3 Ounces of Common Sense
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
So I’m walking through the security line at LaGuardia when a guard holds up my quart-sized baggie and yells, “Whose is this?” Uh-oh, this spells TROUBLE.
Tag: Target
Davis Thinking
GAP Announces End of Recession
Monday, November 16, 2009
After years of disappointing design, quality and performance, GAP seems tapped into the American cultural pulse once again. The company's holiday advertising campaign announces that the country is "Ready for Holiday Cheer." Like many retailers, GAP is spending more and launching earlier this year, including a major Vanity Fair insert and back cover. Whether these efforts end up translating to sales, of course, remains to be seen. Still, the campaign does more than any other to date to declare a shift in attitude. Consumers will decide for themselves to celebrate in ways "modest" or "all out," but either way, GAP gives permission "to liberate" from the dark clouds of the past 18 months. A holiday declaration of independence -- "This holiday, it's up to us" -- makes the empowerment message abundantly clear: Yes, Virginia, there is an American spirit of hope, even joy, that will not be silenced. The recession is over.
Private Eye: An Investigation of Private Label Design
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Everyone wants to be a designer! Retailers are competing with the name brands on their shelves by focusing on private-label packaging. And some of them are simply doing it better. Last year, sales of private-label food and other consumer products jumped 10% to $82.9 billion, from $75 billion in 2007. Here are a few design standouts pushing those numbers higher:
Walmart's Small Heart Grew Three Sizes That Day
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Something interesting is happening this holiday season at Walmart. First they partnered with Coca-Cola on Extended Family, a hip, young ditty light years ahead of the company’s recent cringe-inducing Rollbacks campaign. Discount messaging rides shotgun, while celebration drives the brand forward. In Christmas Morning, a 60-second highlight reel of kids joyfully scrambling for a first glimpse at their loot, discount messaging has been hogtied and thrown in the trunk.
Blackberry Crumble
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
We're confused by this derivative spot for the Blackberry Storm, the company's new iPhone "me too." Is this Blackberry, Apple, or Target?
The 'Shut Up' Heard 'Round the World
Monday, January 28, 2008
With Target’s wholesale dismissal of bloggers, America's favorite retailer said more than it realized about the tired PR industry and its own relevance going forward.
At Issue } essential reading
Facebook's Trashy Future Revealed by Target's Selling of Credit Gift Cards
Sep 1, 2010
Facebook made another big step towards world domination today, by tying up a deal with Target to put gift card versions of its Credits on sale. Yep, retail meets e-tail. Virtual currency made plastic. The cards, which go on sale on Sunday, Sept. 5, are available in three sizes: $15, $25, and $50--although the lowest increment is exclusive to Target. Which says a lot about Target customers. And, it seems, Facebook. It's a logical move for Mark Zuckerberg's gang--after all, his chum Sean Parker estimated earlier this year that Facebook's Credits system would account for around one third of the social network's revenue. So having it available in as many forms as possible instead of merely the bank of Mom and Dad--i.e. their bank cards--is not a bad idea at all.
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A Fashion Identity Crisis at Wal-Mart
Jul 29, 2010
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cannot seem to find the right fit when it comes to selling clothing. By quietly ousting its U.S. division apparel chief last week, the world's largest retailer acknowledged that its clothing strategy has been a dud. Again. Over the past decade, Wal-Mart has veered from one approach to clothing to another. The discount giant has even tried to emulate rival Target Corp. by stocking its own lines of trendy outfits. At other times the Bentonville, Ark., retailer has placed its bets on bulk packs of everyday wear, like tube socks and T-shirts. "Wal-Mart has suffered from not knowing who they want to be," said Allen Questrom, the former chief executive of J.C. Penney Co. who recently left Wal-Mart's board. "They're either trying to be too fashionable or too basic."
Forrester: Why Most Marketers Should Forgo Foursquare
Jul 27, 2010
In a study out today, Forrester finds that only 4% of U.S. online adults have ever used location-based mobile apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt. Only 1% update these services more than once per week. What's more, 84% of respondents said they are not familiar with such apps, leaving the vast majority of Americans online still in the dark about location-based apps, which have had the marketing world obsessing over them in recent months.
