BRAVE COMMERCE DoorDash's Toby Espinosa on Commerce Media That Connects National Dollars to Local Demand
Feb 24, 2026
Toby Espinosa, VP of Ads at DoorDash, who helped build DoorDash's retail media business. He discusses connecting local merchant demand with national ad budgets. He explores why standardized measurement matters. He talks about aligning trade and media dollars and how AI and integrations lower data costs and boost targeting.
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From Small Business Advocate To Ads Founder
- Toby joined DoorDash over 10 years ago focused on helping small businesses grow and later asked the CEO to let him start the ads business.
- His outsider perspective helped him see retail/commerce media opportunity before industry insiders did.
Measurement Is The Gatekeeper For National Budgets
- Retail media lives between sales and brand teams so measurement consistency is the ticket to accessing national media budgets.
- Toby says no one has successfully grabbed national dollars at scale without consistent measurement, so standardization drives trust.
Food Service Drives Targeting More Than Direct Sales
- Food service is harder to activate for direct consumer conversion but offers a valuable 'food graph' for targeting.
- Toby notes consumer preferences in restaurants complicate repeatability, yet restaurant data improves grocery targeting efficiency.