‘Pinch me moment’: Walmart’s Justin Breton added to Ad Council’s Emerging Media & Technology Committee

Justin Breton, Walmart Director of Brand Experiences and Strategic Partnerships, has joined the Ad Council’s Emerging Media & Technology Committee.

Ad Council is a non-profit organisation that brings together major players in advertising, media and tech to address worthy causes and complex social issues.

In a LinkedIn post, Breton said: “I’m incredibly honoured to share I’ve joined the Ad Council’s Emerging Media & Technology Committee, led by Laurie Keith, alongside some inspiring leaders, including Avery Akkineni of VaynerX, Dong Chen of Reddit, Stephanie Latham of Roblox, Lane Dilg of OpenAI, Julie Towns of Pinterest, and several others.”

He added: “The EMTC is a select group of visionary marketers who lead emerging media and technology at their companies and are committed to helping the Ad Council drive impact across various campaigns.”

“The committee will guide the Ad Council on how to leverage emerging platforms and new technology to harness meaningful good.”

“This is another one of those pinch me moments in my career. It’s not everyday you get to surround yourself with individuals who are leading the charge on the future of socialising, shopping, learning, and more.”

“I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and learnings with the committee, but also learning from all them as well.”

Walmart Discovered

In April, we reported that Walmart was now able to sell physical goods directly to users inside Roblox.

Walmart Discovered users can have real-life items shipped directly to their doorsteps.

They are greeted with a new storefront showcasing virtual twins of select items sold at physical Walmart stores. The feature is gated specifically to users aged 13 or older in the United States only.

“There is a traditional sort of checkout flow where you put your name, your address and your credit card information, and that’s all powered by a Walmart API that handles all of the information super securely - it’s very safe,” Breton told Digiday.

“And once you hit checkout, you’ll get your confirmation email from Walmart. All of that is handled by us on the back end, the user will then get their item in the mail, but the virtual twin is granted immediately back on Roblox.”

A pilot is currently live, and now the next real-world commerce drop is here, just in time for summer.

Breton said: “The best part about this drop? All of the real-world items are less than $10! An .Onn Wireless Speaker for sunset in the park? Yes! A Goody Tru Headband after an afternoon in the pool? Absolutely! A colourful No Boundaries pouch for a day at the beach? Duh!”

He added: “For this summer themed drop, we partnered with three Roblox creators from our community: GreenPigXD, Raekaro, and SimplyALemon. Each chose a real-world item from Walmart.com and designed a corresponding virtual twin inspired by their UGC aesthetic.”

Users in the US can buy these real-world items and unlock the free virtual twin, all on Roblox.

Breton said: “We’re shortening the distance between inspiration and commerce and making it easier for the next generation of Walmart customers to discover and buy trending items from Walmart.com, all on a platform they know, love, and trust.”

“We’re thrilled by our initial results and excited to continue testing, learning, and optimising our real-world commerce offering alongside our partners at Roblox.”