1. What role does leadership play in ensuring innovation initiatives remain aligned with employee values and customer empathy? 

At Freestar, it starts with a clear vision and strong core values that serve as a compass for every decision we make. Innovation only works when it supports that vision and stays true to what our employees and customers genuinely need. Without that foundation, it’s easy to drift. With it, we can evolve while staying true to who we are.

Evolution and innovation are constants in our industry, and we've worked thoughtfully to build a culture in support of this. But we never innovate just for innovation’s sake. We firmly believe that innovations must be driven by what our customers and partners truly need. That means not chasing shiny objects, not working in silos, talking to everyone, and using stakeholder feedback to shape solutions. We know that sometimes there’s a difference between what the customer actually needs and what they think they want. It’s our job to understand them well enough to decipher that difference. The goal is to create value, not novelty, particularly given our business model where we only win when our partners win.

Leadership’s job is to help carve the initial path, guide pivots, bulldoze the hurdles, and create space for top-down vision and bottom-up insight to meet. When innovation is not just new, but meaningful and values-driven, that’s where the magic happens. At Freestar, we believe we are playing the infinite rather than finite game and always do our best to focus on long-term impact, not quick wins. 

2. How does your organization balance digital transformation with maintaining a strong human-centered company culture?

Digital transformation should enhance the human experience, not replace it. Technology makes the hard things easy and the impossible possible. AI and technology allow us to exceed human potential. But what sets an organization apart is the humans behind it and the customer service.

It’s pretty simple: work smarter, not harder. We use technology for what it’s great at—data collection, speed, automation—so that our people can focus on what they do best: building relationships, solving complex problems, and delivering the high-touch, white-glove service that we pride ourselves on. The key is knowing when to rely on tech and when to lean on people. For example, automation can make a simple transactional process seamless. But when nuance or empathy is required—like with a high-stakes issue or a critical client need—a human should step in. There’s a fine line between using AI to improve outcomes and losing the human element altogether. We’re intentional about always navigating the line with an unapologetic bias for the human side of things.

Ultimately, great technology is only as powerful as the humans behind it. Our culture is rooted in empowering our team with tools that extend their capabilities, again, not replace them. We encourage the use of technology to give time back, offer clarity, and make space to focus on the human-centered work that truly moves the needle for Freestar.  We also try to leverage technology to meet our customers wherever they would like to be met, providing direct access to our teams via tools like Slack and Zendesk, which actually enhances the human connection. 

3. In your view, what elements of the customer journey must remain human-driven despite advancements in automation? 

Ultimately, I believe that sales will always be human-driven. It isn’t just about offering solutions. It’s about uncovering the right problem to solve. Often, the challenge a customer states isn't the real issue. They may articulate a certain pain point or challenge, but not the true problem. That’s where that irreplaceable human intuition comes in. A great salesperson digests more than just words or survey data. They are reading the room, picking up on tone and body language, and gathering those subtle cues to get to the root of the concern. There’s a nuance to conversations that automation, no matter how advanced, simply can’t replicate. The ability to build trust, ask the right follow-up questions, and adapt in real time is key to creating long-term value and successful partnerships. 

AI can absolutely support sales by offering insights, uncovering patterns, and saving time on remedial or repetitive tasks. But the core human interaction is still needed. It’s those person-to-person moments that uncover the underlying needs, create tailored solutions, act as holdovers when the train derails, and ultimately drive success. At Freestar, that human element isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s an essential part of our business. It’s how we solve problems and build lasting relationships.

4. How is your organization innovating to improve customer experiences without making interactions feel impersonal or overly automated? 

We focus on using innovation to enhance the customer experience rather than replace the human connection altogether. Our approach to customer service ensures there’s always a human available to jump in, but only when the customer wants or needs that support. It's about finding that balance of being present without being overbearing.

A key goal for us is reducing friction. We always want to resolve issues in the fewest number of interactions possible. That means getting the right people involved quickly, clarifying the request early on, and offering thoughtful follow-up. No customer wants to hear, “We’ll get back to you soon”—they want the answer right away.

When it comes to utilizing automation, there’s definitely a sweet spot. We always ask: is this helping the customer, or just creating another step? Helpful automation—like being able to track a ticket in Zendesk or receiving a smart notification about travel delays—adds value. But too much automation can feel impersonal and even frustrating.

We talk internally about the creepy vs. convenience scale. If it feels like tech is reading your mind, that’s only great if it’s actually helpful — nobody wants to feel followed. Our goal is to stay on the side of convenience. It circles back to that idea of finding the right balance. We want to deliver faster, smoother experiences without losing the human touch that builds trust and long-term relationships.

