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THE MARKETING BEHIND TARGET CORPORATION
George Draper Dayton started his career as a successful banker and real estate
investor. In 1902, Dayton decided to expand his horizon, and explore the fast growing
markets in the Midwest of the United States. This lead to his partnership with
Goodfellow’s Dry Goods Company, which at the time, was one of the largest department
stores in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Only a year following this partnership, George Dayton
took full ownership of Goodfellow’s Dry Goods Company. He then renamed the
company to, Dayton Dry Goods Company, which today is known as Target. George
Draper Dayton was ultimately the founding father of Target Corporation, which is now
the second largest discount retail store in the United States. This paper will examine the
marketing strategies behind the success of Target chain stores. First, this paper will
explain the marketing tactic behind the name and logo of the company. Next, this paper
will analyze and discuss the act(s) of persuasion that is used in Targets advertisements.
Finally, this paper will identify all the marketing strategies that are utilized to promote
Targets products. In the end, this paper will explain how the marketing strategies, and use
of persuasion, has allowed Target Corporation to be one of the top successful discountretail stores.
Although Target was not officially given its name until 1962, there is a great deal
of history behind the name. George D. Dayton, the founder of Dayton Dry Goods
Company, ran a successful department store for thirty-six years. Dayton was known to be
a good man, who had a passion for providing the community and his guests with top-
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notch service and products. He withheld a belief that, "Success is making ourselves
useful in the world, valuable to society, helping in lifting in the level of humanity, so
conducting ourselves that when we go the world will be somewhat better of our having
lived the brief span of our lives” (corporation.target.com).
George D. Dayton died in 1938; however, his beliefs and ideas did not die with
him. His company was left to his son, George N. Dayton. Over the years, the company
continued to be passed down generation to generation. Each generation of Dayton’s
upheld their original founding father belief, by expanded the growth of the company
significantly. The Dayton’s took risks with the hope to expand the department store. They
were one of the first companies to sell top competitor products, under the same roof as
each other. A risk that ultimately lead to success, which in 1960, birthed the idea,
“...transforming the organization from a family-run department-store chain into one of the
nation's largest discount-store chains” (corporation.target.com).
This is when the marketing behind the company's [new] name began. President at
the time, Douglas J. Dayton, pitched the new idea of a discount-store chain as, combining
“ ...the best of the fashion world with the best of the discount world, a quality store with
quality merchandise at discount prices, and a discount supermarket...75 departments in
all” (corporation.target.com). With this vision in mind, Director of Publicity, Stewart K.
Widdess was assigned the task of naming the new store just months before the grand
opening in 1962. Over two hundred ideas were suggested before Widdess finally decided
on the perfect name. Using red-and-white as the new colors, the name “Target” was
created. Widdess reasoning behind his decision was, “As a marksman's goal is to hit the
center bulls-eye, the new store would do much the same in terms of retail goods, services,
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commitment to the community, price, value and overall experience”
(corporation.target.com). The “bullseye” concept became an instant hit. Their marketing
strategy was not to have a hidden message or some act of persuasion, but rather,
incorporating the company’s idea and beliefs into one simple, honest symbol. Today,
Target’s name and logo is trademarked, or in other words, official property of Target
Corporation. This meaning, no other company in the world has, nor can have, the same
name or logo as Target. This has allowed the company to gain and maintain brand
credibility, as well as customer loyalty.
Next, this paper will now examine the marketing and acts of persuasion used in
Target’s advertisements. One of the major keys to Target chain stores success, is the
dedication the company has in producing advertisements. Target uses several marketing
strategies such as, communication tactics and acts of persuasion when advertising the
stores. Wal-Mart has always been Targets top competition; every year Target falls short
behind Wal-Mart in sales and revenue. However, according to a web article by Patrick
Barwin and Seejan Meehan, Wal-Mart only spends an annually of 0.3 percent of their
annual revenue on advertising, Target spends 2.3 percent of annual revenue on
advertising. Target utilizes the money put forth to make several different types of
advertisements. They work with several different agencies to come up with new,
innovative ad campaigns. In the early years of the store, Target’s marketing team used
“dimensional advertising”, which is, “using unconventional marketing programs to
reinforce its message” (hbswk.hbs.edu). They would print ads in popular Sunday papers,
such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times. They produced
billboards across the country, as well as ads printed on buildings in busy cities.
