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

INDIANAPOLIS - 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 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. To learn more about Vibenomics and their relationship with Kroger, visit https://www.vibenomics.com.

About Vibenomics:

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.