5. How do you evaluate whether a new innovation might unintentionally erode human trust or connection? 

Evaluating whether an innovation erodes human trust often comes down to gut instinct. To do this, we put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, asking: Will this improve their experience or be more frustrating? If our offering ends up feeling like a “call-your-cable-provider” to get answers, that’s a huge red flag. At the same time, we try to stay objective. Sometimes automation brings real value. But we always weigh that against the potential for subpar customer service. If the savings or speed improve the experience and build trust, it’s a win. But if it leaves people wishing a human were involved, we’ve missed the mark.

Internally, we focus on helping our team thrive alongside automation by showing them how AI can amplify their potential. It’s about demonstrating how tools like AI can make their work easier, better, and faster, and ultimately help them grow in their careers. We also invest in a broad ecosystem of support—learning opportunities, mentorship, book clubs, and programs that connect employees across teams and levels. This helps reinforce internally that growth isn’t just about tech, but about human connections and knowledge sharing.

While we lean into automation where it adds value, we’re intentional about keeping a human touch. We always want it to be clear to our customers and our team that effort and care remain front and center.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. In what ways are you utilizing AI to create personalized customer journeys and content across multiple channels? 

At GrowthLoop, we’ve designed a system of specialized Growth Agents, each purpose-built to support the customer journey, with personalization at every touchpoint.

• The Data Agent continuously learns from your first-party data in your cloud, identifying key patterns and behaviors.
• The Audience Agent predicts the best-fit audiences and helps marketers build high-impact segments faster.
• The Journey Agent enables the creation of omnichannel journeys that adapt dynamically—whether across email, ads, SMS, or in-app.
• And the Insights Agent interprets performance data in real time, delivering daily recommendations to optimize what's working and fix what's not.
• Together, these agents form a Compound Marketing Engine, which empowers marketers to launch smarter, more personalized campaigns that improve every day and drive true business outcomes like revenue growth, conversion lift, and retention.

2. What challenges have you encountered in integrating AI-powered marketing solutions with your existing data infrastructure? 

One of the biggest challenges we hear from enterprise organizations is that they don’t see AI delivering value, and that’s often because the AI is pulling from incomplete or fragmented data.

We believe you don’t have an AI strategy if you don’t have a data strategy. 

And the truth is, your best, cleanest, and most valuable data doesn’t live in legacy marketing clouds—it lives in your enterprise cloud. That’s why traditional AI-powered marketing tools, which rely on syncing or copying data into their own environments, fall short before they even start.

At GrowthLoop, we were built from the ground up to run directly in the data cloud, so our Growth Agents can work with the full fidelity of your first-party data—securely, in real time, and without movement or duplication. 

This alignment between AI and cloud data isn’t just a technical preference. It’s the cornerstone of compound marketing. When AI can act on your best data continuously, marketers can iterate faster, improve performance daily, and create a compounding effect on growth.

3. What initiatives are in place to ensure that marketing strategies are directly linked to measurable business outcomes, such as sales and customer retention? 

At GrowthLoop, our goal is to make sure marketing isn’t just about launching campaigns—it’s about driving results that the business can see and measure. The Growth Agents work together to create a system that constantly learns from your data, activates personalized journeys, and improves outcomes over time.

And when it comes to proving impact, marketers can set up holdout groups with just one click for incrementality reporting. That means you can measure how much lift your campaign is actually driving, like increased conversions, higher revenue, or improved retention, compared to what would’ve happened with no action at all.

It’s this kind of continuous, provable feedback loop that powers compound marketing: a strategy focused on learning faster, and driving substantial, incremental improvements that compound over time.

4. How do you facilitate collaboration between marketing professionals and AI systems to optimize campaign development and execution? 

Our vision of AI is not to replace marketers, it’s to empower them. That’s why our interface is built like a studio, a space where marketers collaborate with AI agents powered by their first-party data. Marketers can start from AI-suggested audiences, build personalized journeys with AI recommendations, or edit directly with full control. 

It’s a human-in-the-loop system that makes good marketers great, and great marketers unstoppable. We’ve found this approach leads to faster iteration, more creativity, and ultimately better performance.

5. How do you measure the impact of personalized marketing efforts on customer engagement and satisfaction? 

Our platform allows marketers to directly track the effectiveness of personalization. All performance data is connected back to the data cloud, so we can slice performance by segment, journey, and channel.