Designer Diapers Boost Bottom Line
Jul 1, 2010
Huggies' summer 2010 denim diapers appear to have sparked a trend. Just when we thought we'd seen designer everything in Target stores, the retail chain has managed to score what may be its most creative designer tie-in yet. By the middle of this month, Target stores and Target.com will begin selling the first designer diaper from Pampers.
Is The Hispanic Market Right For Your Brand?
Jun 30, 2010
Did you know that the US is the world’s second-largest Spanish-speaking country? It’s true. In fact, there are 46.3 million Hispanics in the US today, and 20 million of them use the internet. Are you targeting the Hispanic market with search? If not, perhaps it’s time you considered doing so.
Target Wants You To Friend Their Sweaters
Jun 29, 2010
The push by retailers into social media continues, with some even bringing out Version 2.0 or 2.5 of their presences on Web sites like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Case in point, Target, which has introduced an application on its Facebook page for its Merona line of clothing. The app is called the Merona My Look Maker and is aimed at women ages 35 and up. The goal is to give them a chance to virtually try on, and try out, Merona fashions. A twist is that the merchandise that can be played with on the app is changed constantly to reflect the Merona merchandise that is in Target stores. The looks can be shared with Facebook friends and computer users can also be connected to the Target Web site (target.com) with a “shop it now” feature if they like the looks enough to consider buying the merchandise.
Mobile Coupons Help Retailers Track Customers
Jun 28, 2010
Invented over a century ago as anonymous pieces of paper that could be traded for discounts, coupons have evolved into tracking devices for companies that want to learn more about the habits of their customers. Although they might look similar to the ones in Sunday newspaper circulars, many of today's digital versions use special bar codes that are packed with information about the life of the coupon: the dates and times it was obtained, viewed and, ultimately, redeemed; the store where it was used; perhaps even the search terms typed to find it.
Target Promotes Volunteerism With Exclusive Ben & Jerry's Flavors
Jun 24, 2010
Target announced that it will debut two new, exclusive Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors at all stores nationwide. The super premium ice cream flavors, Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder, will be available throughout 2010 in mini cups and pints, according to the company. Berry Voluntary is raspberry cheesecake flavored ice cream laced with white chocolate chunks and raspberry swirls. Brownie Chew Gooder is vanilla caramel ice cream with fudge brownie pieces, finished with a caramel swirl. Mini cups will be available for $1.25* and pints will be priced at $3.50.
Meet Me Exclusively @Target
Jun 17, 2010
Although luxury brands remained surprisingly isolated from the downturn in 2007 and 2008, 2009 was tough on all sectors, including haute couture. Even the acclaimed Christian Lacroix was driven out of business. Naturally, when circumstances call for bold actions, it's tempting to expand your market to enhance your bottom line. But is it possible without compromising the luxury nature of your brand?
Kodak Is Bringing Facebook To CVS
Jun 10, 2010
Kodak has just friended Facebook, and it has a status update for you. Soon, you’ll be able to log into your Facebook account at Kodak’s retail photo-printing kiosks in stores like CVS and Target to print photos. You also will be able to access Picasa and Kodak Gallery online albums, as well as take advantage of a couple of useful new editing features.
Companies' Good Deeds Resonate with Consumers
May 28, 2010
How does a company inspire its consumers and what does it mean for business growth? Inspiration Blvd, a brand-consulting firm in Alpharetta, Ga., surveyed 1,752 consumers to identify America's top motivating companies. Conducted online, the survey asked consumers to pinpoint influential indicators--such as innovation, reliability, growth, charity--and to freely describe companies they see as inspiring. The goal was to determine a correlation between successful companies and companies that inspire their consumers, says Terry Barber, chief inspiration officer of Inspiration Blvd. "We set out asking whether companies that inspired others were more likely to connect and draw shoppers," Barber says. "We see now there's a strong link between the message consumers take away and how they act on it."
