The retail media landscape is undergoing rapid transformation, with AI technology reshaping how brands connect with consumers on retail platforms. At the forefront of this revolution stands AdFury.ai, a groundbreaking startup built from day one as an artificial intelligence company focused on solving retail media's most pressing challenges.
Becca Shaddox and Brandon "BV" Viveiros join the podcast to share their journey building AdFury.ai. With Becca's 17 years of technology experience at Walmart and BV's extensive background spanning from Nokia to Saatchi & Saatchi X, this leadership team brings uniquely relevant expertise to the retail media AI space. What sets them apart isn't just their impressive credentials, but their firsthand understanding of the inefficiencies and opportunities in retail media advertising.
AdFury's AI platform addresses a critical pain point for brands and agencies: creating relevant, high-performing display advertisements for retail media networks with unprecedented efficiency. Rather than requiring creative teams to produce countless variations of ads manually, their system allows brands to upload assets and guidelines once, then leverages generative AI to produce optimized creative at scale. The platform incorporates a continuous feedback loop, learning from performance data to improve future creative generation.
Starting with Walmart's retail media network but with plans to expand to other retailers, AdFury.ai is strategically positioned in Northwest Arkansas—the retail capital of the world. This location provides invaluable access to brands, agencies, and retail partners, creating a perfect environment for rapid iteration and growth. Their roadmap includes expanding beyond static display ads into video, connected TV, and social media formats.
For brands struggling with the complexity and resource requirements of retail media advertising, AdFury.ai represents a compelling solution that lowers barriers to entry while improving performance. As both retail media and AI continue their explosive growth, this team is uniquely positioned at the intersection of these transformative technologies.
Ready to transform your retail media advertising? Visit https://www.adfury.ai/ to learn how their AI platform can help your brand achieve greater efficiency, consistency, and performance in the rapidly evolving retail media landscape.
More About this Episode
How AdFury.ai Is Using AI to Reshape Retail Media Advertising
Retail media and AI have become the two most disruptive forces in the advertising world, and the collision of these domains is exactly where AdFury.ai is staking its claim. The company, born in the heart of Northwest Arkansas, is on a mission to radically transform how brands, agencies, and sellers approach display advertising. By marrying retail media networks with generative AI, AdFury.ai is creating a powerful engine that delivers scale, relevance, efficiency, and performance in a way few platforms can claim today.
In a conversation that spanned AI, retail disruption, and the startup journey, AdFury’s Chief Operating Officer, Becca Shaddox, and Chief Commercial Officer, Brandon “BV” Viveiros, offered a deep look into how the company is not just reacting to change but actively driving it.
The Problem with Traditional Retail Media Advertising
Retail media is exploding as Walmart, Target, Amazon, and many others are doubling down on their platforms. Yet, despite the growth, there’s a glaring issue: inefficiency.
Creating digital ads tailored for retail platforms like Walmart.com has traditionally required manual creative development, large teams, long lead times, and extensive coordination between brands and agencies. Each campaign demands multiple versions of creatives to match targeting strategies all while maintaining brand consistency and relevancy. It’s resource-intensive, costly, and, too often, not agile enough to capitalize on real-time consumer behaviors.
As Becca pointed out, the entire retail ad ecosystem is due for a massive overhaul, one that is now possible with the rise of advanced AI.
“The future is really around how you capitalize on AI to give brands the right information at the right time with the most relevancy,” she explained.
That’s where AdFury.ai steps in.
Introducing AdFury.ai: AI-Powered Display Ad Creation at Scale
AdFury.ai was founded to take the pain out of ad creation for retail media networks. Their solution uses generative AI to create and optimize ad assets specifically tailored for platforms like Walmart.com. With a single input, say, a product and basic brand guidelines, the system can generate multiple, retail-optimized creatives in seconds.
These aren’t just generic AI-generated banners. AdFury’s engine factors in:
- Retailer requirements (like sizing, formatting, placement-specific nuances)
- Brand guidelines (ensuring consistency across every asset)
- Audience targeting strategies (to deliver hyper-relevant messaging)
- Performance feedback loops (to learn and improve future campaigns)
And while their current focus is on static display ads, AdFury.ai has aggressive plans to expand into video, connected TV, and social media placements, all using the same foundational AI platform.
Built for Efficiency, Relevancy, and Optimization
The core of AdFury’s value proposition lies in three key pillars:
1. Efficiency
Traditionally, developing multiple ad variations could take days or even weeks. AdFury.ai cuts this down to minutes. As BV described it:
“You bring in all of the data, creative assets, retailer targeting information, brand guidelines, and our AI engine generates relevant creative that aligns with your strategy. One click can produce dozens of ad versions at scale.”
