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Fishers-based marketing tech firm Vibenomics, whose customers include some of the biggest names in U.S. retail, is now working to replicate that success in other countries.
The company recently hired London-based Brendan Carey to head up its international expansion efforts, starting with Europe. Carey, who joined Vibenomics in June, said he’s in talks with potential clients and expects the company to land its first European customers next year.
Vibenomics, which launched in 2016, offers retailers and advertisers a way to deliver marketing messages—things like audio advertising and digital signage—to in-store shoppers. The company’s technology allows retailers to bring the data and ad-targeting capabilities of online retail into the physical store.
The company’s technology is in use at more than 25,000 store locations across the U.S.—mostly grocery stores, including Cincinnati-based Kroger, with about 2,300 locations, and Iowa-based Hy-Vee, which operates more than 400 grocery and convenience store locations. This summer Vibenomics landed another big customer: North Carolina-based home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos. Inc., which has more than 1,700 store locations.
Carey said the concept of digital in-store media first launched in the U.S. and is just now in its early stages in Europe—which presents a big opportunity for Vibenomics.
“The U.S. is just far more mature as a marketplace,” Carey said. “We really have a first-to-market opportunity here [in Europe].”
Another advantage, Carey said, is that Vibenomics’ parent company, Austin, Texas-based Mood Media, already has an international presence. Mood Media, which acquired Vibenomics last year, is a much larger company, with about 900 employees as compared to about 50 at Vibenomics. Mood also has offices in more than 30 countries around the world, including in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.
“We have the opportunity to meet a lot of retailers through the Mood network,” Carey said.
Though Carey is focusing most of his effort on Europe right now, he said he also sees opportunities for Vibenomics in the Middle East and in southeast Asia, including countries like Dubai, Abu Dabi, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, among others.
Adding customers outside of the U.S. represents a huge milestone for Vibenomics, Carey said. “It will be transformational for us.”
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