After an unpredictable year, we are thrilled to announce our recent nomination for three prestigious awards: TechPoint Mira Awards “Scale-Up of the Year” and “Pandemic Pivotof the Year” Finalist and a 2021 Winner in the Small Employer Category for “Best Places to Work”, presented by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Vibenomics is honored to make the nominee list for both awards for the second year in a row and attribute our recognition to our team and the incredible work that was accomplished during such an unprecedented year.
TechPoint, the nonprofit, industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s technology ecosystem, announced the nominees for its 22nd annual Mira Awards program presented by Salesforce. The Mira Awards is the state’s largest and longest-running technology excellence and innovation recognition program, and the annual gala celebrates “The Best of Tech in Indiana.” From
a record-breaking 211 total entries, Vibenomics was chosen by an independent judging panel to advance as a “Scale-Up of the Year” and “Pandemic Pivot of the Year’ alongside eleven and nine other category nominees, respectively.
“The Mira Awards perennially celebrate remarkable growth and achievement by Hoosiers across our tech community. This year’s nominee stories also demonstrate inspirational and remarkable creativity, resilience, and persistence amidst the challenges of a pandemic,” says Mike Langellier, president and CEO of TechPoint.
Winners will be announced Thursday, April 22, 2021, during a virtual live broadcast. See full list of Mira Awards Nominees >>
Vibenomics was also recently named as one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana. This 16th annual program was created by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Best Companies Group. This statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the participating employers in Indiana with the leading workplace cultures. The list is made up of 125 companies.
“We have many tremendous employers in the state, so it’s great to see more and more companies take part in this effort to evaluate their workplace cultures and gain the recognition they deserve,” says Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. “These companies consistently demonstrate to their employees how much they value their contributions.”
Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Places to Work in Indiana. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final rankings. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Indiana, analyzed the data, and determined the final rankings.
In 2020, Vibenomics ranked #20 in the Small Companies Category. Official rankings for 2021 will be announced in late Spring. See full list of Best Places to Work Nominees >>
“When I think about why or how Vibenomics has been able to achieve such extraordinary heights, the answer comes down to our team, the “Vibe Tribe”. Vibenomics has something special – a team culture that takes work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. I am grateful to work alongside this team,” says Brent Oakley, Vibenomics Co-Founder and CEO.
Vibenomics would like to express our gratitude to both TechPoint and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce for recognizing the great work happening within our organization and the state of Indiana. Vibenomics would also like to congratulate all of our fellow honorees and look forward to celebrating their continued success!
Digital community for tech companies, investors, and professionals presents the second annual Tech Culture Awards to recognize company cultures across the nation.
Vibenomics is honored to announce our recognition as an award recipient of the Powderkeg 2020 National Tech Culture Awards. This program recognizes the best company cultures in tech communities beyond Silicon Valley and Vibenomics is thrilled to have been acknowledged in three award categories:
It’s gratifying to see Vibenomics recognized by Powderkeg as a culture leader in Customer Experience. Individual and leadership support of the Vibenomics culture – a task that has required even more commitment through the challenges of the pandemic season – is a big factor in our team’s desire to provide a best of class customer experience for our Audio Out Of Home advertising partners.
– Marty Draper, Chief Operations Officer
The award winners were selected after their participation in Powderkeg’s 2020 Tech Culture Awards, a survey that gathered information from technology-powered software, hardware, product, and services companies across the country about the culture within their workplace. Employees rated their companies and employers on several topics that contribute to company culture, including leadership, diversity and inclusion, career path, work-life balance, and remote work. There are also categories based on teams and regions where companies are headquartered. Awards are based on application responses and survey rankings by each company’s employees.
It is great to see this amazing team’s results-oriented culture being recognized. This focus has driven outsized successes throughout a challenging year and I can’t wait to see what they do next!
– Chris Keaney, Chief Technology Officer
The Powderkeg Culture Award recognition comes in a year of repeated validation in the strength of our office culture and commitment to employee satisfaction with our selection as a Mira Awards Scale-Up of the Year Nominee and 2020 Best Places to Work in Indiana.
Learn more about the finalists at powderkeg.com/awards.
