Target Makes the Most of Its School Lists

Target used supply lists as a recurring theme in this year's back-to-school marketing campaign, which again distinctly targeted general and college-bound audiences but with a greater focus on the latter.Through a microsite at Target.com/collegehub, co-eds had access to new social tools including:a Facebook-inspired “1000 Likes” effort running weekdays from Aug. 4-31 that offered mobile coupons awarding up to 50% off to the first 1,000 visitors who “liked” a specific daily deal. (The company said some 65 colleges added the promotion to their own Facebook pages.)prepaid “U Care Cards” billed as "digital care packages" that friends and family can send to help college students complete their wish lists. Beginning in September, students could create and share their lists via Facebook or email.a checklist that covered everything from bed risers to Amazon’s Kindle to blackboard refrigerators. Users could print personalized versions at home or via in-store kiosks, share them through Facebook or send them to their mobile phones. Mobile banner ads within Pandora’s iPhone application linked to the checklist while letting users browse suggestions and shop by price and category (or color).Target also offered take-ones of the basic checklist in stores on side panels of neon-green – the color of choice for the retailer’s college-targeting P-O-P materials. Directional signs pointed shoppers to “College Central,” a section of the back-of-store seasonal department that merchandised household goods, appliances, DVDs and other dorm “fundamentals” under a “Check Off Savings” message tying into the checklist. Dedicated endcap displays throughout stores also placed everything from nail polish to cookware under the “Check Off” theme.Adding to its use of neon colors, the company merchandised exclusive hot pink, teal and black versions of the typically red Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner from TTI Floor Care and hot pink and teal Sunbean irons and toasters from Jarden Corp. The chain's focus on neon stems from internal research finding that college kids want to personalize their dorm rooms with bright colors, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The retailer also facilitated seasonal buying for car-less freshmen by continuing its 10-year-old after-hours busing program, which provides shuttle service from campus to store at 66 colleges and universities.Target also tapped into the checklist in circulars, using the “Check Off’ message beginning July 17 to highlight products including Emerson dry-erase fridges and Dirt Devil and Sunbeam products. That same Sunday, Target distributed a standalone newspaper insert designed to resemble a brown bag full of groceries (a standard tactic for the chain. See "Target Hosts a 'Valenbowl'" in Related Articles) to invite consumers to “think ahead for back-to-school and save smart now.” The event delivered coupons for bagged apples and Kraft Foods' Kraft Singles while also spotlighting popular breakfast and lunchtime foods from Kraft's Oscar Mayer, General Mills' Nature Valley, private-label Market Pantry, Tyson Foods' flagship, Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani and PepsiCo's Quaker, among other brands.Meanwhile, circular features targeting parents of secondary school children began running one week earlier, spotlighting such popular stationery brands as MeadWestvaco's Mead, Hallmark Cards' Crayola, Newell Rubbermaid's Sharpie and 3M's Scotch and Post-it. In August, Target delivered a standalone coupon booklet and joined with Kellogg Co. for a themed co-equity FSI. (See Related Promotional Activity.)The media schedule included numerous TV spots targeting both school audiences and often employing the checklist theme. Among them was a virally lauded spot called ”Denim.” (See video below.)In stores, parents of school-bound kids were encouraged to “grab your list and go” via multi-colored ceiling mobiles positioned near entrances and in “Back to School” sections of seasonal departments (alongside “College Central”) merchandising backpacks, notebooks and other typical supplies, as well as snacks. Within the department, blue in-line headers and ceiling signs modeled after MeadWestvaco's Five Star notebooks identified supplies for “teens,” while red headers and Crayola-box ceiling signs called out the “kids” aisles. Endcaps spotlighted exclusive Paul Frank-designed Sharpie markers, while directional signs were modeled after Trans by JanSport backpacks and Mead notebooks. Wall signs and headers deployed throughout the store announced, “Let the savings begin.” Some inventory varied regionally, influenced by the school supply lists provided to headquarters by local store managers.In other initiatives, product launches timed for the back-to-school season included:Vintage Varsity, a line of private-label apparel and accessories for men, women and children inspired by the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The products get displays with dedicated headers in stores. TV spots, circular features, email blasts and an applet on the "Target Style" Facebook page supports.Denizen, an exclusive (in the U.S.) denim line from Levi Strauss & Co. The jeans enjoy multiple rack displays with dedicated headers in men’s, women’s and children’s departments. Email blasts and circular features support.The mass merchant also added calculators and DVDs to the electronics trade-in service it offers through a partnership with Next Worth, expanding the option to all stores with Target Mobile centers. (See "Target Recycles Electronics.") The expansion came "at a time when parents are really looking to save on back-to-school purchases,” vice president of merchandising Nik Nayar said in a media release.Among manufacturer-supplied displays, computer mice from Logitech earned dedicated endcaps. On Target's website, Microsoft Corp. got the spotlight with a brand page for its mice and HD camera inviting consumers to “head back-to-school with stylishly decked tech.”On its Facebook page, Target kept school top-of-mind by sparking discussion with daily comments such as, “Does text messaging mean that kids are losing valuable note-folding skills?” The retailer also dangled deals such as:33% off a Sony Blu-Ray player, encouraging consumers to “bring the summer’s blockbuster movies back to the dorm on a college budget.”50% off Skullcandy's Ink’d headphones “because you can’t turn the volume down on your roommates.”a $2 coupon for Denizen kids jeans, leveraging the popularity of the aforementioned “Denim” TV spot with the message, “Fresh #2 pencils, clean notebooks … and denim.”Email blasts, meanwhile, promised 20% off and free shipping on girls’ and boys’ apparel purchases of $75, and linked to college supplies, backpacks, uniforms and coupons on items such as writing utensils.Among cause efforts, Target continued to promote its "Take Charge of Education" program, through which the chain's REDcardholders designate a participating K-12 school to receive donations equaling 1% of purchases. Side panels and signs at checkout promote.

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