Targeting Grocery Shoppers
By George Anderson
Target is looking to set apart its SuperTarget food operation with the same type of distinctive company brand marketing it has done in its discount stores.
The Business Journal of Minneapolis/St. Paul reports the retailer has launched the first in a series of television commercials designed to “promote the stores as the place
to get respected name brands at a good price while creating unique trendy products that lure shoppers who seek quality in addition to savings.”
The company’s in-store strategy will include a heavy emphasis on creating exclusive products only found at Target in the same fashion as it has done with Michael Graves and others
in its discount business.
Michael Francis, executive vice president of marketing for Target said, “When you look at how grocers advertise, it’s very heavily in print and a lot of couponing. We have chosen
to build the SuperTarget concept off of our core Target brand by showing we have surprising, innovative food concepts that you won’t find somewhere else.”
The company’s first spot shows animated brand icons such as Tony the Tiger and the Pillsbury Dough Boy “flocking to store shelves” with the voiceover, “And so they came, to a
place where everything is better, especially the prices.”
Moderator’s Comment: Will Target’s unique marketing work in grocery?
Target is doing something that few grocers, with notable exceptions such as Trader Joe’s, have been able to achieve — creating a distinct brand identity
for itself. SuperTarget’s marketing will work in attracting Target’s core shoppers and others. In-store execution will determine whether these same shoppers keep coming back for
more. [George
Anderson – Moderator]