Target has always looked for new ways to serve our guests and grow our business. What started in 2007 with just five team members is now an 800-plus-person strong team, fully integrated within Target and spanning across major U.S. cities. Since 2018, the Roundel team has grown by nearly 50%, bringing in talent across data science, partner solutions, engineering and more.
The result? A stronger connection between brands and our guests through curated media experiences designed by Target. Year after year, Roundel delivers results, helping guests save time and money while driving business outcomes for our partners.
What is Roundel?
Roundel is Target’s retail media business. We use our deep guest insights to create smart, personalized ad campaigns that bring guests the offers and products they love.
Roundel works with over 2,000 vendors to deliver advertising that feels uniquely Target, showing up at the right time, in the right place. That could be on Target.com, our mobile app or across 150+ brand positive and brand safe premium publishers like Pinterest, PopSugar and NBC Universal. We partner with global brands like Apple and Mars Wrigley to create seamless media moments for our guests.
Roundel now generates nearly $2 billion of value for Target, which includes ad revenue within our topline Net Sales and contributions that offset both Cost of Sales and Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses — all while creating connections with consumers and brands that we believe will double in size in the next five years.
How we’re different
Roundel builds on the trust guests have in Target to offer a distinct media experience. Here’s what sets us apart:
- We connect brands to more than 165 million omnichannel guests through curated placements, best-in-class creative and advanced targeting.
- In 2024 alone, we drove more than 250 million visits to Target properties. More than 30% of partner media spend happened off Target’s owned platforms, expanding reach across social, streaming and other digital channels.
- Our media footprint now includes 40+ new premium publishers and app inventory, including The New York Times, AMC Networks, Hearst, BuzzFeed and USA Today.
- We work across teams through a “One Target” approach, collaborating with Merchandising and Marketing to ensure relevance at every guest touchpoint.
- Guests are five times more likely to trust ads from Target than from brands they haven’t purchased before.* Our audiences are trend-forward, engaged and genuinely enjoy shopping.
- We deliver seamless, insight-driven media across both Target-owned and partner platforms — powered by tools like Programmatic by Roundel.
- With one of the largest free loyalty programs in the U.S., Target Circle powers Roundel’s deep understanding of guest behavior — helping to create meaningful connections between brand partners and guests.
What’s new
We’re continuing to invest in new ways to help our partners grow:
- Target Product Ads (TPAs) by Roundel: Ads that meet guests where they’re already browsing, backed by Target’s rich data. These placements saw more than 35% sales growth in 2024 and a strong return on ad spend (ROAS).
- Second Price Auction: Our new bidding approach for Target Product Ads, designed to drive competitive pricing and better return for partners.
- Roundel Media Studio: A new self-service tool that makes it easier for brands of all sizes, including those in our Target Plus marketplace, to access Target Product Ads inventory.
- Measurement: Our new Matched Market Model for ad incrementality measures the impact of advertiser sales and uses a geo-holdout approach to add an industry-preferred gold standard methodology for measuring marketing effectiveness.
- Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH): Eye-catching ads placed on billboards near Target stores, now connected to Roundel Kiosk for closed-loop measurement and performance optimization.
What’s ahead
Starting in August, Roundel will introduce enhanced data collaboration as part of an improved media buying and selling model. This evolution introduces a more dynamic goal-based buying model — designed to help brands achieve awareness, consideration and conversion objectives with greater precision and scale. By combining Target’s first-party data with offsite partnerships and real-time signal sharing, this approach enables more effective optimization and drives measurable performance across the full funnel.
Looking to the future, we’re doubling down on innovation and impact. In 2025, Roundel will test new in-store ad experiences. We’ll launch experiential activations like demos, sampling and digital screens. We’ll also enhance creative formats across the omnichannel journey and support partners during seasonal campaigns, especially throughout the holidays.
Our team is fueled by a deep understanding of what Target guests want. That insight helps us create campaigns that don’t just boost sales — they build long-term relationships between brands and our guests.
Discover how Roundel can help your brand connect with Target guests at Roundel.com.
* Roundel Ad Sentiment Consumer Insights 2024 report