
Beyond The Shelf
This show is an open exploration of the people and process behind E-Commerce. Through conversations with innovators in the space, we learn the stories of these leaders and their strategies for E-Commerce success. You can join our mailing list and access more content at itsrapid.ai.David's past guests have included: Bryan Gildenberg from the CPG Guys, Todd Hassenfelt from Colgate-Palmolive, Anne Zybowski from Circana, Randy Mercer from 1WorldSync, Jared Taitel from PepsiCo, David Novak from Salsify, Harvey Ma from Albertsons Media Collective, Carter Jensen from General Mills, Pam Perino from Ghirardelli Chocolate, and many more.
Latest episodes

Jul 30, 2024 • 35min
Why eCommerce Needs to Have a Seat at the Table with Tyson Foods' Wendy Jean Bennett
Dave speaks with Wendy Jean Bennett, Vice President of Retail Commerce Leadership at Tyson Foods. Wendy Jean's storied career at Tyson has also included stints as VP of Retail - Case Ready Division and VP of Sales - Consumer Products.Wendy shares insights on how she manages shifting roles within same organization (2:35), the 3 things she wants to be known for (8:50), the importance of utilizing your data for cross-team collaboration (15:19), strategies for bringing large teams together (21:06), and tactics for reaching consumers on their phones while they're in-store (25:01).Connect with Wendy Jean on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-jean-bennett-5113216/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

Jul 23, 2024 • 36min
Setting Goals Before Spending Dollars with Allume Group’s Andrea Leigh
Today Dave is joined by Andrea Leigh, Founder & CEO of Allume Group. Allume Group is an eCommerce knowledge hub helping professionals learn the information and skills they need to be successful online. Andrea is a founding member of The Digital Shelf Institute and a co-host of the "Fresh Four" podcast from The CPG Guys.They discuss how Andrea got her start in the space (1:30), what it was like working at Amazon during its rapid expansion (2:57), an overview of Allume Group (10:58), why goal setting is so important (20:34), and predictions for the future when it comes to search and retail media (26:22).Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreakleigh/Learn more about Allume Group: https://allumegroup.com/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

Jul 16, 2024 • 33min
Focusing on Marketing Efficiencies with Daasity's Dan LeBlanc
We're back from a brief summer hiatus with Dan LeBlanc, CEO and Co-Founder at Daasity. Daasity provides the experience and tools to help clients transform into data-driven organizations. Dan founded Daasity after an illustrious career with Capital One, ProFlowers and other brands and firms.They discuss how the flower industry taught Dan about LTV (6:11), why he decided to become an entrepreneur (10:10), the best parts about growing your own business (12:55), why D2C brands are realizing they need to be in retail (16:57), and where brands are spending most of their acquisition dollars these days (24:47).Learn more about Daasity: www.daasity.comConnect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddleblanc/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

May 28, 2024 • 36min
Defining Value Engineering with Lettuce Commerce’s Joe Gaudreau
Dave sits down with Joe Gaudreau, Co-Founder and CEO of Lettuce Commerce. Joe founded Lettuce Commerce last month, after nearly a decade at Salsify, where he was VP of Corporate Development.Dave and Joe discuss the secret to forecasting upcoming trends (4:45), Joe's journey at Salsify (9:58), an overview of "Value Engineering" (11:56), what Lettuce Commerce is trying to accomplish (22:26), and what Joe foresees over the next few years of PIM (28:16).Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joegaudreau/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

May 21, 2024 • 27min
The Intersection of Gaming and Commerce with Hashku’s Joel Ponce
This week, Dave speaks with Joel Ponce, Co-Founder and CEO of Hashku. Hashku is a leader in the gaming marketing and advertising space. Joel offers his expertise and perspective on the fast-growing but often-misunderstood world of gaming.They discuss how the evolution of gaming over the last decade inspired Joel to start his own company (6:46), how brands are working with Hashku (9:55) (the latest stats on the size and scale of the gaming industry (12:34), leveraging in-game items to influence commerce behavior (18:41), and how the next 12 months and beyond will push gaming from emerging channel to an established one, similar to retail media (21:24).Connect with Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelponce/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

