News Briefs

Retail media technology provider Kevel named Chris Woodworth as its regional director of Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, signifying its expansion into Australia. 

Woodworth will lead the company's commercial strategy across Australia and the broader APAC region, working closely with retailers and commerce platforms to build scalable, differentiated media businesses across some of the fastest-growing digital and commerce media markets globally. 

The expansion marks a strategic step in the company's global growth as retail and commerce media enter a more execution-driven phase. Advertising spend across the region continues to accelerate, driven by a mobile-first consumer base, rapidly expanding e-commerce ecosystems, and the rise of megaplatforms such as TikTok/Douyin, Lazada and Shopee. Woodworth will focus on the infrastructure required to scale media programs with consistency, transparency and long-term control.

"As retail media matures, success increasingly depends on execution, operational rigor and the ability to scale without sacrificing flexibility," Jaclyn Nix, Kevel’s chief operating officer, said in a media release. "Across Australia and APAC, brands and platforms are navigating fragmented ecosystems, inconsistent standards and a growing number of retail media networks. Demand is rising for strategic partners that provide control, consistency and measurable performance. Investing in dedicated regional leadership reflects our commitment to helping businesses move beyond experimentation and build sustainable, future-proof commerce media platforms."

Woodworth has extensive experience leading commercial growth, partnerships and go-to-market strategy across digital, media and technology businesses in Australia and the wider region. Key initiatives will center around expanding Kevel's regional footprint, supporting customer success and building strategic partnerships across retail, marketplaces and emerging commerce platforms.

"Across Australia and the whole of APAC, we are seeing some of the most dynamic and diverse commerce markets in the world," Woodworth said in the release. "Businesses here don't want one-size-fits-all ad products; they want control, flexibility and the ability to innovate on their own terms."

He added that the company's AI-powered, API-first Retail Media Cloud is uniquely suited to give customers what they need. "I'm excited to help retailers and brands move beyond experimentation to build scalable, performance-driven commerce media platforms designed for the next phase of growth," he said.

Market research consultancy Vista Grande has acquired the Ameritest Creative Testing System from Dynata. 

The move reflects a strategic expansion for Vista Grande as it adds Ameritest’s creative testing product to Vista Grande’s consumer and shopper insights capabilities.

Ameritest is globally recognized for revealing how advertising builds brand memories and shapes consumer decision-making. For more than 30 years, its proprietary methodologies — including Picture Sorts, Copy Sorts, Flash Tests and Memory Maps — have enabled brands to see precisely how their advertising performs inside the consumer’s mind.

“At Vista Grande, Ameritest will be supported by deep domain expertise, strategic investment, and a shared belief that creative quality is the single most powerful driver of advertising performance,” Russ Onish, CEO of Vista Grande, said in a media release. “By combining Ameritest’s best-in-class creative diagnostics with Vista Grande’s deep expertise in consumer choice perception, our clients will understand which campaigns will succeed, why they work, and how they influence purchase decisions across today’s complex ecosystem, including brand campaigns, digital media, retail media networks and critical shopper moments.”

Deirdre Thomas, chief product officer at Dynata, said: “The transition of Ameritest to Vista Grande ensures that this specialized creative diagnostics product thrives under a consultative research agency. We are confident that Ameritest will thrive and provide continuity for its many longtime clients as part of Vista Grande." 

Founded in 2017, Vista Grande has more than 35 associates and 75 clients. The company operates globally, with teams based in the U.S. and Canada.

Acosta Group’s Connected Commerce team has entered into a strategic alliance with retail AI platform provider CommerceIQ to support brands navigating an increasingly complex landscape. 

The partnership combines Acosta Group’s omnichannel agency capabilities with CommerceIQ’s AI-enabled platform, said John Carroll, president, Connected Commerce for Acosta Group. 

According to the companies, the integrated platform is designed to address the growing complexity brands face as commerce decisions multiply across channels and retail environments. By unifying sales, media and content data into a single system, the partnership aims to turn fragmented insights into coordinated dashboards and workflows.

Acosta Group’s Connected Commerce team spans omnichannel account management, digital shelf management, retail media, full-service Amazon support and shopper marketing.

CommerceIQ’s platform is designed to help partners optimize retail media investments, improve share of search and drive incremental sales growth. The platform uses AI “teammates” to continuously analyze hundreds of digital signals, enabling real-time insights, optimization and automated workflows across sales, media and content. 