Don't Call Us, We'll Call You
May 28, 2010
We've all heard the saying, "Don't call us, we'll call you." Normally, it's reserved for that scene in a movie where someone in a position of power is giving the blow-off move to a salesman, interviewee, or otherwise faceless subordinate. These days, brands and marketers are hearing the phrase more and more from disenchanted and disinterested teens. More than other demographics, teens are all too ready to give marketers the brush-off. So how do brands and marketers avoid falling victim to this dismissal from such a powerful target group?
Companies' Good Deeds Resonate with Consumers
May 27, 2010
The goal was to determine a correlation between successful companies and companies that inspire their consumers, says Terry Barber, chief inspiration officer of Inspiration Blvd. "We set out asking whether companies that inspired others were more likely to connect and draw shoppers," Barber says. "We see now there's a strong link between the message consumers take away and how they act on it."
'Telling' Her Doesn't Cut It Anymore; Let Her Sample Your Product
May 26, 2010
No matter how you try to spin it, the marketing industry recognizes that traditional advertising has lost much of its effect on mothers. And, as a marketing professional myself, I don't like the way that sounds. But who can blame moms? They've seen a lot of misleading and manipulative messaging, they've been mistreated by salespeople and they've learned that it's just safer not to believe.
Mercedes Cuddles Up To The Gen Y Consumer
May 20, 2010
At the Association of National Advertisers' Brand Innovation Conference in New York on Wednesday, Mercedes-Benz marketing VP Steve Cannon talked about how the brand is going beyond customer satisfaction to something he calls "customer intimacy" -- a quality a brand needs to create brand advocates and disciples. "I'm talking about getting that much closer to your customer -- that makes some of our ways of targeting them look Stone Age," he said.
Inside Intel's Marketing Strategy
May 19, 2010
Intel has a new plan for growth: getting in good with young, hip adults. This week the Santa Clara, Calif., processor giant launches, in collaboration with the Montreal-based magazine Vice, what it calls the Creator's Project--a multi-year, international marketing program designed to showcase technology-influenced art, film and music.
“Daddy, What’s a Brand?” and 9 More Awkward Questions for Uncertain Times
May 11, 2010
Chiquita, Victoria's Secret, The GOP, Amnesty International. They all use marketing and invite trust in a distinct belief system. They're all, to one degree or another, brands. For a brand, nirvana is when your good name is so widely endorsed that it enters the language. "Pass the Kleenex." "Google it." But that's the top of a long and slippery slope--look at Toyota and Tiger Woods. A healthy brand drives up your stock, and vice versa. These are the things we thought we knew. It's 2010--are they still true?
Generation Prototype
May 7, 2010
If you are in the "consumer durables" market, you already know that it's a label that doesn't make much sense to Gen Y. For Gen Yers, the consumer durables equation seems to look like this: Product Lifespan = Adopted + Adapted + Left Behind for the Next Version
Constellation Brands Caters to A Cool Crowd
May 7, 2010
The chief marketing officer of wines in the U.S. for the alcoholic beverage giant is too busy figuring out how to get more people to buy some of its 75 brands. It is a tough job. Americans have all but stopped buying wine that costs more than $30 a bottle. The action, what's left of it, is in the $7 to $15 range, and profits are elusive. (Dollar sales in the U.S. were off 3.3% last year on a 1.2% volume gain, says Beverage Information Group of Norwalk, Conn.)
HOW TO: Target Social Media Influencers to Boost Traffic and Sales
Apr 16, 2010
Your brand has 10,000 Twitter followers and 2,000 fans on Facebook. Does that mean your social media marketing efforts are paying off? Maybe not. As the old adage goes, it’s quality, not quantity, that counts. Recent data that Meteor Solutions collected from across more than 20 brand marketer clients shows that the type of friends, fans and followers a brand amasses on social media sites matters more than the number. On average, approximately 1% of a site’s audience generates 20% of all its traffic through sharing of the brand’s content or site links with others. And these “influencers” drive an even higher share of conversion. These very important Internet users can directly influence 30% or more of overall end actions on brand websites by recommending the brand’s site, products or promotions to friends.