One of the benefits of connecting to a single source of truth in the enterprise cloud is that marketers can benefit from the full breadth of company and customer data — that includes information on customer engagement and satisfaction. 

The result is a full picture of how personalization drives not just engagement, but business value. And the AI agents within GrowthLoop are constantly analyzing those insights to improve future campaigns.

6. How do you prepare for future trends in AI-driven marketing to maintain a competitive edge?

We believe the future belongs to marketers who can move fast, learn continuously, and execute across every channel with precision. That’s why we’re investing heavily in agentic AI that adapts to your business, not the other way around. 

We’re also building a community of forward-thinking marketing teams who embrace compound growth via small improvements that add up over time. Our roadmap is shaped by these customers and the belief that the next era of marketing will be driven not just by technology, but by how fast teams can act on their data with confidence.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. What factors should be considered when extending collaborations to ensure mutual benefit and continued impact?

The key is to ensure that all parties can see continued value in the partnership. In a sense, it is like a triangle of three questions: 1) what do customers need, want and value? 2) what is your brand partner trying to achieve? 3) what are you [Nectar360] trying to achieve? 

When designing any programme, it's important to address these three questions. By doing so, we can deliver mutual benefit and increase the likelihood of the partnership’s success.

2. Nectar360 recently announced the partnership between the Nectar loyalty scheme and the Woodland Trust has been extended to 2027. What metrics should be used to evaluate the success of conservation-focused loyalty initiatives in particular?

There's no one-size-fits-all metric, all partnerships are unique. In sustainability partnerships, the success metric might be raising awareness of a specific cause or driving meaningful change on an issue. 

For instance, conservation-focused loyalty initiatives aim to change customer behaviour to help drive change for the environment, encouraging actions such as planting trees, donating to food initiatives, or reducing water usage.

With our Woodland Trust partnership, Woodland Trust members who’ve lined their Nectar account can earn additional Nectar points by purchasing their favourites, including apples, eggs, chicken, turkey, reusable bags, and cards from Sainsbury's. Customers can also donate points to support environmental efforts like sowing wildflower meadows, planting trees, and protecting woods.

In our Severn Trent Water partnership, the goal of the trial is to encourage customers to use less water. Success is measured by how well the loyalty scheme's incentives, like extra Nectar points coupled with lower water and energy bills, promote and sustain this behaviour. An increase in Nectar membership numbers would also be a positive metric for evaluating the impact of such collaborations.

3. How can loyalty programmes effectively align with broader sustainability initiatives?

The most important thing is to ensure the value exchange and outcomes are clear to the people that engage with them. Whether they're buying something or redeeming points, they need to know not only what the initiative is supporting but also how it contributes to the sustainability or environmental measures behind it.

4. How can companies ensure transparency in reporting the environmental impact of such programmes?

Companies can ensure transparency in reporting the environmental impact of their programmes by leveraging the scale and marketing reach of partnerships like Nectar. This approach drives engagement and heightens awareness of the outcomes delivered. Additionally, publishing comprehensive CSR reports that outline sustainability goals, priority areas of focus, key commitments, and progress is crucial. Aligning these goals with the UN Sustainable Development Goals ensures that the company is making a significant impact and playing a leading role in building a more sustainable food system.

Sainsbury's Plan for Better exemplifies this approach, with its three interlocking pillars: Better for you, Better for the planet, and Better for everyone. This ensures that stakeholders and customers are informed about the company's efforts and achievements in sustainability, thereby maintaining transparency and accountability.

5. What are the challenges in aligning corporate sustainability goals with customer reward systems?

Traditional programmes focus on straightforward transactions, whereas aligning sustainability and rewards is more complex as it requires us to impact customer behaviour for a specific cause.

Evolving beyond this requires creative thinking and advanced insights. Understanding the impacts of behaviour, whether related to sustainability or commercial goals, can be complex. Without advanced insights capabilities and the ability to engage customers creatively, it becomes challenging for marketers to determine the appropriate level of loyalty for a given behaviour.

6. How can similar models be adapted to address other sustainability challenges?

Just as with the Severn Trent example, which incentivises reduction in water usage, or the donation of accumulated Nectar points to fund the Woodland Trust’s conservation activities, there is scope for adaptation within this model to support other sustainability objectives. That could be switching the type of energy someone uses to a greener option or rewarding for the use of electric car charging e.g., customers are rewarded through Nectar for using Sainsbury’s Smart Charge facilities.  