This allows brands to test, learn, and iterate faster than ever before.
2. Brand Consistency
One of the greatest challenges with scaled content creation is maintaining brand integrity. With multiple people working on campaigns across platforms, things get messy. But with AdFury’s centralized AI platform:
- Brand guidelines are built into the system.
- Assets are generated consistently across formats.
- Even smaller teams can produce agency-level creative with confidence.
This democratizes access to professional-quality advertising and helps brands stay on-message without needing deep creative benches.
3. Performance Optimization
AdFury’s platform includes feedback loops that allow it to learn from every campaign. If one version of an ad outperforms others, that insight is baked into future creative generations. This creates a continuous optimization cycle, making every campaign smarter and more targeted than the last.
Why Northwest Arkansas Is the Right Launchpad
While most startups of this nature might flock to tech hubs like San Francisco or New York, AdFury.ai is proudly rooted in Northwest Arkansas, and there’s good reason.
“This is the retail mecca of the world,” said Becca. “Walmart is in our backyard. Hundreds of brands and agencies operate here. It’s the perfect place to build and test a retail-focused ad tech platform.”
Being near Walmart provides unique access to one of the world’s most advanced retail media networks. It also offers real-world proximity to decision-makers at major brands who are investing heavily in advertising solutions that work for platforms like Walmart Connect.
Moreover, the region offers strong tech talent, a rising startup ecosystem, and a collaborative community that supports innovation, particularly in retail, logistics, and commerce.
A Startup Fueled by Experience and Vision
Becca and BV bring a rare blend of enterprise experience and startup drive. Becca spent 17 years at Walmart in tech leadership roles before diving into private equity and ultimately joining AdFury.ai. BV’s path includes a mix of the U.S. Air Force, Nokia, and agency work with Saatchi & Saatchi X, where he led digital programs for P&G and Coca-Cola.
When asked why they decided to join a startup, particularly in the later stages of their careers, the answer was clear: the problem is real, the technology is ready, and the opportunity is massive.
“Retail media and AI were the two dominant conversations in my last three years at Saatchi,” BV said. “What excites me is that AdFury brings both together in a way no one else is doing.”
Validating the Vision in Las Vegas
Earlier this year, the AdFury.ai team took their MVP on the road, showcasing their platform at two major conferences: the Adobe Summit and Shoptalk in Las Vegas.
At Adobe Summit, they focused on creative professionals, while Shoptalk brought together retail media leaders, brands, and platforms.
“We talked to people who would use our platform and people who would benefit from it,” Becca said. “What we heard, again and again, was: this is the solution we’ve been looking for.”
The trip validated their approach and gave the team immediate user feedback to improve the product. That input led to enhancements in the platform’s UX and workflow, as well as refinements in the AI engine.
It also strengthened their conviction: they’re solving a real pain point at the exact right time.
What’s Next: Video, Multi-Retail Expansion, and a Smarter AI
While AdFury.ai is already live with Walmart and static display ads, its roadmap is expansive.
- Video is a fast-follow feature, with plans to support sponsored brand videos, connected TV, and even social video formats.
- Multi-retailer support is on the horizon, enabling brands to create and publish campaigns across multiple retail media networks from one platform.
- AI advancements will continue to push the platform from reactive ad generation to proactive campaign guidance, anticipating what brands need before they even ask.
And, as Becca shared, their dev team is energized by the challenge. “We never hear ‘we can’t do that.’ The team always says, ‘let’s figure out how.’ That’s how we’re building this.”
Lowering the Barrier to Entry
Smaller sellers and marketplace vendors who might not have full creative teams can use the platform to generate high-quality, relevant ads without needing deep technical or design resources.
That opens up new levels of competition in retail media and gives more players a chance to succeed, something both Becca and BV are passionate about.
A Retail Disruption Engine Built for the Future
Retail media isn’t just growing; it’s fundamentally changing how brands interact with shoppers. AI is the engine powering that change, and AdFury.ai is one of the few platforms purpose-built from day one to harness AI’s full potential in retail ad tech.
In the midst of disruption, AdFury.ai offers clarity. In a sea of complexity, it delivers efficiency. And in an era where relevancy is king, it brings real-time intelligence to every campaign.
For any brand, agency, or seller looking to scale faster, work smarter, and advertise more effectively, AdFury.ai might just be your unfair advantage.
Want to learn more or request access?
Visit AdFury.ai or email the team directly at:
- becca@adfury.ai
- bv@adfury.ai
Stay connected with their progress on LinkedIn, and keep an eye on this company. They’re just getting started.