Shoppers Come Alive: March Sales Improve
Apr 9, 2010
Consumers marched into recovery mode last month, cheered by sunny skies and an earlier-than-usual Easter, with many stores posting double-digit sales gains. While it's true that those results are based off extremely weak results from the prior year and that the timing of Easter will likely suck some of the fun out of April results, they are still better than most observers expected. And store execs are optimistic that shoppers are regaining at least a hint of their swagger.
Marketers Take Loyalty To The Next Level
Apr 5, 2010
Customer retention has been an area of marketing focus for many companies this past year. To combat a widespread reticence to spend during the recession, many brands beefed up their existing loyalty programs to meet consumers' needs. Loyalty programs at some big-box stores have become more elaborate and offer more rewards and discounts than in the past.
Wal-Mart Expands MoneyCenters To Satisfy The “Unbanked"
Mar 22, 2010
Wal-Mart is on a roll. Not only did it recently top Interbrand’s “The Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands 2010” report, but the retail juggernaut is also claiming that every American consumer saves thousands of dollars a year just because there are 3,700 Wal-Mart stores across the country. Regardless of whether you never enter a Wal-Mart and do your discount shopping instead at a Target or somewhere else, Wal-Mart’s case states that shoppers save big bucks just because of the deflationary effects of its pricing on the entire retail economy.
Borders Opens New Chapter With Book Club Gatherings
Mar 17, 2010
In the increasingly brutal book wars, Borders Group Inc. is learning what coffeehouses long have known: Encourage shoppers to think of you as a home away from home and they'll spend more, maybe even become regulars. To spur that feeling, Borders quietly unveiled a program late last month that invites book club groups to convene at its cafe spaces instead of in club members' homes. The step is geared toward helping the money-losing bookstore chain drum up sales and reshape itself into a local gathering place instead of a faceless superstore.
Walmart, Target, Best Buy Named Most Valuable Brands
Mar 12, 2010
Walmart topped the list of the most valuable retail brands in the U.S., followed by Target and Best Buy, per a new report issued by Interbrand today (Thursday). The report, compiled by Interbrand Design Forum—a division of the global brand consultancy, ranks retailers based on the value of their brands. The ranking is based on a number of factors: financial forecasting, the percentage of sales and profit that can directly be attributed to branding, and brand strength. These form a net present value, or the economic value of a brand.
The Recession Boosts Some Brands, Bruises Others
Mar 11, 2010
The recession is forcing cash-poor consumers to stick to the basics when they shop, according to a list of the most valuable U.S. retail brands as ranked by Interbrand. In its 2010 list no-frills retailers, including Dollar General, Family Dollar, AutoZone and other retailers that sell necessities, rose in this annual ranking of 50 brands. Many top retail brands that sell niceties consumers can do without in hard times, including Avon and Polo Ralph Lauren, fell on the Interbrand list.
Stuck-in-middle Walmart Starts to Lose Share
Mar 9, 2010
Recessionary darling Walmart saw the first down sales quarter in its history and a surprisingly weak top-line over the holidays as aggressively expanding dollar stores and hard discounters swiped at its positioning. Additionally, last year it lost modest market share in package-goods sales for the first time since Information Resources Inc. began tracking the data -- while supermarkets, dollar and club stores all gained. In short, Walmart is increasingly finding itself caught in the middle between higher-end retailers and value players and, at least in recent quarters, is losing share to both.
Retail Crocuses in the Snow
Mar 5, 2010
U.S. consumers haven't stopped pinching pennies, but two months of sales gains show that they are in better shape than feared and have begun the year with a return to more normal buying habits. After spending much of 2009 in a defensive crouch, shoppers braved bad weather and took to the malls in February, snapping up spring merchandise at close to full price. Hard-hit teen retailers, including American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and higher-priced department store chain Nordstrom Inc., both of which reported big sales drops a year earlier, reported sharp improvements from a year ago. The results, on the heels of similar gains in recent months, signal consumers, even if they aren't returning to free-spending ways, are giving up the ultra-frugal habits of last year.
No Comprende Hispanic Marketing?
