Australian Venue Co. (AVC), a hospitality operator, has announced the appointment of Uno de Waal as head of retail media. Waal will spearhead the launch and growth of AVC’s retail media platform, AVC experience+.
In this role, Waal will be responsible for managing AVC’s buyable assets across digital channels (including loyalty app The Pass and me&u), social channels, and in-venue including screens and activations.
He will manage retail media operations, engage advertisers and oversee the development and dispatch of campaigns. In his role, Waal will also leverage AVC’s first-party customer data to provide performance optimisations and recommendations to advertisers.
AVC experience+ offers a ‘lifestyle retail media’ proposition. Advertisers can execute creative, immersive, and culturally relevant activations and offers to strengthen relationships with customers, promote new product developments and encourage trial.
“I am excited to grow one of Australia’s most dynamic retail media networks,” said Waal. “AVC experience+ offers a unique opportunity to engage audiences while they’re open-minded, making it perfect for brands that want to connect with their audience innovatively and authentically, or encourage product trial”.
Waal has a background in entrepreneurship and media, having founded a publisher for the creative industry in South Africa, called Between 10 and 5. His background extends to creative, media, and publishing agencies, having led agency teams and accounts in the alcohol space, including AB InBev, Pernod, Diageo, Treasury Wines, and Paramount Liquor, across Australia and South Africa.
“We are delighted to welcome Uno to the AVC team. His extensive media experience and innovative approach make him the perfect fit to lead AVC experience+, we are confident this platform will become a key player in the retail media space,” Marianne Mewett, AVC chief experience officer added.
AVC manages over 220 pubs, bars, and event spaces across Australia and New Zealand. With 15.6 million annual visitors and 28.8 million transactions across metro, suburban and regional venues, the platform offers both national scale and hyper-localisation.
