How Target Showcased Black-Owned Brands for Black History Month
What’s new: Target leveraged the observance of Black History Month in February by spotlighting Black-owned brands and partnering with creators on an exclusive line of products.
In-store activity: Display fixtures stocked a collection of exclusive apparel, home decor, stationery and educational materials from brands including Legendary Rootz, Tactile Matter and Be Rooted. The displays also featured products designed by Black Target employees and the winners of a design challenge for students at historically black colleges and universities. Table signs used a QR code to link to a Black History Month showcase within Target.com to learn more about the designers.
Additional support: Target also spotlighted its Black History Month collection with circular features, a home page display ad, email blasts, and Facebook and Instagram updates. Other spotlighted brands include Mattel’s Barbie, Purpose Toys’ Naturalistas and BLK & Bold.
Why it matters: While Target has celebrated Black History Month with an annual “Black Beyond Measure” campaign since 2020, this year’s program follows the company’s announcement in January that it would be ending some of its diversity efforts as the Trump administration dismantled government DEI programs and pushed private companies to follow suit. The move sparked backlash from some Black shoppers, with calls for boycotts. Walmart and Amazon have also rolled back their own diversity efforts.
- About Field Reports
P2PI editors and staff regularly look for interesting and relevant digital and in-store marketing, monitoring the merchandising and marketing activity at various leading retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Our exclusive field reports highlight what's new and notable for commerce marketers.