Mar 4, 2010
Last year in one of the longest advertising stalemates in TV's up-front history, broadcast company Univision sold all its inventory before any other network. The reason, Univision's president of advertising and sales David Lawenda says, is that some marketers are finally cluing in to the importance of marketing to Hispanics.
Nordstrom, Target Lead In Customer Satisfaction
Feb 16, 2010
In the derby to please shoppers, stores like Nordstrom and Target continue to trounce their competition. But overall, online retailers continue to gain, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), indicating that many consumers find shopping online much more pleasing than hoofing it through an actual store: The ACSI, founded at the University of Michigan and based in Ann Arbor, says its index for e-tailers gained a percentage point to 83 (out of a possible 100) compared to offline retailers, which gained a percentage point to 76.
Walmart And Target Afraid Of A Little Redbox
Feb 3, 2010
Your mom's probably rented a DVD from Redbox—those hulking vending machines lurking outside of grocery stories, lending out DVDs for a buck a day. Walmart's not thrilled with them, and now blocking new release purchases in bulk.
Crystal Light, Thinner and Lighter
Feb 3, 2010
Crystal Light is a sugar-free soluble powder manufactured by Kraft Foods since 1982. Originally offered in only five flavors, the line-up now includes twenty-eight. And as non diet sodas become more and more the face of fattening evil, flavored waters and juices have risen in popularity in the last few years. While I prefer my water on tap without any kind of powder, Kraft Food bets upwards of $40 million in advertising in the last couple of years and more this year, that other people do. And while Crystal Light is clearly targeted towards women, Kraft Foods estimates that 40% of consumers are men, yet at point of purchase, women are the overwhelming majority. This past November, Kraft Foods introduced a new look for Crystal Light with an environmental-friendly range of packaging.
Target Changes Strategy, And Possibly Future Of Supermarkets
Jan 22, 2010
Whether you’re opposed to having an enormous Target store in your quaint little town, or love your local Target’s big-box convenience, or perhaps live outside the US and always wanted a Target to call your own -- we’ve got good news for all of you. The red-and-white retailer recently announced a major shift in strategy. For years Target was all about massive expansion, opening more than 100 stores in some years, and an impressive 60 in a challenging 2009. In 2010, however, Target will open fewer than 10 stores. Instead, it will beef up its current stores with, well, beef and other groceries. Target will also begin a push into foreign markets including Canada, Mexico, and South America. But NIMBYs shouldn’t put away their protest signs: the big box brand is looking to test a smaller-store format in several urban areas.
New Packaging Can Be A Weapon
Dec 24, 2009
Private labels have a competitive advantage in this economic recession, because many consumers are relinquishing their brand loyalties in search of values. Private-label products are lower-priced, and stores are giving them prime shelf space and eye-grabbing displays. Not only that, but they're getting smarter, too. Recent packaging makeovers give them another advantage: they're starting to look like brands.
Target Opens Urban Pop-Up Stores to Attract Holiday Shoppers
Dec 11, 2009
Target Corp., the retailer expanding in U.S. cities, opened so-called pop-up stores in three urban centers to generate holiday-season sales and publicity. The second-biggest U.S. discount chain is running Target To-Gos in New York, San Francisco and Washington today through Dec. 13. The temporary stores offer 50 products, including 99- cent Christmas tree ornaments, Sony Corp.’s PSP Go handheld video-game player for $249.99 and pieces from Target’s Rodarte fashion line that won’t be available nationwide until Dec. 20.
Look Who's Stalking Wal-Mart
Dec 1, 2009
At a Target store, the visual sizzle usually comes from the photos of all the fabulous-looking people wearing fabulous clothes and doing fabulous things. Of late, though, there's an entirely new vibe—supersize signs screaming dirt-cheap prices. Past the cashiers is something else unmistakably novel: a sleek Euro-style mart carrying fresh cuts of sirloin, cheery piles of fruit, and hormone-free dairy. The lowest prices on the planet! Plus a grocery store. Wait. Doesn't that sound an awful lot like Wal-Mart?