The principle of getting value back for changing your behaviour is the basis of loyalty programmes. So, as well as - or instead of - giving financial value back to members, these schemes can absolutely be used to drive positive actions that support the planet, with consumers incentivised by a new type of currency: the knowledge they are doing good.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. How has the adoption of CTV advertising influenced your organization's ability to reach high-intent audiences across multiple channels? 

CTV is generally trending in ways that benefit AdRoll immensely. You have the big media companies shifting toward hybrid ad-supported models that are really attractive to consumers, which is bringing in lots of new audiences. There was an 8% jump this year in traditionally subscription-focused consumers watching at least one ad-supported outlet. It’s not just the young, budget-conscious people anymore, and that gives us more reach, especially amongst audiences that appeal to B2B advertisers. 

2. How do you ensure seamless integration of CTV campaigns with other digital marketing efforts to create a cohesive customer journey? 

We really like to think of CTV as analogous to practicing before a big game or other kind of “in the moment” event. CTV prepares the consumer for an easier decision-making process that is more likely to happen away from the TV screen. For that reason, we have cross-channel capabilities as core to our offering. For example, you can target your CRM lists with CTV ads, then run display ads to those CTV ad viewers. Bringing all channels into a single campaign view makes it easy to track holistic performance while still allowing advertisers to pivot, isolate screens, and pinpoint what’s working.

3. What challenges have you encountered in implementing AI-driven CTV advertising solutions, and how have they been addressed? 

We have a tremendously powerful AI bidder, BidIQ, which works for any impression on any screen. It helps us proactively optimize price without sacrificing performance. For display, it optimizes for performance proactively on engagements like clicks and conversion probability, which is much harder to do with CTV. A big focus for us this year is identifying more actionable key performance indicators for CTV that make sense when training an “intelligent” bidder. 

Another area we’re thinking carefully about is creative generation and optimization. Many of our customers are finding the cost of ad creation to be a cause for hesitation when investing in a new channel. AI can help make video ad creative affordable, but it can’t be at the expense of both the brand and the user experience. Overly artificial feeling ads come across as disingenuous, so we’re thinking of these solutions as facilitators rather than outright creators.

4. What systems are used to map personal devices to households to enhance targeting precision in CTV advertising? 

We’ve found a great partner in Experian for this purpose. They’ve been doing enhanced targeting for a while now and underpin so many major components of CTV ads, so it’s great to leverage their technology. This is a major complement to our household identity solution, which has traditionally focused on resolving identity on the web with things like CRM lists, hashed email addresses (HEMs), and cookies.

5. What ethical guidelines govern the use of customer data in your CTV advertising strategies? 

We’ve leaned in hard on developing privacy-forward workflows for several years now and will continue to do so, even as Chrome walks back its deprecation of third-party cookies. This aligns well with the CTV ecosystem and the use of user-resettable device IDs. We still work directly with so many brands and have integrations with their customer systems, so we work with a lot of CRM data and personally identifiable information (PII). These items are pseudonymized the moment they hit our system, so we’re never holding any personal data. Keeping brands and their customers safe is one of our top priorities.

6. How is your organization preparing to adapt to the projected growth in CTV ad spending and evolving consumer viewing habits?

We feel the industry is largely acclimatizing users to mid and bottom funnel ads. You see more QR codes, more B2B/B2C ads prompting users to download a coupon or take advantage of seasonal offers. That’s good news for AdRoll, because we can build trust between brands and viewers when they understand why they’re seeing certain ads. That familiarity means delivering consistent performance, and we’ll be there with an offering that allows our customers to reach those audiences whenever they want. We’re running at full speed to deliver quality supply, the best service, comprehensive audiences and accurate targeting, alongside insightful, unbiased outcomes. 

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. What are the strategic considerations for agencies when entering emerging markets with value-led initiatives?

When entering emerging markets, it’s crucial to lead with empathy and education. At Sotavento Medios, we prioritize understanding the unique challenges and cultural nuances of each market before offering solutions. We look at factors such as digital literacy levels, infrastructure, consumer behavior, and the local economic landscape. Our goal isn't just to introduce SEO services, but to co-create value with local businesses. That means tailoring campaigns that make sense for where the market currently is—not where we think it should be. It's also about being patient and building trust, rather than pushing for quick wins.

2. What approaches can agencies adopt to establish credibility and long-term relationships with local SMEs?

Consistency together with authenticity produces credibility. Sotavento Medios believes that real SME relationship development begins with active listening to business challenges. We provide strategic recommendations which are both transparent and achievable from that starting point. Our approach avoids false commitments because we teach our clients about digital transformation while becoming their strategic partners through the process. Our commitment to SME growth becomes evident through  free audits and consistent support.

