Mood Media Hires David Simon to Lead Advertising, Vibenomics, In-Store Marketplace
Mood Media has appointed David Simon as executive vice president of advertising for Mood Media and president of Vibenomics and In-Store Marketplace (ISM). In this dual role, Simon will focus on integrating the companies’ retail media capabilities and accelerating the shift to programmatic buying across Mood Media’s extensive in-store advertising network.
"Mood Media was not a company that was on my radar," Simon said in a May 4 LinkedIn post. "That said, my thesis is that the next several years of growth and success in our industry will be driven in part by companies who have a strategic moat but exist on the periphery of media and advertising. In the retail media space, this is particularly true, and Mood Media has one of the best moats I’ve come across."
Simon will prioritize delivering impactful in-store advertising solutions by expanding measurement capabilities and enabling buyers to transact through various channels — particularly programmatic. According to Mood Media, this approach is designed to elevate in-store media from an optional consideration to a core component of advertising strategies.
Simon brings extensive experience from both the buy and sell sides of the digital advertising ecosystem, with leadership roles spanning mobile app, CTV and web platforms.
Most recently, he served as general manager of growth initiatives at Moloco, where he helped media companies use machine learning to drive outcome-based advertising in the streaming and CTV space. Prior to that, Simon was chief revenue officer at Fyber, leading the mobile app monetization platform from $100 million to $500 million in revenue before its acquisition by Digital Turbine.
His career also includes leadership positions at Jounce Media, Verizon Media, Vidible (acquired by AOL), Turn, Right Media and Yahoo.
"David’s extensive programmatic background and strategic vision will help us bridge the gap between our supply and demand businesses," Malcolm McRoberts, CEO of Mood Media, said in a release.
Simon sees in-store media as a critical — and underutilized — advertising touchpoint. "The advertising industry has always been marked by binary triggers: Did you search for something or visit a website?" he said in the release. "But consumers make the majority of their purchase decisions with their heart, not their mind. The last opportunity a brand has to influence a consumer's purchasing decision is in-store at the point of purchase. There's nobody with a bigger opportunity to reach consumers at that crucial moment than we do, as we power more physical locations than anyone else in the market."