May 14, 2024 • 33min
Thinking of Omnichannel as Part of the Greater Whole with The Partnering Group's Danny Silverman
Dave's guest this week is Danny Silverman, Partner - Digital Commerce Practice at The Partnering Group (TPG). Danny helped build Johnson & Johnson's eComm presence before pivoting to leading digital consultancies including Catapult Ecommerce and Flywheel. At TPG, he helps drive omnichannel ROI for leading retail and CPG companies.They discuss how Danny became passionate about marketing (3:58), learnings from his time at J&J (6:00) and why he pivoted to smaller companies (13:16), how marketing fills the gap between a perfect product and the reality of said product (17:02), how to properly advise decision-makers on their marketing budgets (24:08), and his predictions for the rest of 2024 (25:29).Connect with Danny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljsilverman/Check out Danny's YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@dannysilverman1459Get in touch with TPG to request a copy of "9 Digital Commerce Trends that are Shaping 2024": https://www.thepartneringgroup.com/contact-us/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

May 7, 2024 • 39min
Bringing Joy to Your Business with CVS Media Exchange's Parbinder Dhariwal
Dave has an illuminating conversation with Parbinder Dhariwal, VP and General Manager at CVS Media Exchange (CMX). For over 20 years Parbinder has had a successful career driving performance at multiple industry-leading global organizations, including Walmart Connect and Spotify, among many others.Parbinder shares the incredible story of his family's business (6:44), an overview of his previous experience working for big brands (11:34), what makes CMX stand out from other retail media networks (15:25), the transition from "trade dollars" to "brand dollars" driving retail media business, and what "Retail Media 3.0" looks like in the aftermath of cookie deprecation (29:09).Connect with Parbinder on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parbinderdhariwal/Learn more about CMX: https://www.cvsmediaexchange.com/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

Apr 30, 2024 • 31min
What a Great In-Store Experience Looks Like with Grocery TV's Marlow Nickell
Dave sits down with Marlow Nickell, Founder of Grocery TV, the largest digital advertising network in US grocery. With over 21,000 displays in grocery stores across the US, and over 200 retail partners, brands leverage Grocery TV to reach over 70 million shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores.They discuss Grocery TV's journey since its founding in 2016 (3:17), how in-store ties into overall retail media strategy (11:15), the growth of grocery in-store advertising in particular (17:43), and how the in-store space is evolving (22:30).Connect with Marlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlow-nickell/Learn more about Grocery TV: https://grocerytv.com/Take advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

Apr 23, 2024 • 42min
Commerce, Omni and Why with firstmovr's Chris Perry
Dave connects with Chris Perry, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer at firstmovr. firstmovr is an Omni Education and Change Management organization for CPGs, retailers and agencies. They host many industry events throughout the year and publish a number of free resources, including the recently-released ebook, "Omnigeddon: 2024 Commerce Expectations for Boomsday Preppers."Chris shares an overview of firstmovr (7:57), an outline of their "Smarter Growth" concept (13:21), some recent client creative examples he's a fan of (16:57), his hopes and concerns about AI (26:48), and his predictions for the next 12 months and beyond (34:02).Download "Omnigeddon" for free here: https://firstmovr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Omnigeddon.pdfConnect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://firstmovr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Omnigeddon.pdfGet in touch with the firstmovr team: hello@firstmovr.comTake advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

Apr 16, 2024 • 42min
Why Being the Voice of the Customer is So Important with Inmar Intelligence's Leah Logan
Dave's guest on today's show is Leah Logan, General Manager, Retail Media at Inmar Intelligence. Leah has been working within the retail media space for over 15 years. They discuss why you don't need to have all of the answers all of the time (10:39), an overview of Inmar Intelligence (11:39), why VoC is so important (16:20), 3 areas that brands are placing a big focus on (23:34), and how to tailor campaigns to reach "dual decision-makers" (28:53).Connect with Leah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-logan-a595668/Contact Inmar Solutions: solutions@inmar.comTake advantage of a special offer from It'sRapid and get a free image, video or banner ad by emailing sales@itsrapid.io with code "BEYOND2024"Learn more about ItsRapid: https://itsrapid.ai/Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker