Independent and regional grocers don’t just need impressions—they need measurable lift. In this episode of GroceryPulse, host George Goodwin (4th-gen grocer & founder of Innovar Marketing) sits down with Steve Dietch, Chief Revenue Officer at Bridge and retail-media network Ripple, to unpack how identity resolution and POS-level purchase data are changing the game for regional chains and C-stores.

Bridge/Ripple helps retailers identify unknown shoppers (beyond loyalty programs), unify first-party data, and then activate audiences across the open web, video, and CTV—with closed-loop measurement back to the register. For CPGs, that means scalable, hard-to-reach audiences at regional grocers and convenience—plus transparent IROAS (incremental return on ad spend).

• How identity beyond loyalty unlocks true scale for regional grocers

• Why POS item-level data is the “crown jewel” for targeting & measurement

• How Ripple aggregates retailers into a national-scale network for CPG spend

• Practical ways CPGs use these audiences for off-site media (Google, Yahoo, TTD, CTV)

• What metrics matter most (closed-loop transparency & incremental ROAS)

When every campaign targets real purchasers—and reports back to POS—you move from “awareness” to accountable revenue.

00:00 — Intro to GroceryPulse + guest setup
03:03 — Steve’s journey: UCR track → global tech → startups → CRO at Bridge
05:56 — Retail media’s rise & why it matters to grocers/CPGs
08:51 — Identity beyond loyalty: closing the “unknown shopper” gap
12:01 — Using purchase data for competitive advantage
14:51 — Building a retail-media network for regional grocers & C-stores (Ripple)
17:47 — Connecting transactions to anonymized, enriched shopper profiles
20:49 — What this unlocks for CPG targeting, activation & measurement
24:29 — Defining customer personas with real purchase behavior
26:03 — Retailer & CPG pain points—and how identity solves them
29:27 — POS data as the crown jewel: targeting + closed-loop proof
32:08 — Bridging the retail marketing gap beyond loyalty programs
34:06 — Getting precise with ICPs (who, where, how to reach)
38:54 — Common hesitations & easy on-ramps for retailers/CPGs
41:22 — Success metrics: sales lift, ROAS, incremental ROAS
44:02 — What’s next: growth, scale, and transparency in 2025

• Bridge / Ripple: Audience building, activation, and POS-based measurement

• Request a demo (Ripple): ripplenet.com

• Learn more (Bridge): bridge.com

• Will be published on all major boradcasting sites:

  YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more!

• • Steve Dietch — LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevendietch/

    steve.dietch@bridg.com

  • George Goodwin — LinkedIn

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/number-one-marketer/

    george@innovaragency.com

    podcast@innovaragency.com

  • Innovar Marketing Agency — www.innovaragency.com/blog

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