US Retailers Turn to Social Media on ‘Black Friday’
Nov 27, 2009
US retailers were on Friday unleashing a traditional barrage of post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping promotions, with the National Retail Federation expecting 134m Americans to head for the stores. This year, however, the retailers have reinforced their traditional efforts with an array of social-networking weapons including Twitter, the micro-blogging website. Retailers including discounters Target and Walmart, and department store groups Macy’s, Kohl’s and JC Penney have used Facebook pages to publish the “doorbuster” and “early bird” deals traditionally announced in newspaper advertising inserts on Thanksgiving, the day before “Black Friday” – so called because it was once the day on which retailers’ ledgers for the year moved out of the red and into the black.
Retailers Shift Discount Focus Online
Nov 27, 2009
Major retailers including Target Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Best Buy Co. are cranking up promotions to avoid a slump after Black Friday and keep customers shopping through what promises to be a difficult season. The weak economy and growing clout of online sellers is upending carefully calculated promotions and positioning retailers' Web sites as the frontline in this year's competition.
Stores Line Up Early For Black Friday Throw-Down
Nov 24, 2009
While retailers have been tempting holiday shoppers all month with pre-Black Friday deals, the fiercest of the price-cut showdowns begins this Friday at 5 a.m. Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy, Target, JCPenney and Kohl's are already blaring their best prices online, offering lots of cross-channel options that make it easier for shoppers to choose store, web, or both. (JC Penney, which has vowed this will be its biggest Black Friday sale ever, is even pushing the insomniac envelope, opening stores at 4 a.m.)
You Can Pry Coke, Tide and Kraft From Consumers' Cold, Dead Hands
Oct 28, 2009
Fascinating, counterintuitive data coming out of a year-long consumer behavior study finds that Kraft, Coca-Cola and Tide are the three brands least likely to be traded for store brands. The study should worry name brand owners, since "only 37% of consumers say name brands are more reliable, and 39% believe name brands are better quality products." The data are edifying. Age breakdowns show consumers growing less brand loyal (and more price-conscious) as they get older. The huge numbers who are turning to private labels find Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Target to be the stores with the best selections.
New Verizon Ads Take Direct Aim at IPhone, but What Are They Selling?
Oct 20, 2009
Whatever rumors were brewing a few months ago that Apple would break its exclusivity with AT&T and take its iPhone to other carriers, it's a good bet they can be put to bed for now. Less than two weeks after Verizon Wireless aired a TV commercial that takes aim at AT&T's network service, it's now going straight for the iPhone. The teaser campaign, which plugs the new Android device and debuted Saturday night during the playoff game between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels, is, however, causing some head-scratching.
Hey Marketers, Make iPhone Apps Like These
Sep 15, 2009
There might be an app for everything, but does everything need an app? When it comes to brands, it's easy to wonder if the rush to get into the App Store is more about marketers snapping up the shiniest new wonder than thinking about apps as strategic-marketing tools. Luckily, as the app business has grown, the apps themselves have grown up. While the Zippo lighter -- enormously popular at 5 million downloads and counting -- remains a bit of an anomaly, most branded apps have moved from the simple "wow" or novelty factor to include branded utility, relationship building and even sales.
The Audience In The Media Ecosystem
Sep 9, 2009
"Mayo doesn't have friends, he only has customers." -- Lou Gosset Jr. in An Officer and a Gentleman Target has a personality all its own. And, for a multitude of reasons, Target attracts guests just as unique as its stores. --From Target.com's press room There are many parts in every ecosystem. A natural ecosystem has six main components: soil, atmosphere, heat and light from the sun, water and living organisms. In a media ecosystem, we have content creators, publishers/media owners, networks, agencies, advertisers and of course the audience. If the ecosystem is healthy, the audience eventually gets transformed into happy customers. This last sentence warrants repeating. If a media ecosystem is healthy, audiences eventually are transformed into customers. With the exception of holistic thinkers like Bob Garfield and my friend Jeff Einstein, much of what we read comes from "experts" who specialize in only one aspect of the ecosystem. This results in advice that is overly compartmentalized and which generally misses the mark.