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As technology progresses, so has Target’s advertisements. With the evolution of
the Internet, and the introduction of mass media and social networking, Target has
adapted the marketing strategy of, “media mix”. Media mix is defined as, “the
combination of advertising, channels employed in meeting the promotional objectives of
marketing plan or campaign”(busisnessdictonary.com). In summary, media mix is the use
of media to promote advertisement. Television commercials and Internet ads are the most
commonly used types of media advertisements. Target has made it a goal to use media
mixing to their full advantage to advertise their stores. In an interview given by Jennifer
Rooney of Forbes, to the current CMO of Target, Jeff Jones, Jones states this;
“We are continually evaluating our media mix to ensure we are delivering the right
messages through the right channels at the right time that best reach our guests. To do
this successfully, we’re focused on innovative ideas that change and deepen the way
guests engage with Target” (forbes.com).
CMO Jeff Jones clearly stated the thought process behind Targets ad campaigns.
To be innovative, and to make sure Target delivers the right messages. When it comes to
delivering these messages, Target uses two of the most popular forms of persuasion,
peripheral and central route. Peripheral and central routing are both acts of sociology
persuasion. Through persuasion, ones attitude can be altered. As learned in my
persuasion and rhetoric class, the act of peripheral routing is not based on arguments or
facts, but more through the use of superficial cues. Using an attractive person in an
advertisement, like a celebrity, will trigger likeness to that celebrity, ultimately gaining
likeness of the advertisement. Target uses peripheral routing in several of their ad
campaigns. The use of celebrities is the major use of peripheral routing for Target.
Throughout the years, Target has had the world's top celebrities as the face of their
campaigns ads. Especially during the holiday season(s). Central routing is a bit different.
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Central routing, unlike peripheral, does use arguments and facts to grab the attention of
the viewer. It triggers emotion and allows the viewer to think about the message being
portrayed, in hope of gaining their trust and likeness. Target utilizes the use of central
routing in their advertisement by promoting the ways the help the community. Target has
always been known to give back to the community, as it started with the founding father,
George D. Dayton. Today, Target has educational scholarships programs, and is paired
up with several different non-profit organizations. The use of central routing is
demonstrated through the ad campaigns Target produces to bring awareness to the
organizations the company is paired with. These ad campaigns tell the viewers that
Target is dedicated to helping the community, which helps Target’s credibility and gains
likeness and trust of its customers.
Target has never been afraid to use advertising to their advantage. Although
Target does spend more money annually producing ads than their leading competitor
Wal-Mart, the money spent brings great success to the company. Target has consistently
used smarting marketing and communication tactics, through dimensional advertising,
media mixing and persuasion to produce successful advertisements.
Finally, this paper will now examine the marketing strategy behind Targets
products. As discussed earlier, the idea behind Target retail stores was, to have high
quality products, at a discounted price. Target however, is not the only discount retailstore in the market. Wal-Mart and Kmart have been Targets top two greatest
competitions. In business and marketing terms, knowing your competition is a key
concept to success. Although Target falls short of Wal-Mart yearly in revenue, it does not
defeat Target, but instead, inspires them. Target Corporation has always made sure their
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guest understand the difference between Target stores, and Wal-Mart stores. Target has
never lost the site of having high quality products available at discounted prices. They
have maintained the “cheap but chic” image, and have adopted the slogan, “Expect more,
Pay less”.