Vibenomics is thrilled to announce its placement among industry leaders on AdExchanger’s inaugural list of Programmatic Power Players 2020. Our company along with 59 other programmatic agencies, DCO platforms, DSPs, SSPs, data providers, measurement specialists, and consultants have been recognized as leaders in marketing technology. Together, these companies are helping brands and businesses globally to more effectively and efficiently reach their target audiences, especially during a year where traditional playbooks had to be set aside and innovation had to step in.
Programmatic innovation was critical in such an unprecedented year. More than ever before, advertisers were seeking flexible and automated advertising solutions that are adaptable to the ever-changing world we are experiencing today. The Vibenomics Audio Out-of-Home advertising solution and our integration with Vistar Media – also selected as a Programmatic Power Player – allows brands and advertisers to purchase audio inventory at the point-of-sale in a way that best accommodates the current market needs.
“As a young company with visions of leading the charge for Audio OOH, validation of our capability by AdExchanger is astounding. Programmatic is a key component in Vibenomics overall capability while looking to the future and how we can better serve our customers.”
– Paul Brenner, President – Audio OOH & Chief Strategy Officer
Based on the power of our offering, strong client referrals, and proven results from campaign case studies, we are honored to receive this valuable third-party validation from a trusted source within the advertising industry and excited to continue to bring a new offering to market.
Read more about the award: https://www.adexchanger.com/go/power-players/
Vibenomics, a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ (AOOH) advertising and experience company, today announces its partnership with IRI®, a global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail and media companies. Together, Vibenomics and IRI join forces to measure the direct sales impact of exposure to Audio OOH advertising while offering advertisers exclusive access to SKU-level granularity for both pre-campaign feasibility and post-campaign analysis.
Being able to understand return on investment (ROI) from Audio OOH is critical for advertisers and marketers. Without these insights, marketers and CPG brands are less likely to make informed decisions. With this partnership, IRI will scale Vibenomics’ measurement capabilities and relay insights back to media buyers in a way that is meaningful and timely, showing accurate ROI from the Audio OOH solution so advertisers and marketers feel confident in how their media dollars are being spent.
“At Vibenomics, we work very closely with retail media as we serve as a true partner. Part of that partnership means being able to prove ROI from their investments so they can guarantee they’re allocating their ad spend where it makes the most impact,” said Paul Brenner, CSO at Vibenomics. “Through our exclusive access to point-of-sale data, down to the SKU-level, from our grocery and convenience store customers, along with our partnership with IRI to analyze that data, Vibenomics has the ability to collaborate with advertisers to plan tests appropriately and analyze incremental sales lift and return-on-ad-spend (ROAS).”
Vibenomics and IRI recently performed four blind case studies that received encouraging results in the following categories: hair shampoo and conditioner, skin care, dry packaged dinner mixes and adult beverage. IRI utilized Market Lift studies to understand the impact that an Audio OOH campaign had on the sales of a new shampoo and conditioner line, skin cleansing product, dry packaged dinner mix and new adult beverage offering. After looking at the level of spend across a number of stores in a short period of time, the results showed a 34% sales lift in at least one of the categories after measuring the impact of Audio OOH.
“The Audio Out-of-Home medium stands out as it has the ability to shape the consumer experience while they are physically in the store. The product they hear about is immediately available for purchase, no surfing, no waiting,” said Jennifer Pelino, EVP Omni Channel Media at IRI. “That type of call-to-action in the exact physical location where a consumer can directly buy is an extraordinarily powerful marketing vehicle for brands to make an impact. This type of advertising to reach and connect with consumers is one of the many reasons we chose to partner with a company like Vibenomics.”
Over several years, Vibenomics has developed and deployed its proprietary technology to help retailers improve their in-store audio experience. The company recently partnered with the leading global provider of software for digital-out-of-home (DOOH), Vistar Media and presented at the 2020 IAB NewFronts digital event, where the Vibenomics Advertising Market was introduced to some of the world’s largest brands. Vibenomics also teamed up with Kroger, the No.1 pure-play grocery retailer, to improve the customer buying experience in 2,300+ Kroger stores. In September, they expanded programmatic offerings with the launch of Open Exchange and Private Marketplace (PMP) deals via Vistar Media and in October, raised Series A2 funding.
