The Digital Promise – Parbinder Dhariwal, CVS Media Exchange (CMX)

S3 E14 · May 6, 2026 · 36 min

ExtraCare loyalty data, the CorIQ AI platform, and the “I already bought this” retargeting problem.

Show notes

In this episode of The Middlemen, we sit down with Parbinder “Parbs” Dhariwal, GM & VP of CVS Media Exchange (CMX), to talk about why retail media may finally be delivering on the original promise of digital advertising.

Parbs shares how CMX is building around one of the largest loyalty datasets in retail through ExtraCare, why deterministic identity matters more than ever, and how CVS is using AI to make retail media more personalized, measurable, and operationally scalable.

Parbs also reflects on building CMX inside one of the most trusted brands in healthcare and why enterprise alignment may matter more than AI itself.

What we cover

• Why retail media has become the center of online advertising
• CMX’s new CorIQ AI platform
• The “I already bought this” retargeting problem
• Why loyalty programs still matter
• Retail media standards, incrementality, and measurement
• Reddit, Pinterest, and health-intent signals
• The complexity of in-store retail media at CVS scale
• Why 5 million daily CVS shoppers changes the advertising equation

Links from the episode

In-Store Media Has a Measurement Problem – Just Not the One You Think ↗