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When I heard Target was coming to Canada, I was not all that
excited. I figured we did not need another American company coming to Canada to
encourage more ‘Über-shopping’ and perhaps take away customers from some of our
Canadian stores. I believe that as a society we need to learn to shop less and
get by with less ‘stuff’. However, that is my personal opinion, one that I need
to develop with my own lifestyle...still a work in progress. At
this point I would be considered a hypocrite with this philosophy. After
all, this week I’m taking a whole tour bus full of Winnipeggers to Minneapolis
for the Black Friday weekend. To shop! At Target...and other places...American shopping
places. My walk doesn’t meet my talk...yet.
Target has created a buzz in Canada. They state that they are going to provide Canadians with new shopping opportunities, with new-to-Canada products, and all at affordable prices. Target is also committed to being a good neighbour, bringing much benefit to each of the communities where one will find a Target location. It is these benefits that my PR tactics will focus on.
Target has created a buzz in Canada. They state that they are going to provide Canadians with new shopping opportunities, with new-to-Canada products, and all at affordable prices. Target is also committed to being a good neighbour, bringing much benefit to each of the communities where one will find a Target location. It is these benefits that my PR tactics will focus on.
Since
I was assigned to develop tactics for Target’s coming to town, I started with
research, as Samantha, our PR instructor, has ingrained in us. Research can sure open our eyes, eh?
Prior to research, I viewed Target as being another Walmart type corporation: a
giant that puts small businesses out of business and doesn’t bring much benefit
to a community, in my opinion. Perhaps Walmart could use a dose of good PR!
Target
may be new to Canada, but its roots can be traced back to1902, under the name Dayton’s
Dry Goods Company. They were philanthropic from the early days of the corporation
as The Dayton Foundation, now known as The Target Foundation. I was duly
impressed with the company’s generosity and ethical behaviour. They have also
won numerous awards and acclamations from reputable sources. Either they have
tremendous luck with great PR, or they are truly a decent company. Their good reputation made
it quite easy to come up with positive PR tactics.
Target
is coming to town. This is a story the media will want to report. Part of my
strategy is to make certain they are able to report positive facts about
Target and that the message of Target as a 'Good Neighbour' comes across loud and clear. As the president of Target Canada says:
"Target is so much more than
just a place to shop. We also have a long history as a great place to work and
of being a strong partner in the cities and towns where we do business. I’m
proud to report that we’re already hiring a great team and launching our
philanthropic efforts."
Here
are some of the tactics I have come up with that will share the philanthropic
philosophy of Target and also the benefit Target brings to communities, as well
as the opportunity for shopping deals:
·
Target
will keep on top of social media, their website and blogs to keep their publics
posted about all upcoming events, contests and philanthropic goals, as well as
special shopping deals.
·
Target will have regular press releases about upcoming events, contests, goals and objectives for each Target community
store. These press releases will start in December and increase in frequency as
the opening dates move closer.
·
Target
will place ads and also media awareness campaigns on television, radio and
newspapers, starting January 25, 2013. They will promote store openings, sales,
shopping merchandise and also Good Neighbour events. These include all of the
campaigns and programs included in the tactics.
·
Not
only is Target already taking job applications online, Target will also hold
job fairs on a weekly basis beginning three weeks prior to store openings. This
will also be announced via a press release.
·
Target will continue to promote their Canadian
REDcard, advertising on television, radio and newspapers as well as social
media about the REDcard and the opportunity to use it online and in any of the Target stores.
·
Target will start a "Take Charge of Education" program in Winnipeg on January 25, 2013, three months prior to their
opening. Schools will be invited to enroll online, and parents and the
community will be invited to sign up for the REDcard online, choosing a school
to support.
·
Starting
February 1, 2013, Target will be holding a contest for local public school
students to come up with a YouTube video that will promote the Target Brand.
The winning school will receive $25,000 in grant money and a chance to have
their video used for a nation-wide television commercial. Each school may send
in as many video submissions as they wish. The winner will be chosen on Opening
Day, April 19, 2013. Contest announcement will coincide with the Take Charge of
Education announcement.
· Each store will have its own Facebook page. For every ‘like’ the page receives, it will donate a dollar to community sports and/or arts programs.
·
The “Paint the town RED” campaign will take place
February 8-16, 2013 in each community where a new Target is opening up. A group
of Target staffers will have a display set up in specific local malls. Everyone
who visits the displays and is wearing a RED shirt will receive a coupon worth
$10 off a $50 purchase at any Target location, including online shopping. Not
only that, but for every RED shirt Target will donate $10 to the Heart and
Stroke Foundation.
·
The“Paint
the town RED” campaign will ask people to sign up for email updates, and will
have a small survey available asking questions about the perceptions and
expectations of the new Target store. The staff will have opportunity to
interact with their public and also try to get feedback and contact information
so they can keep in touch and hopefully evaluate the success of the launch at a
later date. There will also be awareness made of all Target Canada social media
links, and apps.
·
Target will hold a fashion show in the mall during
the “Paint the town RED” campaign. This will showcase a number of models
wearing some of the quality fashion items Target will sell in their store.
·
Target will be looking to hire four teen-age Target
ambassadors during the “Paint the town RED” campaign. Once hired, they will be featured in
future mailers as models and will help out with local media events, campaigns, and
opening ceremonies. They will also speak to the younger generations on social
media sites and the Take Charge of Education program and will also help judge
the YouTube Target video submissions from the schools.
·
During
the week of April 11 and April 18, Target flyers and mailers will be sent out
to the surrounding communities of each store, advertising special opening week
deals. Coupons for Target product deals will be included in the mailers. These
flyers and coupons will continue to be sent out weekly as is common in the
Winnipeg market.
·
Store
opening will be April 19, 2013 and opening week will take place April 19-28,
2013. There will be an opening ceremony and cookies as well as free coffee or hot chocolate from
Starbucks will be served.
·
The
president of Target Canada will be present at each store opening and will hold
a press release prior to the opening and the day after the store
opening.
·
The
Target store opening will also include prominent people from the community.
They will be educators and representatives from some of the causes that Target
will support, such as United Way, Salvation Army, Heart and Stroke Foundation,
and others.
·
Throughout
opening week, there will be opportunities for draws and the possibility of
winning free merchandise. There will be special sales and promotions planned
throughout the opening week.
·
During
opening week, April 19-28, 2013, Target will donate not only the regular 5% REDcard purchase profits, but 10% of its
local store profits to various community causes, a list of which can be found
on their website. This will also be announced at one of the many press
conferences prior to opening.
Now,
how excited are you that Target is coming to town, eh?! I, for one, have
started a whole new love affair with this red beast.
Enjoyed this article! Target has done a lot of good things in the States too, and has recently had a makeover by the designer of Apple stores. It looks great and accessible, a department store to model after, and one that has at least a sense of moral responsibility in its product acquisition and to the community. I'm glad they're being well received in Canada.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great feedback. Target is just in the process of opening up a number of stores in Eastern Canada. The first one in Winnipeg won't open for at least another month. We'll see how they do. This article was actually assigned to us in one of my classes and I ended up being pleasantly surprised at the amount of philanthropy Target is involved with. I hope it will be a good thing for our city/communities.
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