IRI is a leading provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights that help CPG, OTC health care organizations, retailers, financial services and media companies grow their businesses. A confluence of major external events — a change in consumer buying habits, big data coming into its own, advanced analytics and personalized consumer activation — is leading to a seismic shift in drivers of success in all industries. With the largest repository of purchase, media, social, causal and loyalty data, all integrated on an on-demand, cloud-based technology platform, IRI is empowering the personalization revolution, helping to guide its more than 5,000 clients around the world in their quests to remain relentlessly relevant, capture market share, connect with consumers, collaborate with key constituents and deliver market-leading growth. For more information, visit www.iriworldwide.com.
Funds support continued innovation and expansion for Audio Out-of-Home™ Solution
Vibenomics, a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ (AOOH) advertising and experience company, today announced $6.5 million in Series A2 funding to support the launch of additional national networks in convenience stores and grocery retailers fueled by the rising momentum in programmatic technology. BIP Capital, who led Vibenomics’ Series A funding earlier this year, is a follow-on investor for this round along with local Indianapolis company, Elevate Ventures, which includes a combination of $4.5 million in equity funding and $2 million in venture debt.
By combining licensed, background-music playlists and commercial spots paid for by brand advertisers, Vibenomics helps businesses with physical locations enhance store sales, enrich the customer experience and receive a share of advertisement revenue. The company enables brands to talk to shoppers directly at the point-of-sale inside thousands of retail locations through Audio OOH advertising, impacting immediate purchase decisions.
“This funding is a testament to the continued belief of our investors in the future of Vibenomics and what we’re building,” said Brent Oakley, Vibenomics CEO. “Our team continues to be the leader in programmatic Audio OOH media and, with these funds, we plan to accelerate product development and go-to-market execution, building on the momentum we’ve already established.”
The adoption of programmatic AOOH has grown dramatically over the past year. According to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), U.S ad and audio spendings increased by thirty percent in the first half of 2019 to $1.2 billion. With so many advertisers eager to influence consumer choices at the point-of-purchase, Vibenomics plans to accelerate the scale of the Audio OOH network using their proprietary technology, helping marketers and retailers improve the shopping experience and allow brand partners to reach customers at a pivotal point in the buying process.
“Vibenomics provides brands a new way to reach consumers at the moment they are making purchase decisions in retail stores,” said Paul Iaffaldano, chief investment officer at BIP Capital. “The programmatic integration makes it incredibly easy for brands and agencies to take advantage of an unprecedented level of consumer data, and schedule flexibility.”
When Vibenomics was first founded in 2016, the company quickly expanded its cloud-based technology and revolutionized how to reach consumers directly at the point-of-sale. With its 44 employees, Vibenomics currently reaches 200 million unique shoppers nationwide with a projection to be in over ten thousand or more convenience and grocery retail outlets by 2021.
Vibenomics recently partnered with the leading global provider of software for digital-out-of-home (DOOH),Vistar Media and presented at the 2020 IAB NewFronts digital event, where the Vibenomics Advertising Market was introduced to some of the world’s largest brands. Vibenomics also teamed up with Kroger, the No.1 pure-play grocery retailer, to improve the customer buying experience in 2,300+ Kroger stores. In September, they expanded programmatic offerings with the launch of Open Exchange and Private Marketplace (PMP) deals via Vistar Media.
BIP Capital is recognized as one of the most active venture investors in the Southeast, serving entrepreneurs, investors, and operators to grow the emerging company ecosystem. It applies experience and process to make investment decisions and operational recommendations, allowing its portfolio companies to achieve and stay on a glide path of growth. Areas of focus include Enterprise SaaS, Healthcare IT, Digital Media, Dev Tools, and MarTech.
Partnership with Vistar Media extends AOOH offering to reach in-store retailers at the point-of-purchase.
Vistar Media, the leading global provider of software for Digital-Out-of-Home (DOOH), is launching the first real-time bidding exchange for Audio-Out-of-Home™ advertising (AOOH). This offering is available via Vistar’s open exchange or through private marketplace (PMP) deals.
Earlier this year, Vistar partnered with Vibenomics, a location-based AOOH advertising and experience company, to embrace AOOH and all that it provides advertisers when reaching consumers at the point-of-purchase. Now, advertisers have the ability to purchase AOOH programmatically either as part of an audience-driven open exchange campaign or through a custom PMP.
