Woolworths Group has announced the launch of a new stand-alone media business, which it has called Cartology.
According to Woolworths, the new business will ensure supplier partners are able to better communicate and engage with customers along the path to purchase.
“At Woolworths, we know in order to continue to grow our business in the future, we need to better connect our customers in a relevant and engaging way with our brands and the products we sell,” Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said.
“We’ve been watching closely how other large-scale retail businesses internationally are better engaging customers along the path to purchase. Many are now leveraging new digital and data technologies to become major media businesses in their own right.
“In Australia, we’re well placed to provide a platform for our suppliers to engage potential customers. We had close to a billion searches to our websites for food and drinks in the past year alone. We also know our suppliers are looking for simplified ways to engage with customers.”
Mr Banducci says Woolworths established Cartology to provide a more streamlined approach for suppliers. This includes the ability to communicate better with customers via in-store, digital and other media assets.
“It’s an exciting time for our partnerships,” he said. “We look forward to working closely with suppliers and industry as we launch the business and further innovate the retail media landscape in Australia.”
The team behind Cartology
With over 25 years of experience in media across ANZ and South-East Asia, Mike Tyquin will become Cartology’s Managing Director.
Rod Evenden, who has been with Woolworths for over 35 years, is now Cartology’s General Manager – Operations.
“Having led some of Australia’s leading media operators, Mike brings with him a wealth of knowledge in media strategy and developing customer facing technologies and channels,” Mr Banducci said.
“Along with Rod’s extensive experience in marketing operations and connections within our business, we believe we have a leadership team that can spearhead a business to deliver on the future communications needs of our partners.”
Woolworths says that Cartology will “progressively replace” the existing media selling model and arrangement within the Group. The team at Cartology will include team members joining from Quantium 1:1 media, TMS Australia and the MediaHub. All currently work with suppliers on media across the Woolworths Group.