Smart Design Strengthens the Brand and Reveals Purpose†

Thinktopia's Patrick Hanlon Explains Why, in This Economy, Driving Business Must Be Paramount

Advertising Age, February 16, 2010 — It goes without saying that the Great Recession has been a time for companies to pull back and retrench. But the recessionary downswing has also become a remarkable opportunity for re-imagining and reinventing brands.

Some marketers have been forced to rethink their brands because of competitive pressures; when things are good, it's easy to put aside the marketer's responsibility to continually re-excite its consumers (and stun gun the competition). Too many marketers leave that quest to Apple, Nike and Marc Jacobs.

Sears Orchestrates Comeback Via The Internet

Brandchannel.com, January 15, 2010 — In recent years, Sears and its corporate sibling Kmart have been the ailing cousins to the virile Target and Wal-Mart, but some aggressive marketing and Web 2.0 thinking might keep those brands from joining A&S and Kaufmann’s in department store heaven.

Target Takes Aim At Warehouse Clubs

MediaPost Publications, January 4, 2010 — With the Christmas season safely behind it, Target Corp. has a decidedly new strategy for the post-holiday mop-up, and Costco better watch its back.

The Minneapolis-based Target says it is introducing a warehouse-club like promotion called the Great Save, a nationwide event with reduced prices on bulk-packaged items and designer brands, without membership fees or ID cards.

Target Offers Taste of DailyCandy†

Retailer's Site Will Feature Product Picks, Articles From Newsletter's Editors

Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2009 — Target has its bull's-eye on a new venture: online media.

On Tuesday, the retailer plans to formally announce a partnership with DailyCandy.com, the email newsletter and Web site owned by cable operator Comcast that covers fashion and culture for a mostly female audience.

The venture, called Red Hot Shop, will be a special section of Target.com that will feature products from up-and-coming designers selected by DailyCandy editors, along with articles and artwork by the DailyCandy team. It is part of a broader ad deal in which Target is paying to advertise with DailyCandy; neither side would disclose the value of the deal.

With Shoppers Pinching Pennies, Some Big Retailers Get the Message

New York Times, April 13, 2009 — IN real estate, the saying goes, the golden rule is location, location, location. For retailers in a recession as severe as this one, it is value, value, value.

As shoppers remain reluctant to open their wallets, stores are still scrambling to adjust advertising and marketing strategies to play up the value aspects of what they sell. Even as retail sales data for March suggested improving results at some chains, consumers are hesitating to buy much beyond groceries, gasoline, vitamins and candy.

Warm and Fuzzy Makes a Comeback

New York Times, April 7, 2009 — IF music hath charm to soothe the savage breast, what can calm worried consumers during an economic crisis? Madison Avenue believes one answer is nostalgia.

General Mills, Target Play on Consumers' Nostalgia†

Retro Designs of Their Youth Appeal to Stressed Shoppers' Desire for Comfort

Advertising Age, March 3, 2009 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — If food can be comforting, how about packaging? With consumers embracing old-world classics such as casserole, some marketers are trying to get on the bandwagon by trotting out some old-school style. General Mills has given Target a month-long exclusive on retro box designs for some of its best-selling cereals, Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Trix.

Stadium Sponsorship Grows to New Levels

New York Times, December 11, 2008 — ALONG with the usual signs from advertisers, the new Indianapolis Colts stadium features a hallway filled with dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines, brought to football fans by the retailer Hhgregg, which is based in Indianapolis. It is the latest frontier in stadium sponsorship, showing how far sports teams are willing to go to attract marketing dollars.

Marketers Reach Out to Loyal Customers†

As Holidays Near, Retailers Tap Statistical Models, Relying More on Targeted Ads Than on Shotgun Approach

Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2008 — With the critical holiday-sales season at hand, there's a new character joining Santa and his elves on the advertising circuit: the analytics geek.

It's number-crunching time. Marketers, their ad budgets under increased scrutiny amid the economic downturn, are mining their customer databases and reaching out to loyal consumers with targeted ads, instead of relying on the traditional yuletide blitz.

Goodbye Seduction, Hello Coupons

New York Times, November 10, 2008 — As the economy rapidly deteriorates from flourishing to floundering, marketers are scrambling to remake their advertising so products seem affordable and sensible rather than indulgent and fabulous. For many big marketers, including automakers, retailers, consumer product companies and even financial services, a major shift in consumer psychology spells an end to the aspirational advertising that has dominated their campaigns for the last decade.