“Vibenomics’ unique inventory is the perfect extension of strategies advertisers are already using to engage with consumers in retail environments,” said Michael Provenzano, CEO and co-founder, Vistar Media. “Enabling audio out-of-home expands the value of programmatic for marketers seeking to launch quick messaging turnaround at the point-of-sale.”
The adoption of programmatic AOOH has grown dramatically over the past year. According to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) U.S ad and audio spendings increased by thirty percent in the first half of 2019 to $1.2 billion. With so many advertisers eager to influence consumer choices in the short consideration window surrounding purchases, extending in-retail out-of-home to include audio provides a perfect solution thanks to today’s programmatic technology.
“Digital Out-of-Home started to take shape ten years ago and has been accelerating these past five years as better technologies, integrations and standards emerge,” said Paul Brenner, president of AOOH at Vibenomics. “Now having Audio Out-of-Home on an open exchange, we are offering the advancements that have occurred in both Digital-Out-of-Home and streaming and audio advertising.”
For more information about Vistar Media, visit www.vistarmedia.com. For more information about Vibenomics, visit www.vibenomics.com.
Vistar Media is the world’s leading end-to-end programmatic ecosystem for digital out-of-home (DOOH). Vistar Media’s demand-side platform (DSP) and supply-side platform (SSP) empower buyers and sellers to easily transact on DOOH inventory while applying intelligent data insights that improve media performance. Vistar’s SaaS solutions (unified ad server and Cortex for device and content management) deliver enterprise-grade solutions for monetizing and operating digital signage networks at any scale. Through its global reach, direct platform integrations, data partnerships, and complete technology stack, Vistar Media continues to power innovation and growth across the digital signage industry. Founded in 2012, Vistar Media is headquartered in New York City and has offices across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Vibenomics, Inc. is a location-based audio out-of-home advertising and experience company that powers custom radio stations for retailers, giving brands the ability to talk to shoppers directly at the point of sale. With its powerful cloud-based technology, licensed background music library, data integration capabilities, full-service team of audio experience experts, and network of professional voice talent available on-demand, the company provides the right revenue-enhancing vibe for over 120 advertisers in more than 6,000 locations across 49 states, reaching more than 200 million people.
Delivered through flexible plug-and-play mobile tablet devices, Vibenomics dynamically broadcasts hyper-targeted, in-stream audio advertisements and curated playlists within any combination of locations across its swiftly growing national footprint, unlocking a powerful new shopper marketing channel for reaching consumers during the critical final footsteps along the path to purchase. Through a first-of-its-kind partner program, retailers can receive a portion of revenue for all advertisements sold by Vibenomics that play within their locations, giving them the ability to monetize their private airwaves and transform a legacy expense into a new profit center.
It’s no secret that 2020 has created challenges for organizations of all sizes, but especially for small businesses. Vibenomics is certainly no exception, but we have learned to embrace the challenge which has led us to several record-breaking months, despite working through a global pandemic. We announced our Series A funding round, we launched a partnership with the leader in the OOH advertising industry, and we acquired our largest customer.
When we look back on the last few months one thing is certain: we have a great team. And while we already knew that we had a special group of people helping to build our best-in-class audio advertising solution, it was confirmed when the Indiana Chamber of Commerce announced the official rankings for the Best Places to Work for 2020.
We are honored to simply be listed among hundreds of other great companies that are making a difference within our state, but our position within the Small Companies (15-74 employees) category confirms our commitment to hiring great people and providing an exceptional environment to work, learn, and grow. I am constantly impressed by how our people continue to show up every day (including virtually) with energy and enthusiasm to help our company in a pivotal moment of growth and encouraged by how our leadership team continues to seek opportunities to improve our culture. The thing I enjoy most about coming into work every day is the amount of energy I get from just walking through the door. The energy our staff exudes makes me be better, and the fact that there are so many people doing such great work also holds me to a higher standard. I think everyone feels that, and we’re all pushed to do our best for one another. We’ve created a family environment, and I love spending time there around everyone.
Interested in joining a ‘Best Place to Work’? We’re hiring!
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.
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.
As a new entrant to the digital out-of-home space and first-time presenter at IAB Newfronts, Vibenomics presented a compelling ten-minute video filled with research, strong voices from OOH industry leaders, and dynamic visuals. As a 2020 Newfronts rookie, Vibenomics gained immediate attention from the market.