Rohan Ganeson, president of CommerceIQ, said in the media release that the alliance reflects a shared focus on advancing agentic AI within commerce operations.

“Moving forward, we will continue to double down on our platform investments, accelerating innovation and delivering best-in-class solutions, with a key focus on advancing agentic AI to unlock new efficiencies across commerce operations,” Ganeson said. 

As part of the partnership, CommerceIQ client-focused experts will join the Acosta Group Connected Commerce team to support platform adoption and execution.

“We are gaining a measurable technological edge,” Carroll said. “Accelerating data stitching and unlocking more time for strategic initiatives, joint business planning, creative problem-solving, and direct customer engagement.”

Barrows Connected Store has appointed James Hay as global CEO, effective Jan. 1.

Based in London, Barrows Connected Store partners with retailers such as Tesco and Kroger to transform physical stores into intelligent media networks, enabling brands to activate digital campaigns at the point of purchase.

Hay will lead the company's global business, encompassing teams in the U.K., U.S. and South Africa, to advance the vision for intelligent, connected store environments that transform in-store experiences for retailers, brands and shoppers.

“James is a natural leader and one of the most trusted operators in our business,” said Brent Taylor, executive chairman of Barrows Connected Store. “He has been instrumental in shaping Barrows Connected Store from its early days into the global platform it is today. His deep understanding of retailers, brands and shoppers combined with his ability to lead with clarity, empathy and conviction, makes him uniquely suited to lead our next phase of growth.”

Hay previously led Barrows' U.K. and European business for several years as managing director. Most recently, he served as global managing director of Barrows Connected Store. 

“This next phase of our journey is exceptionally exciting as we scale formative media solutions alongside technology that is redefining how in-store media works — operationally, commercially, and creatively,” Hay said.

He also brings experience in consumer packaged goods, having held senior brand and product management roles at L’Oreal and Mars. 

Kroger is expanding its on-demand grocery delivery footprint nationwide by rolling it out across Uber, Uber Eats and Postmates.

Announced Jan. 15, the expansion brings nearly 2,700 stores from Kroger’s banners onto Uber’s apps, allowing customers to order groceries, Kroger’s private-label products and household items for on-demand or same-day delivery. Participating banners include Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Smith’s, Fry’s, Harris Teeter and Mariano’s.

The nationwide rollout gives shoppers broader access to Kroger banners through third-party delivery platforms as the retailer continues to invest in digital and omnichannel convenience.

The move builds on an existing partnership between the companies, which previously included Kroger’s floral and sushi offerings on Uber Eats, and now expands access to full-store assortments nationwide.

To support the launch, Uber is offering customers discounts of up to 50% off their first order from select Kroger banners. Uber One members will also receive $0 delivery fees on eligible orders.

Jivox has rebranded to DaVinci Commerce, the namesake of its marketing platform.

The name change reflects the company's plan to lead the next era of commerce marketing. It describes the era as AI agents working alongside humans to accelerate execution — without sacrificing trust or control.

The company also announced in a news release that it raised a strategic round of financing to invest in the growth of its AI-native DaVinci Commerce platform.

The platform is designed to help large global brands and commerce media networks scale consumer engagement and acquisition through agentic commerce marketing.

DaVinci Commerce was recognized as a Top 50 innovation at the 2026 National Retail Federation (NRF) Innovators Showcase.

Commerce media continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments in digital advertising, based on eMarketer's May 2025 forecast projecting U.S. commerce media ad spend at a 15.3% CAGR from 2025–2029.

While eMarketer's forecast reflects the scale and pace of category growth, market adoption is widely understood to be shaped by broader industry dynamics, including the increasing convergence of commerce media, programmatic buying and closed-loop measurement.

At the same time, enterprises are rapidly adopting AI — and increasingly, agentic AI — to automate complex, multi-step workflows that previously required significant human coordination.

"Commerce media growth is no longer limited by media spend but constrained by the ability to handle speedy launches, multi-retailer complexity and compliance," said Diaz Nesamoney, DaVinci Commerce founder & CEO, in the news release. "We built the DaVinci Commerce platform from the ground up to be AI-native, enabling brands to lower the cost and complexity of creating and running commerce campaigns across multiple retail media networks while improving performance through personalized commerce ads — all with enterprise-grade guardrails.

“As demand for agentic commerce marketing continues to accelerate, we raised this round of financing to further invest in product innovation and expand our go-to-market efforts."