Target rolls out brand conquesting allowing advertisers to bid on competitor search terms

Target has opened brand conquesting in Roundel, allowing advertisers can bid on competitor brand search terms and show up at the exact moment a shopper is expressing intent for another brand.

Bernie Che breaks down Roundel's limited beta launch for skincare, cameras, and dolls and dollhouses. You can now bid on competitor terms within the same subcategory and appear in placements that used to be effectively reserved for the brand owner, one of the rare chances to intercept demand this directly.

What makes this especially interesting is Target's unique first-party mix. Unlike Amazon where third-party sellers crowd almost every auction, Target is still heavily first-party versus first-party. That means fewer bidders overall and a cleaner, more controlled auction environment for brand-to-brand conquesting.

Learn how to test smart: put aside money from your search budget as a defined experiment, focus on subcategories where the leading brand has strong demand but weaker value, defend your own branded terms, and measure what's actually incremental by tracking new-to-brand buyers and shifts in category share.

If you're in one of the beta categories, this is your window to test before the opportunity shifts.