3. How can agencies design programs that support SMEs in their digital transformation journeys?

We help overwhelmed SMEs simplify their digital transformation journey by dividing it into four distinct phases starting from awareness through optimization to automation and scaling. Sotavento Medios creates adaptable SEO digital marketing packages with minimal barriers which enable SMEs to enter the digital space comfortably. Our SEO company delivers tutorials and dashboards to help business owners gain control and empowerment. The key to digital transformation success involves giving business owner confidence and clarity rather than just investing in new technology.

4. How important is local community involvement for agencies expanding into new regions?

Sotavento Medios integrates fully into new markets beyond basic market entry. Local ecosystem membership instead of outsider status helps build trust and generates lasting positive relationships with the community. Our presence in the market remains grounded because of our accountability to it. Our genuine impact grows stronger when we provide more support to our community.

5. How should agencies adapt their offerings in response to changing economic conditions in different markets?

Agility is key. SMEs frequently need to reduce costs during economic shifts which is why we use SEO and content marketing  to deliver high return on investment at affordable prices. Sotavento Medios provides flexible modular SEO packages that enable customers to adjust their services according to their current needs. During challenging times we provide extensive education to our clients about maximizing marketing value from their investment. We track local economic indicators to modify our messaging and pricing structure alongside service delivery mix for staying relevant and providing support regardless of the economic situation.

6. What trends do you foresee shaping the future of digital agency services in the next five years?

The upcoming future will feature customized solutions and clear visibility combined with unified systems. AI and automation will dominate workplace evolution yet human interaction will become an increasingly important asset. Sotavento Medios actively prepares to serve clients who need personalized solutions and instant data analytics with ethical marketing approaches in a future market. Our SEO agency develops brand strategies that combine performance objectives with sustainability and purpose-driven marketing because these elements will become essential to brand success.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. Has Spectrio explored opportunities to monetize in-store digital signage through third-party advertising? If so, what methods have been considered or implemented?

Yes. Early last year, Spectrio began exploring opportunities to monetize in-store digital signage by enabling third-party advertising. As part of this initiative, we expanded our digital signage content management solution to support the delivery of advertising content.

This enhancement allows our digital signage endpoints to be exposed to advertisers, enabling our clients to:

●        Allocate a portion—or the entirety—of their screen real estate to ad content

●        Customize ad frequency and scheduling within their existing content loops

●        Seamlessly integrate advertising into their displays without compromising brand messaging or customer experience

This capability provides a scalable path for our clients to generate incremental revenue by participating in the growing Retail Media Network (RMN) ecosystem—without requiring a complete overhaul of their current digital signage infrastructure.. 

2. What challenges have you encountered in maximizing the effectiveness of your existing digital signage infrastructure?

Maximizing the effectiveness—and ultimately the monetization potential—of digital signage depends on a variety of factors, many of which present challenges:

●        Location and DMA (Designated Market Area): The geographic location of a sign significantly impacts its ad value. Signs in high-value DMAs typically attract more advertiser interest and command higher rates.

●        Foot Traffic Volume: Without sufficient traffic, even the most strategically placed signage may underperform in terms of ad impressions and engagement.

●        Traffic Profile: The demographic and behavioral profile of the audience matters—advertisers are more likely to invest where viewer data aligns with their target markets.

●        Contextual Relevance: The effectiveness of an ad can be influenced by the surrounding content on the screen. Ads that are well-integrated into relevant, high-quality content tend to perform better.

●        Shopper Data Availability: One of the biggest challenges is the depth and quality of shopper data.  . Access to insights like:

○        Loyalty card usage

○        Point-of-sale transaction logs

○        Real-time shopper presence in front of the display can greatly enhance targeting and attribution capabilities, but such data is often fragmented, unavailable, or difficult to integrate.

Together, these variables create a complex environment where maximizing digital signage effectiveness requires not only strong infrastructure but also the right data, partnerships, and content strategy.

3. What potential benefits and risks do you associate with transforming Spectrio’s digital signage network into a revenue-generating retail media network (RMN)?

Potential Benefits:

• New Revenue Stream:

Enables Spectrio and its clients to monetize underutilized screen time through third-party advertising, creating a consistent, incremental revenue source.

• Enhanced Client Value Proposition:

Offering RMN capabilities positions Spectrio as more than a CMS provider—it elevates us as a strategic partner helping clients unlock new business value.

• Competitive Differentiation:

RMN capabilities can distinguish Spectrio from traditional signage providers by tapping into a rapidly growing sector in retail and CPG.

