Beyond The Shelf

Dave’s guest this week is Carly McMillen, Director of Marketing at AdLabs. Carly shares how she’s flipping the traditional PPC playbook—focusing on contribution margin instead of ROAS—and what that means for smarter, more sustainable growth. She and Dave also dive into how brands can stand out on Amazon, the creative strategies that still make a difference, and the new AI tools changing the way advertisers test and optimize campaigns.

Plus, Carly breaks down what’s next for Amazon Marketing Cloud and why data-driven storytelling is quickly becoming every brand’s biggest advantage.

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week we're re-airing our 10/21/25 episode featuring Joanna Crishock, VP of Digital Merchandising & Operations at Ahold Delhaize USA. She shares how she’s helping iconic brands like Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Giant Food, and The Giant Company stay agile, customer-focused, and digitally connected.  From her early days in consumer insights to leading omnichannel strategy across merchandising, operations, and retail media, Joanna brings a powerful “why-first” mindset to every challenge.

Dave and Joanna discuss:

• How to bridge retail media and merchandising teams
• What true customer-centricity looks like in digital retail
• Why asking why is the key to better strategy and collaboration
• How Joanna’s team helps brands deliver personalized, seamless experiences
• What makes AD USA’s retail media offering stand out

Plus: from Halloween treat planning to back-to-school dinners, why the best retailers solve for real life, not just transactions.

To find out more about AD USA's retail media and full-funnel omnichannel capabilities, reach out to a member of their sales team at [email protected]

Connect with Joanna on LinkedIn

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week Dave is joined by Molly Hjelm, Corporate Vice President & Head of Retail Media at Ace Hardware's RedVest Media, . Molly shares what it takes to build a retail media network from scratch, while honoring the voice of thousands of independently owned stores.

She breaks down what hyperlocal really means (it’s not just geography), how she applied learnings from grocery and dollar, and why in-store activation still matters in a digital-first world.

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week on Beyond the Shelf, we’re joined by Carter Zwick, Partnerships and Insights Lead at Snag, a retail activation platform helping brands get in front of the Gen Z shopper with smarter sampling and real-world insights.

College students are some of the most valuable—and most overlooked—shoppers in the market today. So how do you reach them early and build brand loyalty that lasts?

Carter shares how his own caffeine habits were shaped in a college dorm room, why brands need to meet students where they are (physically and emotionally), and how to turn sampling into something measurable, actionable, and long-term.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the college campus is one of the most powerful—and underutilized—marketing arenas
• How early brand experiences shape long-term loyalty
• What new brands can do to win share from legacy competitors
• Why product sampling isn’t just for awareness—it’s a long game

Connect with Carter on LinkedIn

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week's guest is Ash McMullen, Head of E-Commerce at Advantice Health.  At Advantice, Ash leads eCommerce and Amazon strategy for the brands Kerasal, AmLactin, Triple Paste, Dermoplast, New-Skin and Domeboro.  

Dave and Ash explore:

• How Ash helped scale her dad’s Amazon business before agencies were even a thing
• Why audience and content come before product in today’s innovation cycles
• What it takes to rebrand brick-and-mortar hero products for today’s digital-first world
• Why micro-influencers are gaining ground
• How Ash builds teams that thrive through chaos (and Prime Day curveballs)

Connect with Ash on LinkedIn

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week we're re-airing our episode from this past August with Paco Underhill, renowned behavioral researcher, retail anthropologist, and best-selling author of Why We Buy.

Paco has spent decades studying how and why we shop—and what our behavior reveals about the changing nature of retail. In this episode, he and Dave dig into:

• How physical stores are evolving in a digital-first world
• The surprising shopper trend reshaping the beauty category
• What AI can’t replicate when it comes to in-store experiences
• The friction points modern brands must solve to win customer loyalty

Whether you're in eCommerce, store design, or brand strategy, this conversation is packed with timeless insights from one of retail’s most influential thinkers.

