News Briefs

Colgate-Palmolive personal-care brand Hello Products has hired a new CEO. 

Diana Haussling announced her appointment via LinkedIn on Feb. 4, sharing her excitement about "leading an incredible team that’s redefining traditional categories with bold innovation and a fresh perspective."

Prior to this role, Haussling spent three years as chief marketing officer of North America and senior vice president, general manager of consumer experience and growth, Colgate-Palmolive. She also served as VP, general manager of digital commerce, from 2021-2022.   

In addition to Colgate-Palmolive, Haussling’s resume includes various roles at other major CPG manufacturers, including Campbell Soup Co., General Mills and The Hershey Co. 

In the LinkedIn post announcing her promotion, Haussling called out some Hello Products claims she’s proud of including that the brand is:

• The “fastest growing” in both toothpaste and deodorant.
• No. 1 in digital penetration in its categories.
• Experiencing “double-digit” growth for its mouthwash. 

"As I take on this new role, I’m energized by the opportunity to continue shaking up the industry and creating those #everydayyay moments that make hello so special," Haussling wrote. 

In-store audio platform Qsic closed a $25 million Series B funding round led by London-based technology investment firm Hedosophia in January. 

The funds will be used to support the expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered in-store retail media platform into new retail locations, accelerate product development and scale its sales team, according to a media release. 

Qsic powers in-store audio and retail media for retailers and quick-service restaurants (QSRs), including 7-Eleven, Coles Express and McDonald's. The company currently reaches more than 100 million shoppers at the point of purchase monthly, with more than 70,000 speakers set to deploy across North America over the next year.

"The demand for our solution is strong," Matt Elsley, co-founder and CEO of Qsic, said in the release. "Now, we’re positioned to accelerate product development to enhance our tech capabilities and put new resources in place to grow our network to drive even greater, measurable outcomes for our retail partners and brands globally." 

Gulp Media Partnership

In November 2024, Qsic extended its partnership with 7-Eleven’s retail media network to rollout Gulp Radio in more than 5,000 stores across the U.S. by the end of 2024 and more than 12,000 stores by the end of 2025, including all 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores nationwide. 

Once fully deployed at scale, Qsic says Gulp Radio will be one of North America’s largest commercial radio networks, reaching the retailer’s 13 million daily shoppers.

About Qsic

To support scale and customization, Qsic developed a proprietary generative AI model, Lucy, for the creation of custom audio ad content, including on-demand voiceovers. Lucy dynamically creates and localizes ad content in real time, leveraging retailer data to include details such as local pricing, inventory and weather conditions to increase engagement with shoppers. 

According to Qsic, its solutions surpass IAB standards by automatically adjusting audio volume based on ambient noise levels to ensure each ad is heard clearly. Additionally, Qsic's system timestamps each ad to provide validation for in-store media compliance.

Hy-Vee has promoted Kathryn Mazza to senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Hy-Vee, as well as president of RedMedia, the grocery chain’s retail media network.

Mazza joined Hy-Vee in February 2024 as SVP of RedMedia. Prior to that, she spent nearly 20 years at Dick’s Sporting Goods serving in various marketing and retail media roles, including VP of media and general manager of retail media. 

As president of RedMedia, Mazza will oversee the continued growth and development of the media network, which was launched in 2023. 

The move comes after Hy-Vee president Donna Tweeten retired on Jan. 24 after a 35-year career at the grocery chain. (Her retirement plans were announced in October 2024.) Tweeten previously served as Hy-Vee’s chief marketer and RedMedia president.

“I look forward to continuing the strong marketing efforts we’ve been known for at Hy-Vee and best positioning our brand and value messaging with our customers,” Mazza said in a media release. “Another top priority of mine will be further strengthening our vendor and supplier partnerships as we plan for the future.”

“[Mazza] has already demonstrated tremendous leadership when it comes to helping the market recognize the power of Hy-Vee’s brand,” Jeremy Gosch, Hy-Vee’s chairman and CEO, added. “[She] is the right leader to help bring our retail media and marketing efforts together to create even more value for our customers and our vendor partners. She has the skillset and capabilities to expand and advance our efforts and campaigns into the future.”

Mazza is a member of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle and is the executive sponsor for the Minnesota Lynx Changemakers program, a venture focused on building the next generation of leaders.

Travel retailer WHSmith North America (WHSNA) has thrown its hat in the increasingly diversified retail media space with the launch of its own network, which combines in-store, out-of-home and digital out-of-home advertising touchpoints.

WHSNA operates more than 340 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada, including under Marshall Retail Group (MRG) and InMotion banners, located in airports, train stations and resorts. 

WHSmith North America Media Network (WHS Media) is designed to combine its digital and physical placements with audience data and insights to enable advertisers’ off-site campaigns and engage the millions of travelers who pass through North American airports each day. These customers are primed to accept last-minute messaging for CPG essentials and have an average dwell time of around 40 minutes, Stuart Michell, chief commercial officer, WHSmith North America, told P2PI. 

WHSNA currently has a network of nearly 200 digital screens located in-store and plans to double its in-store screen network this year, he said. Its relationship with North American airports also enables campaigns to be activated beyond the store footprint. 

The network was created with retail media agency SMG. Through WHSNA’s partnerships with The Trade Desk and Meta, the network offers geotargeting capabilities offsite, as well as targeting across social media and the web. 

Mood Media has introduced an advertising services entity, In-Store Marketplace (ISM), designed to simplify digital in-store advertising and address the growing demand for standardization. 

ISM, which operates separately from Mood Media, provides a centralized platform for digital in-store media integration that streamlines how retailers, brands and solution providers activate and manage their in-store advertising campaigns. 

While in-store digital advertising grows, implementation has remained complex and fragmented. In a media release from ISM announcing its enterprise solution, the company cited a 2023 Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) study, stating nearly 70% of retail media network buyers cite complexity in the buying process as their biggest obstacle to digital in-store investment growth. 

ISM's platform addresses these barriers by providing a single integration point that connects merchants with their preferred solution providers (both audio and screens), standardizing the process of launching and measuring in-store media programs, per the release.

"The next phase of retail media growth demands seamless integration and scaling capabilities," Bobby Watts, senior vice president, executive lead AD Retail Media, Ahold Delhaize USA, said in the release. "[ISM’s] enterprise platform provides the control and flexibility we need to expand our in-store media offerings while maintaining focus on what matters most — delivering value to customers and brand partners."

At launch, ISM said its platform is “already transforming” how retailers approach in-store media, offering standardized integration with existing retail technology, unified inventory access and streamlined campaign management through programmatic, self-service or managed services. The company debuted with an established presence in global markets across the U.S, Europe, Australia and APAC.

"Until now, merchants have faced unnecessary complexity while developing a standardized plan for in-store media programs, forcing them to choose between revenue potential and operational efficiency," added Brent Oakley, president of ISM. "Our platform eliminates this trade-off, enabling retailers to easily transform their physical stores into powerful digital marketing channels."

ISM's market entry is led by Oakley, a co-founder of Vibenomics, also a Mood Media company. Oakley brings experience in both retail operations and advertising technology to ISM.

Additionally, Vibenomics’ Paul Brenner and Hannah Parsons have also both joined ISM, holding the same positions they held at Vibenomics: SVP global retail media & partnerships and director of marketing, respectively. 

AdAdapted, a consumer packaged goods media partner, is expanding its partnership with digital shopping platform Flipp and will extend its reach into Canada.

The Flipp advertising network lets retailers and brands create, curate and distribute visual merchandising to more than 100 million shoppers across the U.S. and Canada, reaching shoppers at the decision-making stage of the path to purchase and letting them quickly add promoted products to their Flipp List through AdAdapted’s AddIt technology.

AdAdapted has been the exclusive partner since 2022 for Flipp display advertising inventory in the U.S. The collaboration has enabled CPG brands to reach in-market, head-of-household shoppers through advertisements on the Flipp app’s home screen and flyer screens. In 2024, push notifications were added, letting brands further engage shoppers.

Building on the success of the collaboration, the companies are introducing desktop web inventory across the U.S. and Canada. AdAdapted clients now can serve display advertisements in the Flipp app and desktop web platform in the U.S., and on the desktop web platform in Canada. 

"Our collaboration with Flipp reinforces AdAdapted’s position as a trusted partner for CPG brands looking to engage with active verified shoppers," Molly McFarland, founder and chief revenue officer at AdAdapted, said in a news release.  "As the only third-party solution with access to this inventory, we’ll be uniquely positioned to get products onto shopping lists and into carts — helping brands win at the shelf."