Target Roundel: Advertiser Experience Research & Retail Media Platform Optimization

Problem
Retail media was emerging as one of the fastest-growing channels in digital advertising, and Roundel — Target's retail media network — needed to compete for advertiser spend against increasingly sophisticated platforms. Internal teams suspected that friction in campaign setup, measurement, and optimization workflows was limiting advertiser performance and, by extension, Roundel's ability to retain and grow its advertiser base. But suspicion wasn't enough to move a product roadmap. What was missing was a clear, evidence-based picture of where advertisers were actually struggling across the full campaign lifecycle, and why.

Context
As Lead UX Researcher embedded in Target's Retail Media and Digital Strategy organization, I owned the research agenda across a complex, multi-stakeholder environment — partnering with Product, Design, Engineering, Analytics, and Commercial teams simultaneously. The challenge wasn't just methodological; it was about translating advertiser experience findings into the language of revenue, retention, and roadmap investment so that five different internal functions could align around a shared set of priorities and act on them.

Methodology
Designed and led a mixed-methods program to map the advertiser experience end-to-end. In-depth interviews with advertisers and agency partners surfaced the qualitative texture of where and why the platform was losing them. Journey maps across campaign planning, execution, measurement, and optimization made friction visible at the system level. Service blueprints exposed the operational dependencies and cross-team bottlenecks that were invisible to any single internal stakeholder. Workflow evaluations and usability assessments added task-level specificity. Behavioral data analysis, focused on adoption, engagement, and campaign performance metrics, grounded qualitative findings in what advertisers were actually doing, not just saying. Cross-functional synthesis workshops converted findings into shared priorities rather than siloed research deliverables. To create a durable feedback channel beyond the initial engagement, I founded and launched Roundel's Customer Advisory Board — a structured mechanism connecting advertiser voice directly to product planning and roadmap discussions on an ongoing basis.

Impact
+19%
Advertising revenue
+10 pts
Partner NPS
Research findings directly informed redesigns to campaign management workflows and ROAS and conversion reporting experiences — changes that contributed to a 19% increase in advertising revenue within a 12-week sprint cycle. Journey maps and service blueprints accelerated decision-making across multiple product teams by making cross-functional dependencies legible for the first time. The Customer Advisory Board strengthened advertiser relationships and lifted Partner NPS by 10 points, while creating a scalable process that institutionalized customer voice in strategic planning. The cumulative effect was a shift from reactive product fixes to a proactive, customer-centered approach to roadmap prioritization, with advertiser needs consistently represented in platform investment decisions going forward.