New relationship with No. 1 grocery retailer aims to improve customer buying experience in 2,300 stores

Vibenomics, a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ advertising and experience company, today announces a multi-year relationship with Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket retailer. Through this relationship, Vibenomics will expand its Audio OOH Advertising Marketplace to enrich the customer experience in more than 2,300 Kroger locations and automate the audio ad buying process to current programmatic standards, allowing users to strategically target customers at the right time depending on weather, local events and more. This relationship allows Kroger to enhance their customer experience and how brands can communicate with customers at the point-of-purchase.
 

“Vibenomics plays an important part in our strategy to help us win with our customers, accelerate innovation in-store and drive success for the brands we carry,” said Peter Miles-Prouten, senior vice president of partnerships at 84.51°, Kroger’s data analytics subsidiary. “With 11 million households visiting Kroger daily, we’re excited to see Audio Out-of-Home from Vibenomics come to life, offering real, valuable connections with our customers, and opportunities for our CPG partners to advertise effectively.”

Beginning July 20, 2020, this specialized private audio network will broadcast inside Kroger’s owned and operated locations, targeting millions of unique monthly visitors. Vibenomics will be working in tandem with Kroger to determine which categories of advertisers, brands, or specific products make sense to promote on their airwaves while giving thoughtful consideration to the type of shopper experience they strive to deliver. 

“Our associates and customers are our number one priority at Kroger, and this is a new way for us to reach them with more meaningful content,” said Cara Pratt, vice president of commercial and product strategy across Kroger’s digital and in-store media business at 84.51°. “It allows us to provide them with up to date and timely information on their favorite brands, helping to improve their shopping experience. It also allows our brand partners to reach customers at a pivotal point in the buying process – the shelf.”

In addition to the relationship with Kroger, Vibenomics has made huge strides in owning the programmatic Audio OOH space this year, reaching up to 17 percent of the shopper population within its coverage area. 

“Historically, audio is not seen as a digital out-of-home medium, but we’ve revolutionized how to reach consumers directly at the point-of-sale,” said Paul Brenner, president of Audio OOH and CSO at Vibenomics. “We currently reach 200 million unique people nationwide monthly with a projection to be in over eight thousand convenience and grocery retail outlets by 2021. We’re confident that our technology will continue to align with the rapidly-evolving and unique media planning needs of the world’s most sophisticated brands and digital out-of-home buyers.” 

In June, Vibenomics was a presenter at the 2020 IAB NewFronts digital event, where the Vibenomics Advertising Market was introduced to some of the world’s largest brands. The company also announced a strategic partnership in June with Vistar, the number one national wholesale distributor in numerous industry segments including retail, hospitality, office supplies, and more. In April they announced a $6M Series A funding round, led by BIP Capital. 

About 84.51°:

84.51° brings together customer data, predictive analytics, and marketing strategy to drive sales growth and customer loyalty for Kroger and more than 300 consumer-packaged-goods companies in the U.S. Our programs achieve business objectives by driving awareness, trial, sales uplift, earned media impressions and, ultimately, customer loyalty. Using a sophisticated, proprietary suite of tools and technology, we turn customer data into knowledge, resulting in a more enlightened, more personal, dynamic approach to putting the customer at the center of every business decision.