Tokinomo

Tokinomo, a Romanian-founded startup established in 2017, operates within the retail media technology space, offering a novel solution for in-store marketing. The company was co-founded by Ionut Vlad, who now serves as CEO, and Laurentiu Cluve. The idea stemmed from Vlad's experience as an art director in advertising, where he identified a lack of effective and creative marketing strategies within brick-and-mortar stores. Cluve contributed his extensive background in brand activation, gained from years as an event manager. They recognized that while digital marketing was advancing rapidly, in-store promotion remained comparatively static.

Tokinomo has engineered a patented, robotic point-of-sale marketing (POSM) device designed to capture shopper attention at the shelf. This system utilizes a combination of motion sensors, sound, light, and movement to make products appear to come to life—talking, dancing, or singing as a customer approaches. Each robotic unit is connected to a cloud-based platform, allowing for remote management of campaigns. Clients, primarily Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands, retailers, and in-store marketing agencies, can change audio files, motion patterns, and monitor campaign performance in real-time across multiple locations. This approach reportedly boosts sales by an average of 200%.

The company's business model involves distributing its robotic systems through partnerships with local in-store and shopper marketing agencies in over 40 countries. For retailers and retail media agencies, Tokinomo's solution offers a new revenue stream by monetizing shelf space. Since its inception, the company has secured $2.48 million in funding over two seed rounds, with the latest being a $1.7 million pre-Series A round in February 2022. This capital is being used to expand the product line, hire key personnel, and support global partners. Notable achievements include surpassing €1 million in revenue in December 2021 and receiving multiple international awards for retail innovation.

Keywords: retail media tech, in-store marketing, shopper engagement, point-of-sale display, brand activation, FMCG advertising, retail robotics, POP marketing, experiential marketing, customer engagement solution, point-of-sale marketing, brand visibility, consumer packaged goods marketing, cloud-based advertising, remote campaign management, retail innovation, interactive displays, motion sensor advertising, retail analytics, sales lift technology