One of the main reasons why Target has been able to maintain the high quality
products in their stores is because of their customers. In contrast to Wal-Mart shoppers,
Target customers are known to be younger, and wealthier than typical discount shoppers
(referenceforbusiness.com). Target has a strong young customer base that a French
nickname “Tar-jay” has been given to the store, with the customers idea that Target has
more class than other discount stores. The masterminds behind Target have always aimed
to give their customers an excellent experience. They even refer to their customers as
“guests”.
Having a young and wealthier customer base allows Target to bring in the high
quality products they want to sell. Just like Target uses celebrities for ad campaigns, they
also use them to sell fashion. Over the years, fashion designers have paired up with
celebrities to produce fashion lines. These designers and celebrities then pair up with
Target, making their clothing available in Target stores. However, Target does not allow
just any designer or celebrity to produce a fashion line for the company. Target is known
to have a retro art pop feel to their stores, so when looking for designers and celebrities,
they look for the ones who have the same fashion sense and attitude.
As a department store, Target’s products vary from, clothing to household items,
to electronics, and more recently, food. Target has two main marketing strategies behind
their products. Although the use of designers and celebrities for fashion has reined
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success for Target, they are also known for taking a different route. Target uses another
strategy, which involves, locating unknown brands, and turning them into something
known. They look for small companies with good products, and by selling those products
in Target stores, helping the small companies expand. This is a smart marketing strategy
because it is an, “out-side-of-the-box” strategy. Another main marketing strategy behind
Target’s products is a long-term one. For most of Target’s household items, they have
years of strong relationships between high-end manufactures. This relationship allows
Target to offer high-end products to their customers at a special offer.
All and all, the key behind Target’s marketing strategy for products, is to choose
the products, sell them at the right price, so you as customers, do not feel as if you are
shopping at a discount store. Although Target does drop prices to meet those of their
competitors, such as Wal-Mart, they make sure their customers know they are far
different from Wal-Mart. Target also believes in always coming up with new ideas.
“Target solicits everyone in the company to find the next new thing. Marketing chief
Michael Francis leads a quarterly contest he calls the Big Idea” …” "We put that
challenge out to the whole organization. Some people who come back with good ideas
are not in the core [marketing or product development] areas. We might get someone
from finance…” (money.cnn.com).
This paper is to examine the marketing strategies behind Target Corporation, and
it is not secret that their strategies have, and are continuing to work for them. When
George D. Dayton had an image of providing his community with high quality products
and services, I don’t think he ever thought it would amount to this. Target uses creative
communication tactics, and smart marketing strategies. Media mixing, and acts of
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persuasion have lead to great success in advertisement. Their relationship with
celebrities, small business and high-end manufactures allow the store to provide the
customers with the best quality products. In the end, Targets marketing strategies create a
mixture that result in customers having a positive shopping experience. They utilize their
marketing strategies to make the customers feel as if they are treasure hunting, rather than
shopping in a discount department store. Target has had its doors open for fifty-one years
and has seen great market success. “Through consistent marketing and communication,
Target has transformed its signature bull's-eye logo into a lifestyle symbol”
(hbwsk.hbs.edu). Their marketing success reins clear, since today, 96 percent of
Americans can instantly recognize the Target “bullseye”.
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Citations
Abramovich , G. (2013, April 6). Targets "show don't tell" content strategy. Retrieved
from http://digiday.com/brands/targets-show-dont-ell-content-strategy/
Barwise, P., & Barwise, P. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4319.htm
Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/media-mix.html
David, F. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://reurbanist.com/2011/06/what-makes-target-sosuccessful/
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/about/history/Target-through-the-years
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/M-Z/TargetCorporation.html
Rooney, J. (2012, October 19). Target cmo jeff jones reveals insight behind holiday big
holiday marketing push. Retrieved from
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2012/10/19/target-cmo-jeff-jonesshares-insights-behind-big-holiday-marketing-push/
SCHLOSSER, J. (2004, October 18). How target does it. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2004/10/18/8188073/