In Online Chatter, Target Bests Walmart
Sep 4, 2009
Walmart dwarfs Target in size, yet it loses out to its rival when it comes to consumer discussions online. Target consumers are much more likely to speak about their shopping experience, according to online buzz monitor Crimson Hexagon, while chatter about Walmart often veered into discussion of the social implications of the retailing giant when it comes to labor practices and local retailers. It examined online chatter on blogs, Twitter, social networks and message boards for a one-month period beginning in mid-July.
Retailers Cut Back on Variety, Once the Spice of Marketing
Jun 26, 2009
For years, supermarkets, drugstores and discount retailers packed their shelves with an ever-expanding array of products in different brands, sizes, colors, flavors, fragrances and prices.
Customers Your Company Doesn't Want
Jun 19, 2009
Aiming to please too many different types of customers can be a fatal flaw. Focus on your core audience and don't waste money on the rest.
Facebook: Our Targeted Ads Aren't Creepy
Jun 18, 2009
Facebook's targeted advertising program is "materially different from behavioral targeting as it is usually discussed," Chris Kelly, the social network's chief privacy officer, said in remarks prepared for a Thursday morning hearing before two House subcommittees.
Cause Marketing with a Social Twist
Jun 9, 2009
With the Internet’s ability to empower individuals, social media platforms have become powerful forces for change and community action. Social media interconnects millions of people at any given point providing everyone with a megaphone that can be heard far and fast.
Target Offers Taste of DailyCandy
Jun 2, 2009
Target has its bull's-eye on a new venture: online media. On Tuesday, the retailer plans to formally announce a partnership with DailyCandy.com, the email newsletter and Web site owned by cable operator Comcast that covers fashion and culture for a mostly female audience.
Bulls Eye Flies Up and Up & Up
May 29, 2009
As if we needed any more proof that the venerable patron saint of mass consumer design, Target, attracts designers, my inbox has been jumping with designer e-mails about the new look and name of its private label brand: Up & Up. The chunky arrow logo is replacing Target’s red bulls eye in all the products in the health and beauty care category, from diapers to sunscreen lotions. As CNNMoney, one of the first to pick up the story, reports, the new design is just beginning to be rolled out and by the end of the year there will be 800 Up & Up products, which are typically priced 30% below brand names. And in this rough economic times, 30% less to pay for anything is, well, right on target.
Target Puts Its Private Branding on the up & up
May 20, 2009
Target is making an interesting move by dropping its namesake store brand and its familiar bull's-eye logo in favor of a completely new brand name:"up & up" - along with a new arrow logo.
Cause Marketing Meets Social Media
May 18, 2009
"What we've learned is it's not the cause but it's the idea of a brand truly doing good that has a significant impact through social media," said Joe Marchese, CEO of SocialVibe, a Los Angeles-based startup that runs cause-related social campaigns for brands like Kraft, Sprint and PowerBar. "When you do something good, it used to be that you had to buy a bunch of media and tell people or do PR. Now, the potential is for people to tell each other that you do good."
Target Believes a Rebound Recipe Is in Grocery Aisle
May 13, 2009
Target Corp., under pressure from an activist shareholder, is using fresh foods and other recession-proof groceries as the cornerstone of a plan to quiet criticism and reverse a slide in sales. The Minneapolis-based retailer, best known for its fashionable merchandise and jazzy marketing savvy, is pinning its rebound hopes on a distinctly unchic notion: transforming a corner of its discount department stores into a grocery store.
Social Media Giving: Target’s Smart Facebook Campaign
May 12, 2009
Retail chain Target already gives 5 percent of its income to charity. For the next couple weeks, they are going to be allocating those funds – which come out to $3 million every week – to charities selected by Facebook users.
Survey: Walmart Gains Consumer Share in Downturn
Apr 28, 2009
With American consumers reluctant to pry open their wallets for retail spending, a greater percentage plan to spend more at longtime discount giant Walmart than at Target, a new survey finds.
