Vudoo

Everyone’s talking about where media is heading. AI. Retail media. CTV. Creator economy. Pick your buzzword. But when you strip it back to the data… a few truths show up. We had Bill Fisher from EMARKETER on the podcast, and one stat stuck with me: AI-driven checkout is forecast to make up less than 2% of total ecommerce transactions. For all the hype, we’re still very early. At the same time: – 70% of consumers are discovering new products every week, and 23% are researching 5+ times before buying – Over 60% of 18–34 year olds trust TV advertising more than the average – YouTube is the largest media platform globally, but still under-monetised So what does that tell us? We’re not moving towards one dominant channel or model. We’re moving to a world where intent can happen anywhere. Which is why commerce is starting to embed across every channel, not at the end of a journey. Really enjoyed this one with Bill, thanks again for joining us. As you can tell, I was basically out of frame half the time taking notes!

What an achievement for team Vudoo! We’re proud to be shortlisted across four categories in The Drum Commerce Media Awards: • Ad-Tech Innovation • Best Full Funnel Campaign • Best Use of CTV / Online Video • Creative Integration of Content & Commerce A real testament to the entire team behind the work and the collective effort it takes to bring this kind of experience to life! The lines between content, media and commerce are collapsing, with every touchpoint becoming a potential point of sale. Our work with Mattel, Inc. — alongside partners including Yahoo DSP, Afterpay, KINESSO, and News Corp Australia — is a strong example of what this looks like in practice, connecting discovery through to purchase within a single experience. A few of our team will be in Miami for the awards — if you’re there, come say hi. 👋

Big moment for Vudoo! 👏 We’ve been shortlisted in four categories at The Drum Awards for Commerce Media: - Ad-Tech Innovation - Best Full Funnel Campaign - Best Use of CTV / Online Video in Commerce Media - Creative Integration of Content & Commerce Two years ago, we took home a WARC Award for Effectiveness with our Moët & Chandon campaign. Now, to be recognised across these four categories is a massive moment for us — a real reflection of how far we’ve come, and how quickly this space is evolving. Over the past couple of years, we’ve expanded the product, pushed the boundaries of what commerce media can be, and worked with leading brands to bring ambitious, shoppable experiences to life. The Mattel Asia Pacific campaign we’ve been shortlisted for is a real highlight, brought to life with our partners at Yahoo DSP, Afterpay, KINESSO Australia and News Corp Australia. But more than anything, this reflects the entire Vudoo team — from engineering constantly evolving the platform, to our growth and account teams for always putting our clients first, and the data team turning performance into real insights. Not to mention marketing telling our story and pulling together a standout submission to get us here. This doesn’t happen without a group of people willing to roll up their sleeves and make the impossible…possible, so thank you Vudoo team! 🙌 Speaking of possible — looking forward to seeing many of you at POSSIBLE Miami next month, both at the event and The Drum awards ceremony. If you’re there, hit me up! 🍸 Paul Blackburn, William (Billy) Kinchin, Johan Palsson GAICD, Rachel Fang, Ryan Sweeney, Sarah Lawson Johnston, Charlotte Glanville, Andrea Hill, Amanda Ba-Pe, Keira Lewis, Sandy Ho, Luiza Alberti, Scott McGrath, Dileep Yogasingham, Omar Adnan, Vince Scarpa, Josh RawlingsS, tuart Swain, Bailey Segail, Jayde O'Brien, Ben Caller, Ken Smith, Yehezkiel S. Lili Simatupang, Matt Mastrocola, Arunkumar R., Pavitra Vobilisetty, Ailin Pedrossian, Jing Xiao, Kyrylo Vydiuk, Kate Zrim

Retail media is growing fast… but scaling it is another story. Take a listen to one of our Commerce Media Matters episodes, where Vudoo sits down with Andreas Reiffen (CEO & Founder, Pentaleap) to unpack what’s really holding RMNs back. From fragmented networks and inconsistent measurement… to the reality behind ROAS… to whether programmatic is the key to unlocking true scale — this conversation dives into the details that don’t always make the headlines, including where AI fits and whether retailers will actually embrace it. If you’re working across retail, media or commerce, pop your headphones in and give it a listen 🎧