• Advertiser Appeal:

Our existing network of screens represents a ready-made distribution channel for advertisers seeking in-store media placements with direct shopper exposure.

• Data-Driven Insights:

With the integration of shopper and transaction data, we can offer highly targeted and measurable campaigns, increasing effectiveness and advertiser satisfaction.

Potential Risks:

• Operational Complexity:

RMN introduces new layers of technology, data privacy, campaign management, and measurement—requiring new capabilities that are outside traditional signage operations.

• Client Buy-In and Brand Concerns:

Not all clients will be eager to display third-party ads, especially if it risks compromising brand control or customer experience.

• Ad Quality and Content Control:

Maintaining consistent, brand-safe ad quality across a diverse network may be challenging, particularly when multiple advertisers are involved.

4. What considerations are important for Spectrio when implementing audience targeting capabilities in in-store advertising?

Implementing effective audience targeting in in-store advertising requires a thoughtful blend of data, context, and placement. Key considerations include:

1. Audience Profile and Behavior

Understanding who the shoppers are is foundational. This includes:

●        Demographics (age, gender, income level)

●        Shopping behavior (frequency, dwell time, product preferences)

●        Loyalty data and purchase history
 This insight allows advertisers to tailor messages that are relevant and timely.

2. Venue Purpose and Traffic Patterns

The type of venue (e.g., convenience store, big-box retailer, pharmacy) shapes the shopper mindset and intent. Targeting strategies should align with whether the environment is high-frequency, high-intent, or more passive in nature.

3. Endpoint Location Within the Venue

Where the signage is located within the store greatly impacts its targeting potential:

●        Category adjacency (e.g., placing a beverage ad near the refrigerated drinks aisle)

●        Point of decision vs. point of entrance (e.g., impulse messaging near checkout vs. brand awareness at entry)

●        Line of sight and dwell time zones (high-traffic vs. low-attention areas)

4. Contextual and Situational Targeting

Real-time context, such as:

●        Time of day or day of week

●        Local weather conditions

●        Store-level promotions or events can further enhance targeting precision.

5. Data Integration and Privacy Compliance

To target effectively and responsibly, data sources such as loyalty programs, transaction logs, and in-store sensors must be integrated securely and in compliance with privacy regulations (e.g., CCPA, GDPR). Transparency and customer trust are non-negotiable.

Bottom Line:
The more insight, context, and relevance Spectrio can provide to advertisers through intelligent data and strategic placement, the more likely an ad will drive action—whether that’s awareness, consideration, or conversion.

5. What measures would you require to ensure that third-party advertisements align with your brand values and messaging?

To ensure that third-party advertisements are consistent with our brand values and those of our clients, we’ve implemented several key safeguards within the platform:

1. Advertiser and Category Controls

When a new venue or retailer is onboarded, they are provided with the ability to:

●        Whitelist approved advertisers and ad categories

●        Blacklist advertisers or categories that do not align with their brand standards or audience expectations

2. Pre-Approval Workflow

The platform can be configured to require manual review and approval of ad creatives before they are published. This ensures that every advertisement meets brand, tone, and content guidelines.

3. Customization by Location

Controls can be customized at the venue or even screen level, allowing flexibility to account for different regional or demographic sensitivities across a retail network.

4. Ongoing Monitoring and Oversight

Our team (and/or the client’s team) maintains the ability to monitor ad content in real time and remove or flag any content that violates brand guidelines post-deployment.

Conclusion: These measures ensure that retailers retain full control over the ad content shown on their digital signage, preserving brand integrity while enabling monetization through third-party advertising. 

6. How would the potential revenue from third-party advertising impact your overall marketing and operational budget planning?

Spectrio’s ad revenue-sharing model is intentionally designed to create a self-funding growth loop for our clients. The goal is to encourage reinvestment of ad-generated dollars into:

●        Expanding digital signage networks

●        Deploying additional endpoints

●        Enhancing content strategy and audience targeting capabilities

From a budget planning perspective, this model helps reduce the financial burden of network expansion, allowing clients to scale their in-store media presence with minimal incremental capital investment.

For Spectrio, the increase in third-party ad revenue also supports:

●        Investment in product development and platform innovation

●        Funding RMN-related operational support

●        Strengthening partner integrations and data capabilities

In summary:
The monetization of signage through third-party advertising isn’t just a new revenue stream—it’s a strategic enabler that allows both Spectrio and its clients to grow more efficiently, sustainably, and competitively.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts. 

1. How is the convergence of audio and video formats influencing the approach to content creation and distribution in the podcasting space?

