Meet Roundel: DIGITS top takeaways

In a surprising and courageous announcement last week, Target announced it is re-branding TMN (Target Media Network) as Roundel. Since the announcement, dozens within our clients and network have reached out to DIGITS to figure out what this means for them and what we think about the move.

I'm bullish on the change. I think it's a good move for Target and applaud the leadership for making a difficult decision that should position TMN as an even bigger strength for Target.

Let's dig in on what this means...

1. I think it's a smart idea to aggressively double-down on media. We know that to succeed in digital retail, retailers need revenue streams beyond just product margin. Amazon has both Prime and a Media Group that provides margin. If re-branding as Roundel allows Target to grow the accounts and agency audience that want to engage with it, it's a win. TMN has attempted to attract national accounts for years, so the tactic itself is not new. But maybe a new name, new vision and a new positioning is the key to unlocking more revenue.
2. The need for shopper data will continue to drive loyalty expansion. Roundel's differentiation point is having access to millions of shoppers' purchase data both instore and online. That has always worked well to market in-house CPG products. Presumably with the right data science it works well to target shoppers and accurately market products like financial services and automotives as well. The key will be getting more and more shoppers to signup for REDcard or create accounts through programs like Cartwheel and Target Circle that make it easier for Target to see your activity over time.
3. We expect limited change to existing Target CPG clients. For the foreseeable future, a new name shouldn't impact current CPG programs. I hope over time that the increased scale and capabilities this change creates will trickle down to improve digital and physical commerce driving campaigns.
4. How advanced can they get on merging physical and digital media tactics to drive various outcomes? Target has a leg up on Amazon, and that's its stores and physical locations. But it also complicates things. How will Roundel be able to mix in-store physical marketing, in-store location based digital marketing, out of store geo-marketing while around Target planning your physical trips all with more traditional digital media tactics designed to drive ecommerce or branding? It's really 3 use cases that need to blend together seemlessly for the guest and client. #1 drive physical Target pre-shop activity, store traffic and conversion. #2 drive digital traffic and conversion. #3 drive off platform traffic and conversion for 3rd parties. All three likely require different tactics, messaging and KPIs while they may be run for the same product. The permutations are enough to make your head spin.
5. Will they unleash the brands with self-service tools and real-time media reporting? With Target digital media campaigns being much more mainstream in the CPG and agency community vs a few years back, there is an opening to allow vendors to purchase and place mini-campaigns on a self-serve basis. Want to boost your sales this week? Summer weather finally hitting for sunscreen season? Just go in and create a campaign - put a mini-budget in, choose from default targeting options and upload your own creative. Then populate real time media metrics that allow the brands to self-evaluate and optimize their programs cycle to cycle.
6. Can Roundel compete nationally on price without closed loop reporting? One of the coolest things about TMN for CPGs was that they could target and tell you exactly who saw an ad and bought your product based on their in-store or digital data. They had closed loop reporting which provided ROAS and ROI data that is more compelling than just proof of performance. This (and the fact media spend helps your margins) allowed them to charge a premium CPM. Can they maintain premium positioning within a national market without closed loop? Or can they figure out a way to close it and prove out performance?

I'm excited to see what the future brings for Roundel. Congratulations to the team and I wish them the best of luck.

What do you think? Did I miss anything? How does this impact your business? Leave a comment below.

DIGITS operates a Target digital services center of excellence that provides Cartwheel, Target.com and TMN/Roundel capabilities for Target CPGs.