How Your Value Message Can Be Heard Above the Din
Apr 6, 2009
On its face, the rationale behind value-based advertising seems to make sense. It's a recession, and consumers are watching what they spend. But assuming everyone really is only out for the best deal during this recession, at what point does it all become one big blur? That is, if everything is a value, then what's the value of being a value?
Crowdsourced Healthcare: What Britain's Doctors Ordered?
Apr 1, 2009
"Design thinking" is all the rage, thanks to Apple, Target, you name it--it's the idea that with a little ingenuity, companies can gear their products and services to what consumers want. But one of the more intriguing applications has been when companies want to engage in the design process. This is when design firms like Ideo and Frog are hired to introduce "design processes" as a way to reengineer the way companies work. For example, the U.K. is partnering with patients to "co-design" its processes for serving the sick.
Facebook Offers Ad Targeting By Language, Location
Mar 12, 2009
Facebook sent out a message to advertisers Wednesday afternoon notifying them that there are two new features to target users with: language and target location radius.
General Mills, Target Play on Consumers' Nostalgia
Mar 4, 2009
If food can be comforting, how about packaging? With consumers embracing old-world classics such as casserole, some marketers are trying to get on the bandwagon by trotting out some old-school style.
The Cheese-and-Pepperoni Stimulus
Feb 26, 2009
Long after Home Depot has dumpstered its last roll of Tyvek, frayed and unfurling like a forgotten flag; long after Target has baled its remaining Isaac Mizrahi couture collection sweaters for shipment to AAA Closeout Liquidators; long after Walgreens, the Pharmacy America Trusts, has filled its final myeasyconsult.com Vicodin prescription for your neighbor’s 14-year-old son, one business will still be switching on its O-P-E-N sign every day at 9 and off again at 11: Tony’s Pizza.
A Fashionable Lift for the Everywoman
Feb 12, 2009
AT Liz Claiborne , the apparel company that is struggling to endure a shutdown in consumer spending, executives have their own stimulus plan. Call it Isaac Mizrahi . Mr. Mizrahi — whose fashions for Target were so popular he helped the discount chain become synonymous with chic design — was poached by Liz Claiborne last year to overhaul its aging brand.
Target and Trump: Strange Bedfellows of the Recession
Jan 19, 2009
I'm about to step over the threshold of Penthouse 2, at Trump Place, one of The Donald's spiffy Costas Kondylis-designed real estate temples overlooking the Hudson on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The lobby was serene, in that expensive marble and matte-gold-mirror kind of way; the hallway papered in a discreet, tasteful beige. So what's this loud orange doormat, screaming "Step Into Savings!" doing outside a condo that normally rents for at least $10K a month?
Target Tries First Price Point Driven TV Ads
Jan 14, 2009
Target, for the first time in the company’s history introduced TV ads featuring price point messaging. The spots, which debuted during the Golden Globes on Sunday, were the second iteration of its “A new day” brand message.
Change Agent Brands
Jan 7, 2009
The brands consumers feel are on the move and gaining in popularity can be construed as change agents - brands breaking the mold and offering the promise to affect our lives in a significant way. Here is a look at the top 15 "gaining in popularity brands" of 2002 and 2008.
Design Loves a Depression
Jan 4, 2009
Few of the arts benefited from the late economic boom more than design. After all, when the wealth is flowing, people don’t covet the concerts you see or the books you read. They covet the couch you bought, and then they buy a cooler one.
Retail Marketer Of The Year: Wal-Mart
Jan 2, 2009
It seems like just yesterday that Wal-Mart Stores was the black sheep from Bentonville. Discriminating shoppers shunned it in favor of chic products from Target, its design-savvy rival, while marketing gurus mocked its relentless commitment to low prices.
Abercrombie, Target Lead Retail's Season of Suffering
Dec 6, 2008
Last month proved to be the worst November for retailers in at least 39 years, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Still, terrible results from Abercrombie & Fitch and Target stood out, even amid the sea of grim reports, providing case studies of marketing approaches that are simply not resonating with consumers in these dire times.
Target Zeros In on iPhone
Dec 3, 2008
Facebook apps are so yesterday. Target is pushing into new frontiers as one of the first brands to build an application for the iPhone.
