Tesco is beefing up its retail media operation by recruiting two senior executives from Amazon and Pinterest as part of the supermarket giant’s plans to woo the agency market.
Amazon Ads’ head of UK agency development Steve Edwards will join the team in the new position of head of agency “to develop and cement partnerships with agencies” looking to harness the power of retail media to deliver value for clients.
Having started his career in radio sales, Edwards had spells at Maiden and Titan Outdoor before spending five years at Microsoft, ultimately as cross-platform solutions specialist.
In 2013, he switched to Hearst Magazines in the new role of group digital sales director, leading the team across the company’s portfolio of 20 magazines, 20 websites, 14 mobile sites and more than 150 apps.
Within two years, Edwards had joined Amazon as senior agency partnerships manager. Over the following nine years, he held a number of roles including global head of agency planning and insight and head of emerging ad products, before being appointed head of UK agency development in 2021.
Meanwhile, Pinterest’s lead client partner Russell Franklin will also join the team as head of client business development, with a remit to expand Tesco Media among a broader range of clients, including non-endemic advertisers.
Franklin started his career at ZenithOptimedia in 2006, holding the role for 8 years before joining Google and agency industry manager for YouTube. He has been at Pinterest since 2017 and Tesco said Russell “brings a wealth of digital experience”.
Both new hires will report to Tesco Media & Insight Platform client development director Nick Ashley, who said: “Retail media is no longer solely a bottom of funnel opportunity; increasingly, it is playing a broader role across the full marketing funnel for a wider range of clients.
“With agencies rapidly enhancing their capabilities in this area, and clients outside of FMCG increasingly aware of the opportunities retail media presents, now is the right time for us to extend the team further. To attract senior digital leaders of the calibre of Steve and Russell is a sure sign that Tesco sits firmly at the heart of the current media landscape.”
Related stories
Clubcard loyalty bonanza fires up Tesco profits to £2.3bn
Tesco woos brands with major ad platform expansion
Tesco reboots media platform for ‘precision at scale’
Tesco targets advertisers with insight-driven platform
DunnHumby tool predicts perfect price promo combo
Retail media: From shopper marketing to $141bn sector
Brands wake up to power of retail data to boost insight