Static display ads are still everywhere across the open web. But let’s be honest — most of them don’t do much beyond generating impressions. Very little engagement, and even less conversion. Video has always been better at capturing attention. The problem is that most video advertising still ends the same way: a click, a redirect, and a whole lot of hope that the customer eventually finds their way to checkout. So I’m really excited about our new partnership with SeenThis. SeenThis has built some of the most impressive video delivery technology in the market — adaptive streaming that enables high-quality video to be served inside display formats, keeping CPMs efficient while delivering impact. Combined with Vudoo's commerce-enabled formats, those video impressions can now become shoppable experiences. In other words, moving a little closer to what digital advertising should have been doing all along: connecting attention, content and transaction in the same moment. Really looking forward to building this with Jesper Benon, Marcus Myrberg, Michael Krawczyk, Kristofer Ljungdahl, Per W., Thomas Houge and the SeenThis team. Big credit to Paul Blackburn, Andrea Hill, William (Billy) Kinchin and the wider Vudoo crew who’ve worked hard behind the scenes to bring the partnership to life! 

Retail media is booming, but when you look under the hood, it still feels a bit like the Wild West. 🤠 Everyone tried to replicate Amazon, but the problem is….most RMNs are still struggling to scale. A stat to take note of: Amazon generates roughly 8% of GMV in ad revenue. Most other retail media networks are still below 1%. That gap says a lot about where the industry really is. And who better to unpack that than Andreas Reiffen, Founder & CEO of Pentaleap. As one of the earliest architects of modern retail media infrastructure, Andreas has been shaping the mechanics behind retail media long before most of the industry started paying attention. In the latest episode of Commerce Media Matters, Paul Blackburn and I sat down with Andreas to explore why that gap exists and what might actually unlock the next phase of retail media. We talk about the fragmentation across RMNs, the uncomfortable truth behind ROAS, how programmatic retail media could unlock scale, and what AI agents might mean for the future of the retailer–customer relationship. Really enjoyed this conversation — Andreas has been building in this space for a long time and brings a refreshingly honest perspective. Thank you again for joining us! As always, listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts! 🎧

Earlier in my career in tech, I thought success would come down to how much I knew. Over time, I realised something different. There are a few hard truths about working in this industry - for anyone but especially women - that people rarely talk about openly: - You'll rarely feel fully "ready" for the next step - Tech success is as commercial as it is technical - Representation alone doesn't guarantee influence None of these are reasons to avoid the industry - but understanding them can help women navigate tech with clearer expectations and more confidence. Thanks to TechDay United Kingdom, I shared my perspective here 👇 https://lnkd.in/e3NDmG26 #womenintech #leadership #techindustry #careersintech

In this month’s Vudoo View, we share our new partnership with PubMatic, explore how we’re embedding GDPR into the foundations of our European expansion, and unpack two new Commerce Media Matters episodes — from AI-led discovery with Ricky Sutton to CES and NRF takeaways with Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn. Checkout the Newsletter!

For years we’ve talked about connecting content, advertising and commerce. But most of the time it still ends with a click… and a redirect. That’s starting to change. Vudoo is partnering with PubMatic to enable commerce-enabled ads across PubMatic’s premium inventory. Through a single deal ID and a preferred DSP, agencies and brands can activate shoppable ads across display, video and CTV, allowing consumers to discover and purchase products directly from the ad. No new workflows. No creative rebuilds. Just commerce embedded into the programmatic pipes brands already use. This is another step toward an idea we’ve believed in from the beginning: every piece of media should become a place to shop. That’s our vision of Commerce Everywhere. And partnerships like this help bring it to life. A big thank you to Peter Barry and the PubMatic team for believing in what we’re building, and to Paul Blackburn, Andrea Hill, William (Billy) Kinchin, and the rest of the Vudoo team for continuing to drive this category forward!

Is this the end of the dotcom era? On the latest Commerce Media Matters episode, Paul Blackburn and I sat down with Ricky Sutton, of Future Media and Meliora, for a candid conversation about AI’s real impact on media, advertising and commerce, and how the next phase of the web is being shaped by AI. Ricky was building AI products long before it became today’s buzzword, founding a video-matching platform over a decade ago to help publishers tackle content discovery and distribution. So it’s no surprise this episode ran a bit longer than usual — once you start talking about power, monopolies and who actually owns the customer relationship, it’s hard to keep it short! A few moments that made me sit up: 👉  With discovery already moving from static websites toward more conversational, real-time experiences, AI could be the biggest change since the internet itself 👉 Around 56% of global publishers are blocking AI bots, but if AI becomes a major front door to discovery, that decision can directly impact search visibility — so what’s the right strategy? 👉 And while monopoly concerns are real, the balance of power isn’t fixed — regulation, competition and market dynamics are shifting faster than most people think Check out the episode wherever you get your podcast!