Coles 360 Just Hired a Product Lead From Target's Retail Media Network. The Retail Media Arms Race in Australia Is Accelerating.

Coles 360 has made two hires that tell you exactly where Australia's retail media market is heading. Dave Moline joins as head of ad product from Roundel, Target's retail media network in the United States, where he led commercial product and on-platform strategy. Michael Savio joins as head of data intelligence and measurement.

Coles 360 general manager Tiffany Chen framed the appointments around advertiser demand: "The retail media landscape is evolving quickly, and our partners are looking for more precise targeting and clearer measurement of performance."

The timing matters. Retail media is the fastest-growing ad channel in Australia, expanding at roughly 10 times the rate of the broader ad market. Coles 360 launched its own agency unit in late 2024. These appointments signal the next phase: building the measurement and product infrastructure to compete not just with Woolworths' Cartology but with the DSPs and social platforms fighting for the same FMCG budgets.

Retail media has a measurement problem that every advertiser knows about but few talk about publicly. Different networks measure differently. Attribution windows vary. Incrementality testing is inconsistent. Moline's appointment as head of ad product and Savio's focus on data intelligence and measurement are a direct response to that gap.

For FMCG and CPG brands spending with Coles 360, this should mean better reporting, more granular audience segments and clearer ROAS visibility. For the broader market, it raises the standard that every retail media network will be measured against.