Target Masterclass: Media 101

Today’s shoppers bounce between retailers, channels, and missions, but they still expect brands to understand what they need. In this episode, Emma sits down with Tiffany Tan, Head of eComm Growth Accelerator at Clorox, to talk about how Clorox is striving toward 1:1, personalized marketing, the data and clean room foundations behind it, and how AI can help scale personalization in a real, practical way.

You’ll hear how Clorox thinks about high‑value shoppers, what it takes to move from broad targeting to more tailored experiences, and how Tiffany is planning for a future where creative, audiences, and measurement all work together to serve real people, not segments on a slide.

In this month’s episode, Emma and Danny Hoffman, Senior Director of Global Retail Strategy, break down three commerce topics brands should have on their radar right now: who is absorbing the cost of ever-faster fulfillment, what California’s case against Amazon could mean for brands and consumers, and why Amazon’s move to more brand-agnostic Sponsored Prompts signals a bigger shift in how shoppers search and how brands show up in AI-assisted discovery.

Partnership marketing has shifted from a nice-to-have to a real growth lever for brands looking to cut through the noise. In this episode, Keke Strayhan, Head of Partnerships at Flywheel, breaks down what makes a partnership actually work, why authenticity and strategy matter more than hype, and how brands of all sizes can use partnerships to reach new audiences, build cultural relevance, and drive sales.

In this month's episode, Emma and Danny Hoffman (Senior Director, Global Retail Strategy) break down three commerce topics brands should have on their radar right now: what Joybuy’s launch in Europe could mean for competition, why more advertising dollars may keep moving toward retailer DSPs instead of other media environments, and how AI is starting to change the way shoppers discover products and how brands show up.

In this episode, Emma and Patrick break down three pressure points every brand should be watching. First, they tackle the performance vs. transparency tradeoff in media buying. What's the balance between log‑level data and control, chasing opaque performance, and using transparency to actually change how and where you buy?

Then they unpack The Trade Desk’s latest earnings and what its slowdown (and supply‑side growth elsewhere) signal about where spend is shifting across DSPs, CTV, and the open internet.

Finally, they dig into the rush of vendors promising “LLM performance” measurement, covering how pricing is already collapsing, how little real differentiation there is, and how brands should approach contracts, trust, and experimentation in this new category.

Off‑platform doesn’t have to mean more complexity.

Instacart’s Head of Off-platform Strategy, Adam Silverblatt, joins the show to break down how brands can use Instacart’s first‑party data beyond Instacart.com. This looks like building high‑intent audiences, activating them via partners like The Trade Desk, Roku, Pinterest, and TikTok, and closing the loop with sales measurement.

They dig into what makes Instacart’s audiences truly incremental, how to avoid double‑paying for the same shoppers, and what brands should be asking every retail media network about incrementality and accountability.

In this month’s episode, Emma and Patrick unpack what Andy Jassy’s AI comments really mean for where Amazon is betting on growth in his recent "The Information" interview, and how that could reshape the tools brands get for search, ads, and measurement.

Next, they dig into Walmart’s latest AI moves with Gemini and the challenge of who owns shopper traffic, as well as highlight areas where Walmart is set up for growth.

To close it out, they break down Amazon’s decision to shut down Go and Fresh stores and double down on Whole Foods and online grocery delivery, and what that means for your assortment, trade terms, and supply chain. You’ll walk away with a clearer view of where the big platforms are headed next, and what your brand should start changing now so you’re not playing catch‑up in 12–18 months.

In this episode, Emma and Jason O’Toole (Head of Connected Commerce at Hanesbrands) dive into the evolving world of commerce strategy. They cover everything from building commerce-focused organizational structures to the unique challenges of selling apparel online. You’ll hear how Hanesbrands approaches SKU complexity, 3P competition, and brand protection, plus how they’re building connected commerce teams to meet the demands of today’s omnichannel landscape. Jason also shares his perspective on the agency of the future, and why adaptability matters more than ever.

Digital commerce is shifting fast, and ten big “trends to prepare for” can feel overwhelming. In this conversation, Emma and Hannah Donoghue (SVP, Commerce Intelligence at Flywheel) walk through Flywheel Retail Insights’ “Digital Trends to prepare for in 2026” report and translate it into concrete next steps. From agentic commerce and data clean rooms to value cycles, private label pressure, consolidation, and CTV, Hannah explains what changed, why it matters now, and how to build a focused 2026 plan instead of chasing every headline.

In this episode, Emma and Patrick Miller close out the year by unpacking Black Friday Cyber Monday fatigue and how Amazon's asynchronous basket building and robust supply chain stand out. They dig into ChatGPT and Google Gemini, analyzing what truly has time, signal, and points of distribution, and how retailer partnerships with LLMs will shape shopping. Lastly, they cover what the potential Netflix x Warner Brothers deal means for consumers and advertisers. As a bonus, Patrick also names his retailer of the year, the most overrated story, and the one thing advertisers should leave behind in 2025.

Mike O’Donnell, SVP Innovation and Business Transformation at Flywheel, breaks down the real impact of AI-powered search on consumer behavior and brand strategy. Mike shares why consumers are embracing generative tools, how brands can adapt their content and measurement strategies for the new world of AI search, and what mass personalization means for the future of commerce.

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