is one of the most valuable moments in the funnel."

Grocery TV activates behavioral targeting at scale across independent and regional grocers throughout the country with its more than 120 retail partners and its network that reaches 95 million unique shoppers, the company said.

Barrows Connected Store has promoted Tim Bagwell to chief technology officer as the connected retail technology provider looks to accelerate innovation across its AI-powered in-store retail media platform.

Previously serving as chief product and data officer, Bagwell will now oversee the company's global technology strategy, including engineering, platform architecture, artificial intelligence, data and product innovation. 

According to the company, the move reflects its continued investment in technology leadership and connected commerce innovation as retailers continue investing in AI, automation and measurable in-store media capabilities. 

Bagwell, who previously held leadership roles at Triad Retail Media, has led the evolution of Barrows' proprietary ConnectOS platform, which enables retailers and brands to activate, manage and measure in-store digital media campaigns through real-time content orchestration and analytics.

As CTO, Bagwell will continue leading the company's technology roadmap, with priorities that include advancing AI-powered retail media capabilities; expanding the ConnectOS platform; enhancing data, measurement and automation; and scaling global engineering operations. 

The company also announced two additional leadership appointments. James Stokes has been named global head of engineering, where he will oversee platform architecture, infrastructure and integrations. Jonathan (Jono) Kellerman has been appointed global head of product, leading strategy across the ConnectOS platform, digital displays, hardware, software and measurement solutions.

All three executives have played key roles in developing the company's technology platform since its founding in 2018. According to Barrows, the expanded leadership structure is intended to support global growth and accelerate the development of next-generation connected retail solutions.