Beyond The Shelf
This show is an open exploration of the people and process behind E-Commerce. Through conversations with innovators in the space, we learn the stories of these leaders and their strategies for E-Commerce success. You can join our mailing list and access more content at itsrapid.ai.
David's past guests have included: Bryan Gildenberg from the CPG Guys, Todd Hassenfelt from Colgate-Palmolive, Anne Zybowski from Circana, Randy Mercer from 1WorldSync, Jared Taitel from PepsiCo, David Novak from Salsify, Harvey Ma from Albertsons Media Collective, Carter Jensen from General Mills, Pam Perino from Ghirardelli Chocolate, and many more.
Beyond The Shelf
The Infinite Loop of E-Commerce – with Russell Stover's Celia Van Wickel
This week we’re joined by Celia Van Wickel, Director of Digital Commerce at Russell Stover Chocolates. With a background spanning media, data, neuroscience, and digital commerce, Celia brings a rare and well-rounded perspective to the fast-evolving world of retail media and e-commerce.
She and Dave cover everything from aligning marketing and sales for seasonal campaigns to how neuroscience influences creative performance. Celia shares how Russell Stover is modernizing a 100-year-old brand across Amazon, Instacart, and other digital platforms, while also offering a thought-provoking look at the future of AI-powered discovery and what she calls “the infinite loop” of commerce.
This episode is packed with strategic and tactical insights for marketers navigating today’s fragmented, fast-moving digital landscape.
Episode Highlights
- How Russell Stover aligns retail media strategy across departments to drive consistency and performance during key seasonal moments like Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
- What it takes to modernize creative while staying true to brand identity—and why being product-focused still wins in retail media.
- Why AI will reshape the entire path to purchase, creating a more immersive and seamless shopping experience that blends discovery, content, and commerce.
- How neuroscience and shopper behavior inform Celia’s approach to content design, ad testing, and retail media optimization.
- The origin of Russell Stover’s partnership with It’s Rapid, and how a need for faster retail media asset development turned into a streamlined creative production workflow.
Rapid Rundown Answers
- Which ancient civilization first used cacao beans? The Olmecs
- Which country consumes the most chocolate per capita? Switzerland
- Who invented milk chocolate in 1875? Daniel Peter
- What was the first mass-produced chocolate bar? Fry’s Chocolate Cream
- What birthday did Russell Stover celebrate in 2023? 100!
- Celia’s favorite ways to decompress: long walks, brunch, and industry podcasts
Connect with Celia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celiavanwickel
Follow Beyond the Shelf: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/beyond-the-shelf-podcast
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Email us at sales@rapidads.io with code “BEYOND2025” to find out how you can save more than $1,000 on our Digital Sell Sheets and Retail Media Automation solutions
Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com
Producer: Jake Musiker