Target Australia will commit another two years to a new brand platform, following a 24-month strategic reset.
The ‘That’s Target’ platform was initially launched at Christmas, with the second phase ‘Life Tested’ launching in February. It marked the first brand campaign for Target in seven years with TV, OOH, social and video included as part of the media mix.
Target GM marketing Jamima White said this would be a long-term investment for the department store, citing an additional two-year rollout.
“The ‘Life Tested’ campaign is a long-term, fully integrated marketing campaign that has been launched across our owned and paid channels, and this of course includes our target.com.au website, Target App and Target social channels, as well as an extensive paid media program that continues across all major paid channels,” White told AdNews.
“We have used our Market Mix Modelling to inform a balanced, integrated media buy that is focussed on reach and frequency, and specifically geographically extending our audience as our omni-channel and online business is important to Target and our customers.
“Now that Australia has come out of lockdown it has been great to be able to use mass media such as OOH again for Target to extend that reach, for example. We are continuing to monitor our investment as the campaign will run long-term.”
The brand reset comes at a pivotal time for the department store, following a period of consolidation under parent company Wesfarmers. In FY21, 75 Target stores were closed and 92 locations converted into Kmart outlets in a bid to make the brand more commercially viable.
As part of the restructure, Wesfarmers confirmed Target would return to a mid-market brand positioning after former efforts to push the chain as a volume fashion retailer. MD Rob Scott said plans were on track at Wesfarmers’ 2022 first half results announcement.
“The planned changes to the Target store network were completed during the half and the performance of Kmart stores that have been converted from Target stores continues to be pleasing and in line with the initial business case, after adjusting for the impact of lockdowns.”
With a new brand vision in place, the retailer is now poised to move forward with 'That's Target'.
"We are incredibly proud to have launched our new brand platform ‘That’s Target’ to the community," White said. "The platform was initially launched at Christmas, with honest and relatable stories featuring people from all walks of life, testing the quality, and showcasing the great value of Target’s hero Christmas products.
“The Life Tested campaign will be something that we continually refresh and will run across the course of the next two years. What customers will begin to see is the products within the campaign being refreshed overtime and the storytelling being updated to explain the real durability and experience of testing our products in everyday life. We will also be highlighting more of the sustainable elements of our products as the campaign continues.
“It has been exciting to see the passion that our team have put behind the relaunch of Target, both in our stores across Australia, in our support office, and in our overseas sourcing teams. Our team have worked hard to bring ‘That’s Target’ to life and are really engaged with the campaign. Our partners at AJF and OMD have also worked tirelessly to help us deliver this exciting work to our customers.”
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