Cartology 2024 Wrap-Up: Supercharging Partnerships and Expanding Retail Media Horizons

Supercharging Partnerships and Expanding Retail Media Horizons

As we close out an exciting year here at Cartology, it’s clear that 2024 has been one of remarkable growth, impactful partnerships, and groundbreaking innovations in Retail Media. Here’s a look back at some key milestones and what they mean for our valued partners.

“As we look ahead to 2025, our focus remains on driving innovation and creating even stronger connections between brands and their customers," says Tom Windeyer, GM Commercial Development & New Business at Cartology. "We’re excited to build on this year’s successes by expanding our reach, enhancing our insights, and delivering even more impactful solutions for our partners."

Supporting our Retail Out of Home Growth

This year, we reinforced our commitment to delivering tailored, impactful solutions by welcoming David Fernandez as our new Head of Growth. David’s expertise from Group M, Meta, and Western Union ensures we are better positioned to deepen relationships with agency groups and create long-term value for all stakeholders. His vision is clear: to enable our partners to leverage the full potential of retail media, ensuring meaningful engagement with their customers.

In David’s words, “I’m excited to collaborate more deeply with agency partners and enable them to unlock the power of retail media in their strategies.”

In addition, Amanda Davoren stepped into the role of Head of Product (Retail Out-of-Home) after three successful years with Cartology’s Client Strategy Team. Having previously worked with global OOH leaders like Clear Channel and Ocean Outdoor in the UK, Amanda brings extensive experience in driving the digitisation of out-of-home media.

Retail Out-of-Home Network Expands with Mirvac and Vicinity Partnerships

Our Retail Out of Home (ROOH) footprint reached new heights in 2024. Highlights include:

• Renewal with Mirvac: We added Sydney’s iconic Broadway Centre to our network, with over 11 million annual visits and 140 local and international brands.

• Vicinity Rollout Milestone: Over 1,000 screens went live this year, including almost 100 new screens at Chadstone, Australia’s largest shopping centre.
  These expansions bring our total ROOH screen network to more than 3,300, complementing our 1,900 in-store screens across Woolworths, BIG W, and Woolworths Metro locations.

With this scale, we’re helping brands connect to customers across  over 530 shopping centres nationwide.

Innovating with Insights: Partnering with CommBank iQ

This year sawCartology form a strategic partnership with CommBank iQ, strengthening its non-FMCG campaign targeting and measurement solution across Retail Out of Home. 

CommBank iQ, a joint venture between Commonwealth Bank and Quantium, uses deidentified payment data from approximately 7 million Australians, or approximately 30% of all spending, to understand spending trends. This provides brands with actual and timely insight into the purchasing behaviour of Australians across over 100 segments.

For example, we can now help an activewear brand understand where their target audience has purchased in the last 12 months and at a shopping centre level, target their retail out of home campaign to those centres.

As Steve Geelan, Cartology’s Director of ROOH, explained, “Marketers need smarter solutions. CommBank iQ allows us to deliver precision targeting and robust measurement, ensuring campaigns resonate where it matters most.”

Where to From Here?

As we close out 2024, retail in Australia is set to heat up alongside the summer sun. Australians are gearing up for Christmas, with $14 billion predicted to be spent on food retail in December and an impressive $50.8 billion in discretionary household spend over November and December last year. This season also brings 3.2 million additional Woolworths customer visits over summer, whether they’re shopping in their hometowns or while on vacation in regional Australia.

"As summer heats up Retail Out of Home, we remain steadfast in our mission to connect brands and customers in meaningful ways," says Tom Windeyer. "Looking ahead to 2025, we’re focused on expanding opportunities for our partners by delivering even greater insights, scale, and innovation. Together, we’ll continue shaping the future of Retail Media."

Looking Ahead

As we wrap up an incredible year, we’d like to thank our partners for being part of the Cartology journey. Your collaboration and trust are at the heart of everything we do.

Here’s to a joyous holiday season and an even more prosperous 2025. From all of us at Cartology, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a fantastic New Year!