Shopfully appoints Blake Wright to boost Australian retail media

Shopfully has appointed Blake Wright as Sales Director for Brand & Media Agencies in Australia as the company aims to boost its presence in the local retail media sector.

Blake Wright returns to Shopfully following nearly three years as Head of Sales at Are Media, a major publisher in Australia, where he led the company's digital sales transformation and managed a transition towards a digital-first operational model. During his previous tenure at Shopfully in 2021-2022, Wright was instrumental in establishing the company's brand function in the Australian market.

Wright is set to bring established international retail media models from regions such as Europe, Latin America, and North America to Shopfully's Australian operations. His experience spans a range of verticals, including consumer packaged goods, beauty, electronics, health, and parenting and kids' categories. With a track record of scaling digital revenues and building successful brand and agency partnerships, Wright's appointment marks a strategic step in Shopfully's local expansion plans.

Brendan Straw, Country Manager Shopfully Australia, said:

Bringing Blake back into the fold is a massive win for Shopfully. His expertise across digital content, retail, performance media and his deep relationships across the agency and brand ecosystem are precisely what we need to rapidly scale our proven success here. We're building a truly global, omnichannel force in retail media, and Blake is the perfect leader to spearhead our efforts.

Shopfully's latest executive appointment follows the company's recent consolidation with Canadian firm Flipp and European organisation MEDIA Central. The combined entity, Shopfully, now represents the world's largest drive-to-store marketing specialist, facilitating access to over 400 million shoppers across 27 global markets. This consolidation aims to support retailers and brands in connecting with customers across both print and digital channels, providing measurable impact on shopper discovery and purchase behaviour.

Blake Wright commented on his return to Shopfully:

I'm incredibly excited to return to Shopfully at such a pivotal moment for retail media in Australia. Shopfully has proven its strength here and abroad, and I'm looking forward to driving its next phase of growth by deepening our relationships with brands and agencies and continuing to innovate at the intersection of digital media, commerce, and drive-to-store.

Wright's appointment is expected to help drive Shopfully's strategy of providing a retailer-agnostic platform, enabling brands to engage with high-intent shoppers at scale in the expanding retail media landscape. As the lines between digital media and retail commerce increasingly converge, Shopfully's model gives brands the flexibility to reach in-market customers through both existing and emerging media channels.

Shopfully's unification with Flipp and MEDIA Central is designed to revolutionise how brands and retailers transition between print and digital channels. By leveraging an AI-powered platform and data from a wide shopper base, the company enables advanced merchandising and measurable engagement for its clients.

The Shopfully leadership team expects Wright's experience in managing change across media and fostering new approaches to digital commerce to benefit the company's Australian clients as they adapt to the evolving landscape of retail media.