Tactics for Target to hit the bullseye

There has been a lot of anticipation building around the opening of Target stores in Canada, as well as some skepticism following less-than-stellar showings by other newly introduced American stores (such as Marshall’s).  One of Target’s spokespeople – Amy O’Reilly – delivered a concise message to reassure potential shoppers, stating that “Our Canadian customers can expect the same exclusive products, the same designer partnerships and the same environmental and community outreach that their American neighbors enjoy" (from walletpop.ca).  This statement clearly and concisely captures 3 essential elements of their PR campaign:

1)      Exclusive products at discount prices (encapsulated in their tagline, “Expect more. Pay less”)

2)      Accessible and fashionable items with designer credibility

3)      Corporate social responsibility, and investing in their new communities.

Building on the stance they’ve established so far, there are a few tactical ideas that Target could consider.  All off these proposed promotional ideas should be accompanied by a detailed media relations strategy, such as press releases and press kits, PSAs (for the educational tactics), and promoted posts on social media.

Target has had great success in the past with pop-up stores coinciding with special events (such as a recent pop-up in Toronto, and another in New York to celebrate Zac Posen’s new line) but this tactic could cease to be buzz-worthy if it’s overused, so it would need to be considered carefully.  A pop-up store – or stores – that coincide with a popular time for Canadians to cross the border for American deals, such as Black Friday, would be a great way to leverage the support of Canadians who already frequent Target (10% of Canadians, apparently).  This would also reinforce the promise that Canadian Target stores will have the same quality, selection, and low prices as American stores, while staying closer to home.

Designer partnerships (such as the most recent Neiman Marcus line) have been extremely important in Target’s advertising and promotion, which has a direct appeal to “every fashionista-on-a-budget north of the border” (walletpop.ca).  An online contest on a visually driven and fashion-friendly social network, such as Pinterest, would offer exclusive sneak peeks of upcoming collections, and build anticipation for the actual arrival of these collections.  Target could invite fans to build their own personalized pinboard of favorite looks from an upcoming collection, which would enter them to win a shopping spree for when the store opens.  Not only would this help to promote the designers and brands, but it would also build anticipation among fashion and social media influencers and their followers.

           

Target has also already begun building their reputation for corporate social responsibility through a Facebook campaign to donate $1 Million to Canadiancharities.  They could develop this reputation and reinforce their community commitment further with smaller initiatives, based specifically in the communities that they are moving into.  They place a lot of emphasis on education, so it would be logical to partner with local museums to plan a free or subsidized admission day in advance of the store opening.  In collaboration with the school and museums, they could plan a scavenger hunt (or a similar, age-appropriate educational activity) in the museum, with Target providing age-appropriate prizes linked to the Target brand – for example, gift cards for older students, or plush animals for younger students).  While Targetstates that 70% of Canadians are already familiar with their brand, this would – quite literally – bring their brand awareness home.

             
Of course, regardless of the tactics that they use to build awareness and buzz around the opening, the proof will be in the pudding, and their success will depend on how the Target stores and shopping experience measure up to their promises.

Passion for the Arts, and the art of PR, with Teri Stevens

I met with Teri Stevens, Publicist and Online Media Coordinator for the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, over lunch at the Free Press café.  Teri has been with MTC for a year and 5 months now, and previously worked with Arts& Cultural Industries Manitoba  and Sarasvati Productions.  She entered the Creative Communications program at Red River after completing a B.A. at the University of Manitoba, and initially thought she might go into journalism, but fell in love with PR instead.

Teri did a practicum with the Government of Manitoba, where she learned, among many other things, that she would rather write about theatre than wheat.   Teri reaffirmed for me the importance of following your passion, and also being realistic about what that will bring.   She said, “When you follow you passion into the arts, it’s not going to make you rich, right?  So you have to be there for another reason.”  Enjoying and loving her job is more important than salary, and this came through clearly in her stories and the advice that she kindly shared with me.  I’m sure that if her passion was wheat, and not theatre, she would be an excellent wheat publicist too (although wheat does make it into the arts every now and then).

But I digress.  I did know enough, when I was asked to interview a PR professional, that wheat is also not a passion of mine.  I know that I want to build my PR skills so that I can contribute to work being done in the social/cultural sphere of life, in community development and in the arts, where (unfortunately), many organizations are doing great work with too small of a budget to include PR, or the majority of their focus is directed towards direct service or programming.  So I stared at my computer screen and thought, “what local non-profit is established and large enough to have a PR or marketing department?”  I had an “aha” moment when I thought of MTC, and a second “aha” moment when I looked Teri up on LinkedIn.  I thought, “It looks like she is in a place that I’d like to be.  Also, I think this could be fun!”  And it was.

Fun – or enjoyment, at least – can be found in seemingly tedious work when it aligns with your interests.  In order to write a blurb (a short one-paragraph description of a play), Teri needs to read the entire screenplay.  After reading it, her challenge is to find that one thing that will interest the MTC audiences, and inspire them to come to the theatre.  She also reads through a huge stack of paper to collect the news clippings, reads over and edits pieces written by her colleagues, reads other PR blogs, reads PR Daily…let’s just say she reads a lot.  She writes and compiles pieces for MTC’s program, writes press releases, and writes actor’s bios.

Teri also needs to keep current with work happening internally in other departments of MTC , in order to update the website, and keep current with external organizations whose regulations affect how MTC does their promotion.  For example, the actor’s union has certain rules about publicity: If a photo has 3 or more actors in it, they don’t need to be named independently, but if there are 3 or less, their names need to be listed in full.  If her promo image features 3 actors with long names , well, that could be an entire tweet, with no room left for any other description.  It’s plain to see that to be an effective publicist, you need to be able to balance a micro and a macro view of the area you’re working in, and be acutely aware of every other group you are interconnected with.

Of course, this interconnection also keeps the work interesting, as well as fulfilling.  Teri said that she gets a lot of pride and satisfaction from seeing the effects and the results of her work, in seeing a successful pitch, and in surviving the busiest part of the season.  She started with MTC just 10 days before she had to put on a large media conference for the Fringe Festival, which is always an incredibly busy time for MTC staff.  However, Teri found that through past experience with ACI and her schooling, she was ready for the challenge.  She spends a lot of her time working with the media, keeping her media list updated, and also meets regularly with old classmates and instructors to share experiences and stay current.

Near the end of our conversation, I asked Teri for 3 tips for someone starting out in PR, and I’ll share them with you here: 

1.  Never stop learning.
2. Seek things out.  Go to networking events (CPRS, IABC), where you can meet people and pick up new skills.
3. Maintaining work-life balance is important.  You could do PR 24 hours a day, but you’d burn out, you wouldn’t be very happy, and you wouldn’t be very good at your job either.  Sometimes you need to accept that you can’t do it all.

Thanks, Teri, for sharing your time and experience with me.  This conversation truly helped to illuminate the road ahead.  I’m excited to delve further into the multifaceted and exciting world of PR in the arts and nonprofit sectors, with a few tips and tricks in my traveler’s bag, and the knowledge that though it will surely be trying at times, there is joy and fulfillment in following your passion.

Image credit: fromoldbooks.org