Is your brand a “thing to do?”
Brands on target
By Brenna Hanly
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know, let’s just go to Target.”
I cannot tell you how many times that exact conversation has transpired among my friends. The brand Target has so permeated the psyche of our generation that the brand has actually become a destination.
After partaking in this activity for the hundredth time or so this weekend, I started to think. It’s pretty powerful that we are going to Target without even a purchase in mind. Granted, we usually come out with a few “necessities,” there is rarely a product that drives our trip. What is it about Target that make us want to go there instead of say the movies or the mall?
The environment. Target does not solely think about the products they will offer and where they will display them, but they have truly created an in-store experience. Visually the stores are bright (compared to a Walmart), there is upbeat music playing and there is a Starbucks or food service kiosk in the store. More brands need to think beyond their narrow product offering and more about creating in-store experiences that make people want to come back.
Affordable quality. Another reason we choose Target is because the products are not very expensive but still meant to last. As the Target commercials so adeptly point out, we, like many people these days, are frugalistas.
On-demand content. Target has also provided us with the ability to access their content whenever we want, keeping them top of mind. Last holiday season, they built an iphone app that allowed consumers to shake it and find relevant gift ideas for different people depending on their demographic.
Then again, maybe this is all just the result of growing up in the ‘burbs. What do you say – Where the Wild Things Are or Target?
Photo Credit: robholland / CC BY 2.0
17 Responses
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A valueless comment, perhaps, Tim, but this insight made me think.
I love Target, but I don’t think they’re particularly unique in how they present the shopping experience. The notion of shopping as a pastime without a particular goal in mind has been around since the Baroque era. Maybe longer. But what Target has done extremely well is promote good design in affordable products. They’ve lifted big box retail shopping from something only the working class does, to something acceptable for the middle and upper classes. On one hand this is great: everyone feels better about saving a buck. On the other hand, is it just a WalMart in disguise? Isn’t it essentially the same mass market warehouse with a different skin? And if so…so what? Are we officially beyond hating the big box stores and can I finally admit that I love being able to buy a sweater, toilet cleaner, a DVD and a giant can of Cheetos in one place?
An interesting exercise is to imagine the fast-food equivalent of Target. How would you carry over that sense of cheap-without-trashy, frugal-without-frumpy? How would you get the convenience and ubiquity of McDonald’s without the stigma? Is it Starbucks, or something else entirely?
okay, rambled way too long….thanks for giving me something to think about!
I’m not a Target fan the way you are, but here’s my less-than-informed theory: Target stands apart from other big box discounters because they brought design to deals. Target’s marketing looks good and inside the stores you can find products designed by big names — yet Target is cheap! Smart.
Jeff
http://www.cerebellumblues.com
Hi!
I’m writting from Panama City @Central America. Your article is very insightful, congrats.
As a Brand Planner and a former Creative Director I work everyday to make my clients understand the importance of became a destination, a “thing to do” and not just a store or a brand for the young ones. But they dont care or at least they think that this is not a big issue right now. I’m sooooo gonna print this stuff… just as a friendly warning before they find a HUGE hole in their market share.
I work as a radio DJ on saturdays so im older than you but not THAT old
Congrats again. the blog is awesome!
The older sister
PD: Sorry for my bad english
I agree with the points made about good design. I think that online and off design is often thought of as a luxury – but I’d argue it’s essential. Another great example of this I think is Panera. It’s fireplace and big chairs makes it an easy destination for coffee, a quick bite or a place to get dinner – having a good product doesn’t hurt either. In full disclosure I work on the Panera Account here at Mullen, but I’m sure I’d say all this anyways. Panera has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and in large part due to good design.
Thanks for all the comments so far everyone.
Nicole – I agree shopping as an activity is not new concept. What was fascinating to me was the reasoning behind consistently choosing target as the destination for that activity.
Agree about it having to do with bringing design to the masses.
I think we can admit we appreciate big box shopping, but only if the store looks pretty
.
Thanks for your thoughts – am thinking on the fast food question. At first blush, Starbucks and/or Panera come to mind, but maybe there could be more to it…
Jeff – theoretically what you are saying makes sense, but from my experience neither myself or my friends end up buying the designer clothes at Target (b/c they are at a premium). We would buy cheaper, unfamiliar brands from Target and then go to better designers (outside the store) if we wanted to treat ourselves. I’m not claiming to speak for all, but an interesting paradigm. Also, that’s not to say that the designer offerings aren’t drawing us to the store to begin with… Thanks for your comment.
Flor – it’s very exciting to have an international perspective – thanks for printing for pass along in Panama City.
Jason – yes, I would put Panera in a similar category as well – destination brands? The design element is there, but Panera hasn’t expanded beyond their endemic product offering though. Target has their own place to get food, an attached Starbucks, etc.
Brenna,
Like this post. The power of creating brand experience that Target has to make you go to their store without a particular utilitarian motive is one of the most powerful tools a brand can have. It’s why we walk down Newbury St for fun, or choosing a restaurant based on location, look and feel, crowd, and maybe a brief look at the menu, without knowing if the food tastes good.
Selling a desirable experience is extremely powerful. It’s how Red Bull can make you a huge fan, even if you might not actually even like the taste of it.
To digress, a good brand is built out of experience + product (like Target), but it doesn’t have to be (Starbucks perhaps?). Target has solidly built on both.
Seth
Brand=Experience http://sethhosko.com
Good stuff, Brenna. I LOVE Target, and I’m fortunate enough to live not 1 mile away from one.
I think your post opens up a bigger topic – how Brands have come to define categories. Much in the same way that Target is a “thing to do,” it’s interesting to look at brands that have quickly become synonyms for their respective categories. E.g., “Googling” something for search; “BBMing” for us crackberriers; Polo-shirt as opposed to collared-shirt; Kleenex as opposed to tissues; etc.
The challenge for many brands is that there are already those category definers that have become embedded in our everday semantics. And for those categories that still lack a clear champion, how do you differentiate yourself with all that competition?
Brenna,
I think the hype towards Target is the customer essentially feeling like a designer. Since many of the brands are “no namers,” they feel that they are in a design studio, customizing their own outfits. Maybe you are so drawn into going there becasue it stimulates your mind as creative and gives the customer a sense of being able to design whatever they want.
Similar to the appeal of Subway (creating your own masterpiece sub with the materials readily available) and Need For Speed (creating your own custom car), the appeal of Target is that the consumers can purchase cheap items in order to put together their own “designer name masterpiece.” Purchasing essential, yet rather basic items for an outfit at Target leaves the consumer with a very fulfilling feeling. Mixing different, “no name” brands in order to form an outfit, the customer becomes loyal to Target rather than the brand names.
Eugene – thanks for reading and contributing. brands as verbs is definitely a powerful concept. i think there is always room for new competition to replace current verb-brand vernacular.
John & brother Doug – design seems to be a recurring theme when discussing Target. I think there’s something there. Thanks for your time and thoughts.
A valueless comment, perhaps, Tim, but this insight made me think.