Connect with Paco on LinkedIn

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week Dave is joined by Joanna Crishock, VP of Digital Merchandising & Operations at Ahold Delhaize USA. She shares how she’s helping iconic brands like Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Giant Food, and The Giant Company stay agile, customer-focused, and digitally connected.  From her early days in consumer insights to leading omnichannel strategy across merchandising, operations, and retail media, Joanna brings a powerful “why-first” mindset to every challenge.

Dave and Joanna discuss:

• How to bridge retail media and merchandising teams
• What true customer-centricity looks like in digital retail
• Why asking why is the key to better strategy and collaboration
• How Joanna’s team helps brands deliver personalized, seamless experiences
• What makes AD USA’s retail media offering stand out

Plus: from Halloween treat planning to back-to-school dinners, why the best retailers solve for real life, not just transactions.

To find out more about AD USA's retail media and full-funnel omnichannel capabilities, reach out to a member of their sales team at [email protected]

Connect with Joanna on LinkedIn

Follow Beyond the Shelf on LinkedIn

Learn More about It'sRapid

Get the It’sRapid Creative Automation Playbook

Take It’sRapid’s Creative Workflow Automation with AI survey

Email us at [email protected] to find out how to get your free AI Image Audit

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

What does it take to digitally transform a $50 billion supply chain business?

This week's guest, Murat Genc, President and Chief Information & Digital Officer at McLane Company, shares how he’s helping a 130-year-old company embrace the future of technology.

From his early days building algorithms in college to leading transformations at P&G, Whirlpool, and now McLane, Murat brings a rare blend of technical depth, leadership savvy, and startup mentality to every challenge he faces.

You'll learn about:

• The “always-on” mindset driving McLane’s modernization
• Building AI assistants that work across every department
• How emerging brands are breaking through with McLane’s help
• What it really takes to scale transformation across legacy systems

Connect with Murat on LinkedIn

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Get the It’sRapid Creative Automation Playbook

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week's guest is Brian Anthony.  Brian  was in retail media before it was even called retail media. From his early days at Triad, helping launch the first LeBron James campaigns on walmart.com, to his current work shaping strategy across RMNs and brands, Brian brings a wealth of perspective to the evolution of the space.

In this episode, he and Dave talk about:

• The early days of retail media and how far it’s come
• What makes great creative (hint: simplicity, alignment, and execution)
• How to bridge the gap between brand and retailer voice
• Why data is only as good as the creative that brings it to life
• Tips for streamlining approval workflows and avoiding late-stage breakdowns
• What every brand should be asking before launching a campaign

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

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Learn More about It'sRapid

Get the It’sRapid Creative Automation Playbook

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker

This week we welcome Melissa Burdick, Co-Founder and President of Pacvue, the leading Commerce Operating System that unifies retail media, commerce management, and measurement. A former Amazon executive with nearly a decade of experience, Burdick helped launch Amazon’s CPG/Health & Beauty retail business and was an early leader in Amazon Advertising. In 2018, she co-founded and bootstrapped Pacvue, scaling it from a startup into a global company with over 700 employees, supporting more than 70,000 brands and agencies across 95+ retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Instacart. Under her leadership, Pacvue tripled its revenue annually, leading to a high-profile acquisition in 2021. Recognized as a thought leader in the commerce and retail media space, Burdick has been named an Inc. Top 100 Female Founder, Ad Age Leading Woman, P2PI Woman of Excellence, and Campaign’s Most Inspiring Woman. She is also a designated Amazon Ambassador and a frequent media commentator, appearing on platforms such as Bloomberg Technology. 

In this episode, Dave and Melissa cover:

• The founding story of Pacvue and its explosive growth
• Why retail media needs more than automation
• How TikTok is rewriting the rules of discovery commerce
• The AI use cases that are actually working
• Why ROAS might need a rebrand

Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn

Follow Beyond the Shelf on LinkedIn

Learn More about It'sRapid

Get the It’sRapid Creative Automation Playbook

Take It’sRapid’s Creative Workflow Automation with AI survey

Email us at [email protected] to find out how to get your free AI Image Audit

Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker