Kroger has unified the supermarket giant’s retail media, insights and loyalty marketing functions into a single department: Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) Powered by 84.51˚. The newly unified team, which includes data scientists, engineers, strategists and sales leaders, has been configured to help brand marketers across every stage of the product lifecycle, from product innovation to campaign activations.
“This is more than a new organizational design,” said Milen Mahadevan, President and CEO of 84.51° in a statement. “We’re eliminating the friction between functions. This unification makes it easier for brands to grow — with Kroger’s precision purchase data, world-class personalization science and marketing technology in one seamless experience.”
“Today’s marketers are held accountable for more than media performance — they’re responsible for brand growth,” said Christine Foster, SVP of Strategy and Operations at KPM in a statement. “This new structure is designed for exactly that. Our team helps brands translate purchase data into actions across every part of their organization.”
Nick Hamilton, SVP of Commercial Technology, will oversee the technology innovation behind KPM’s performance, and Jenny Holleran and Sam Walston have been promoted to VPs of Commercial Sales, leading integrated client teams organized by industry verticals.
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In May 2024 Kroger Precision Marketing teamed with Yahoo Advertising to bring the retailer’s first-party, purchase-based data to the Yahoo Demand Side Platform (DSP). KPM had previously partnered with The Trade Desk’s DSP.
Matt Drzewicki has been appointed to lead Target’s retail media network Roundel as SVP, effective June 1. Drzewicki has been serving as the interim leader of Roundel since January, following the promotion of the group’s former SVP Sarah Travis to EVP and Chief Digital and Revenue Officer.
Drzewicki will now lead the Roundel team, which has set a goal of doubling the size of its media business over the next five years — a high bar given that the business currently generates nearly $2 billion of value for Target and saw double-digit growth in Q1.
To continue this momentum, Roundel intends to improve its data collaboration capabilities this year by introducing an enhanced media buying and selling model that leverages Target’s first-party data and real-time signals to help brands drive more effective campaigns.
Drzewicki joined Roundel in May 2022 as VP of Partner Solutions Group following more than 10 years at Google.
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“Roundel exists to help our business partners grow by leveraging what only Target can offer — scale, trust, creativity and a guest who truly wants to be inspired,” said Drzewicki in a statement. “I’m excited to lead Roundel into its next chapter in close collaboration with our strategic partners, while also expanding and developing new partnerships to continue innovating in the retail media landscape.”
To learn more about retail media, check out our full guide here.