This convergence is pushing creators and publishers to rethink production workflows, team structure, and monetization models. Creators are increasingly building studios that support both high-quality audio and video capture, while platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are becoming essential not just for discovery, but as primary consumption channels for younger audiences. This shift is also influencing content length and format, with many shows now designing for “chapterized” consumption to better fit social and algorithmic distribution. It also increases the burden of production costs and quality, and makes some folks who valued the freedom of audio only less motivated to produce for the eye, rather than the theater of the mind, audio’s strong suit.

From a monetization standpoint, this blurs the lines between podcasting, influencer media, and digital video, opening up new revenue opportunities—but also complicating measurement. Brands want cross-platform attribution, and the industry still lacks a standard integrating audio and video performance into a single, trusted framework. As a result, advertisers are growing more experimental but also more cautious, especially when assessing brand safety and suitability across diverse formats.

2. What strategies are being implemented to adapt to the changing definitions and consumption patterns of podcasts, especially with the rise of platforms like YouTube and Spotify?

The first step is defining the space itself. Without clarity around what a podcast is, it’s nearly impossible to measure it, monetize it, or scale it responsibly. That’s why we’ve pushed for industry-wide standardization—not to gatekeep, but to create shared ground rules that reflect the evolving reality of podcasting across RSS, YouTube, Spotify, and beyond.

For brands, strategy varies widely. Some are leaning into video, willing to trade precision for reach. Others are opting out entirely, frustrated by the lack of attribution and the fragmentation of formats. Many are stuck in the middle: open-minded but uncertain, unsure how to invest without reliable data or common benchmarks.

Ironically, in the absence of trustworthy measurement, some marketers are reverting to analog tools—like post-purchase surveys—to get even a directional sense of impact. Until we have a unified measurement protocol that works across platforms, strategies will remain fragmented, and growth will be harder to sustain.

3. In light of the identified identity crisis in podcasting, how is your organization working to build clearer value propositions for advertisers?

We’re addressing the identity crisis head-on by creating clarity where the market has confusion. That starts with segmenting our offerings—not all “podcasts” are the same. We differentiate between audio-only, video-first, influencer-led, and hybrid formats so advertisers can make informed, strategic buys based on their specific objectives.

We’re also building integrated, cross-channel solutions alongside top talent and platforms to ensure campaigns are designed with both content and context in mind. On the measurement front, we’re working to estimate and separate video impressions from audio downloads, so brands can understand what they’re actually getting.

And beyond campaign delivery, we’re investing in research to better understand responsiveness—what drives action in each format, not just what gets views or listens. The goal is to reduce guesswork and give advertisers confidence to scale, even in a fragmented landscape.

4. What role does AI and data analytics play in understanding listener behavior and optimizing content delivery across various platforms?

As an ad agency, we’re not in the content delivery business—but AI and data analytics are foundational to how we analyze content and drive smarter media buying decisions. We use AI to assess content suitability and brand safety at scale, scanning across vast libraries of shows to ensure alignment with a brand’s values and risk tolerance.

We also leverage billions of dollars in historical performance data to derisk media buys—helping brands avoid costly guesswork by identifying which shows, hosts, and placements are most likely to deliver results. From analyzing audience responsiveness to measuring ad creative effectiveness, AI gives us the edge to optimize campaigns in real time and tailor strategies to shifting listener behavior.

While publishers use AI to optimize how content is delivered, we use it to ensure the right messages are placed in the right environments—so every dollar works harder, and every campaign is grounded in insight, not assumption.

5. What initiatives are in place to improve attribution and analytics to better demonstrate ROI for podcast advertising campaigns?

Improving attribution is one of the most urgent challenges in our space—and we’re not waiting for someone else to solve it. We’re actively developing a Private Marketplace (PMP) designed to bring greater accountability, transparency, and standardization to podcast measurement.

We’re working directly with data providers and platforms to enhance the pixel ecosystem—advancing key capabilities like ID resolution through more sophisticated identity graphs, adapting to IPv6 traffic, and filtering out problematic IPs. These upgrades are essential to making attribution more accurate and ROI validation more credible.

In addition, we’ve implemented attribution compliance scoring across the properties we buy. This helps clients understand the quality of signal they’re working with—not just at the channel level, but down to the individual show. It also enables a smarter triangulation strategy, combining deterministic and probabilistic data for a clearer picture of performance.

Ultimately, our goal is to build a measurement environment brands can trust—because when attribution improves, investment follows.