Additionally, the presentation announced a new partnership with Vistar media that will allow media buyers to purchase audio inventory on the platform that they know, use, and trust. We look forward to this partnership and the way it will provide brands and advertisers the ability to leverage the flexibility, automation, and targeting that Audio Out-of-Home™ advertising provides.
Following the presentation on June 24, Vibenomics garnered national media attention almost immediately with a feature in a story run by AdWeek, as well as generous compliments during the Newfronts Livestream from host, Scott Rogowsky.
“Vibenomics made a splash—ironically for an audio company—with a visually arresting presentation about its product, which many brands might not know.”
For more information on how your brand can leverage AOOH as a part of your in-store advertising strategy, visit go.vibenomics.com/Newfronts
Vibenomics, a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ (AOOH) advertising and experience company, today announced its partnership with Vistar Media, the leading global provider of software for digital out-of-home (DOOH).
The partnership marks the first time that advertisers will have the ability to purchase audio-only inventory — combining licensed, background-music playlists, paid commercial spots, or brand messaging — on an OOH exchange. Now, advertisers can further impact immediate purchase decisions by reaching shoppers directly through a unique auditory experience at points-of-sale inside thousands of retail locations. In turn, participating brick-and-mortar retail businesses can increase sales, participate in a revenue share program, and enhance the customer experience.
“Vistar Media is a pioneer and leader in the programmatic OOH space,” said Brent Oakley, co-founder and CEO at Vibenomics. “Together, we are opening up access to this growing channel, while utilizing Vistar Media’s experience in building a vast exchange across some of the largest place-based venues in the world. This partnership is so unique because no other SSP could handle both the nuances of out-of-home and provide access to real demand at that level.”
Through a single integration with Vistar’s API, Vibenomics has access to Vistar’s supply-side platform (SSP), as well as Vistar’s ad server, to handle delivery and scheduling of their own ad placements and content. Vibenomics selected Vistar as their ad serving & programmatic software provider because of Vistar’s expertise in handling the nuances of location-based OOH and digital programmatic.
“Vistar chose to partner with Vibenomics and to embrace audio out-of-home because it provides our marketers with the ability to reach a consumer near the point-of-purchase in a retail environment,” said Michael Provenzano, CEO and co-founder, Vistar Media. “Our customers are already doing that with screens in retail locations, and audio-out-of-home is a perfect extension of those strategies. Our partnership with Vibenomics creates not only a new category of DOOH, but also indicates a bright future of advertising overall.”
For more information about Vibenomics, visit www.vibenomics.com. For more information about Vistar Media, visit www.vistarmedia.com.
About Vistar Media
Vistar Media is the world’s leading end-to-end programmatic ecosystem for digital out-of-home (DOOH). Vistar Media’s demand-side platform (DSP) and supply-side platform (SSP) empower buyers and sellers to easily transact on DOOH inventory while applying intelligent data insights that improve media performance. Vistar’s SaaS solutions (unified ad server and Cortex for device and content management) deliver enterprise-grade solutions for monetizing and operating digital signage networks at any scale. Through its global reach, direct platform integrations, data partnerships, and complete technology stack, Vistar Media continues to power innovation and growth across the digital signage industry. Founded in 2012, Vistar Media is headquartered in New York City and has offices across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
About Vibenomics
Vibenomics, Inc. is a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ advertising and experience company that powers audio channels for retailers, giving brands the ability to talk to shoppers directly at the point of sale. With its powerful cloud-based technology, licensed background music library, data integration capabilities, full-service team of audio experience experts, and network of on-demand professional voice talent, the company provides the right revenue-enhancing vibe for over 100 advertisers in more than 4,000 locations across 48 states, reaching over 150 million people.
Delivered through flexible plug-and-play mobile tablet devices, Vibenomics dynamically broadcasts hyper-targeted, in-stream audio advertisements and curated playlists within any combination of locations across its swiftly growing national footprint, unlocking a powerful new shopper marketing channel for reaching consumers during the critical final footsteps along the path to purchase. Through a first-of-its kind partner program, retailers can receive a portion of revenue for all advertisements sold by Vibenomics that play within their locations, giving them the ability to monetize their private airwaves and transform a legacy expense into a new profit center.
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