At this year’s Expo West, one theme stood out for growth-minded brands: retail media—especially on Amazon—is no longer optional. That was clear in a conversation between Sreenath Reddy of Intentwise and Jessica Wright, CEO of AO2, a full-service retail media agency and tech partner of Intentwise. For Jessica, Expo West is a strategic opportunity to prospect new clients, deepen relationships with partners like Intentwise, and expand AO2’s network in ways that can turn into collaborations and long-term growth. She sees the show as a place where meaningful partnerships begin.
Jessica observes two major shifts this year. “Protein” has become a dominant buzzword, with many brands leaning into high-protein positioning. More crucially for AO2’s work, brands are now far more open to Amazon, Walmart, and retail media in general than in the past, when many preferred to focus on traditional retail or their own DTC sites and resisted selling on Amazon. That resistance is fading, creating a strong opportunity for agencies like AO2.
AO2’s message to both emerging and mature brands is straightforward: to gain attention and scale, you need to be on Amazon. Jessica cites a recent success where AO2 used Amazon grocery advertising tied to Whole Foods to help a brand grow its Whole Foods business by about 94%, leading to much broader distribution. It shows how Amazon advertising can fuel not just Amazon sales but also physical retail expansion.
AI is another major focus in Jessica’s conversations. AO2 is talking with brands about Amazon’s AI-driven experiences, including Amazon Rufus, the AI shopping assistant. These systems are changing how consumers discover and purchase products on and off Amazon. AI can decide which brand best matches a shopper’s intent and may even send a shopper off-platform to buy elsewhere, which raises the stakes for brands to optimize their content and positioning so AI chooses them over competitors. Looking to next year, Jessica expects deeper integration between Amazon and brands’ DTC sites, driven by programs like Multi-Channel Fulfillment and Buy with Prime, and by AI tools like Rufus. She envisions an “Amazon plus DTC” era where Amazon and DTC work together as a connected growth engine, with AO2 helping brands navigate this evolving, AI-driven retail landscape.
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