6. How is your organization leveraging technology to bridge the gap between traditional audio podcasts and emerging video podcast formats?

We’re building the connective tissue advertisers need to navigate an increasingly fragmented landscape. Internally, we’ve developed systems to catalog and differentiate between podcast-only shows, audio-video simulcasts, and standalone influencer content—so brands can clearly understand what they’re buying and how it performs.

These systems integrate with third-party data to track impression delivery and audience behavior across both audio and video platforms. This enables smarter sequencing: campaigns can begin in cost-efficient, audio-only environments to validate messaging, then scale into higher-reach video and influencer ecosystems with more confidence.

It’s not just about media planning—it’s about building a performance-informed path from podcasting’s roots to its newest frontiers, and giving brands the tools to invest strategically at every stage.

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1. How is the industry shifting towards more partner-centric models, and what benefits does this bring to the overall channel ecosystem?

Today, the industry is already moving toward partner-centric models as a result of  heightened buyer expectations, accelerated digital transformation, and intensified competition, with organizations embracing deeply collaborative partnerships. Transactional partner relationships no longer cut it. Companies are realizing that strong partnerships deliver real results, not just incremental revenue. Better partner relationships drive increased sales, higher customer retention, and more profitable outcomes. At Unifyr, our customers who adopt this strategic approach consistently experience stronger alignment with their partners, accelerated revenue growth, improved customer retention, and better profitability. Strategic partnerships now represent a significant competitive advantage in today’s market.

2. What strategies can organizations implement to simplify and enhance the partner experience across diverse vendor interactions?

Complex systems, fragmented processes, and administrative burdens often hinder effective partner experiences, especially across diverse vendor ecosystems. The most effective strategy is simplifying partner interactions through centralized, intuitive platforms tailored specifically for complex, multi-vendor environments. That is why our PRM solution addresses this directly by consolidating interactions into a unified workspace enhanced by actionable AI insights. The Unifyr+ Partner Engagement Platform fundamentally transforms how partners navigate multiple supplier relationships. Unifyr+ consolidates diverse supplier portals into a streamlined interface, delivering personalized AI-driven insights exactly when partners need them. It also intelligently identifies new suppliers aligned to partner industries, significantly simplifying complexity, improving productivity, and unlocking additional revenue opportunities.

3. What are the implications of this technology for maintaining brand consistency and engaging partners effectively?

Maintaining consistent brand communication in multi-partner ecosystems can be extremely challenging, and inconsistency can quickly damage brand credibility and partner confidence. Centralized PRM technology effectively solves this issue by unifying communications, training resources, and essential content into a single, cohesive platform. Unifyr customers who adopted this centralized approach consistently experience stronger brand alignment, greater partner loyalty, and deeper market impact. When partners have reliable, centralized access to consistent brand resources, they naturally become more effective advocates for your organization..

4. How can a centralized platform facilitate better coordination and reduce the administrative burden for partners?

Administrative fragmentation is one of the biggest barriers to partner productivity. Scattered resources like deal registrations, marketing funds, and training materials will lead to significant inefficiencies and frustration. Centralized PRM platforms solve this by aggregating all critical resources and tasks in one place, allowing partners to access everything they need quickly and efficiently. We are told by customers that a centralized approach has allowed them to experience significant reductions in partner administrative workloads, enabling partners to reallocate significant time and effort to strategic selling, relationship-building, and driving revenue growth.

5. What key performance indicators should organizations focus on to assess and enhance partner engagement and success?

Revenue alone doesn’t fully capture the effectiveness of partner engagement. Organizations serious about partner success closely track influenced and partner-sourced revenue, strategic product adoption, and critical retention metrics like Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR). Efficiency KPIs, including channel spend relative to overall sales and marketing budgets and customer acquisition costs (CAC), are equally essential. Customers who leverage robust analytics and reporting, using these insights are able to make informed, data-driven decisions about resource allocation and strategy optimization, driving higher partner performance and greater returns on channel investments.

6. What best practices can be adopted to foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships within the channel?

Sustainable channel relationships are built on trust, transparency, and mutual value, not just transactional engagement. Leading organizations clearly set expectations, communicate regularly, and foster mutual accountability. Investing consistently in tailored partner training, proactive enablement, and customized incentives aligned to partner goals further strengthens these relationships. At Unifyr, customers who actively incorporate partner feedback, celebrate partner successes, and continuously refine their programs based on partner insights consistently experience increased partner retention, higher loyalty, and sustained growth. Long-term success in the channel ultimately comes down to ensuring partners feel genuinely valued, heard, and empowered.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.