Smart Communications presents a strategic plan for Target, incorporating a SWOT analysis that highlights strengths such as strong customer loyalty and recognizable branding, while addressing weaknesses like supply chain issues and data breaches. The plan aims to reposition Target as a technology leader and successfully relaunch in Canada by focusing on community engagement and enhancing employee communications. Additionally, the strategy includes comprehensive use of social media to rebuild trust and engage customers effectively.

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SMART Communications Recommended Strategic
Plan for Target
Presented to:
Andrew MacDowell
Chief Marketing Officer
Target
1000 Nicollet Mall,
Minneapolis, Minn. 55403
From:
SMART Communications
233 Broadway
New York, NY 10279
212-233-2720
Agency Contact: Samantha Hyman
www.SMARTcommunications.com

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SWOT Analysis
Strengths
● Second largest U.S. Retailer with 1800 stores
● Partnerships with fashion and lifestyle brands
● Most recognizable logo in U.S.
● New leadership (CEO & CMO)
● Staff of 300,000+ known for great customer service
● Top gift card seller in the US due to strong customer loyalty
● Strong revenue performance due to desirability and perceived
quality of products
● Target-branded and Target-exclusive products
Weaknesses
● Products often out of stock, supply chain issues
● Pricing differences/mismatched expectations
● Data breach/vulnerabilities in technology
● Litigation and poor perception from data breach
● Negative perception from failed launch
● Poor communication & lack of employee training
● Lack of proper communication channels between stores and
corporate
● Website not able to handle spikes in traffic during large sales
Opportunities
● Success of City Target/Target Express
● Building up offerings of grocery products
● Build up more partnerships
● Partnering with local communities
● Building out e-commerce offering/new sales channels
● Better targeting millennial and Hispanic audiences
● Opportunity to grow globally with relaunch in Canada
Threats
● Increasing retail segment competition
● Local competitors in Canada
● Established global online retailers with competitive prices
● Continuing bad press from data breach
● Possibility another data breach could occur
● Frugal customers and declining customer base
● Poor international exchange rates
Competitor Analysis
Mission Saving people’s money so they
can live better.
Mission To be customer-centric, to ensure
customers can find anything they
want to buy at the lowest price
Mission To bring members the best
possible prices on quality
brand-name merchandise.
Revenue $486 Billion Dollars Revenue $88.99 Billion Dollars Revenue $116.2 Billion Dollars
Market Share 16.9% of retail sales Market Share 23% share of online retail sales Market Share 50% share among warehouse
stores
Products Groceries, Entertainment,
Health and Wellness, Hardlines,
Home and Apparel
Products Groceries, Electronics, Clothing,
Books, General Merchandise,
Instant Video, Amazon Prime
Products Groceries, Electronics,
Bulk Items, Books, Clothing,
Home Goods
Size 11,100 stores
1.4 million employees in the U.S.
2.2 million worldwide
Size No stores; 55 fulfillment centers
222,400 employees worldwide
100,000 seasonal workers
Size 448 stores in the US
622 stores worldwide
Locations International (28 countries) Locations International (16 countries) Locations International (8 countries)
Strengths Established in Canada
Strong product performance analytics
Competitive, low prices due to supply
chain management
Largest grocery retailer
Strengths Large-Scale Infrastructure
Strong mix of Products, Price
Strong Customer Service
Ease of purchase cross-platform
200 million credit cards on file
Strengths Low prices due to supply chain
Brand loyalty and strong
customer base
High operating efficiency
Rapid inventory turnover
Weaknesses Due to vast variety of products,
lack in focused marketing strategy
Weaknesses No physical stores
High revenue but no profit
Weaknesses N. American business reliant
Older customer base
Limited product, service offering
Opportunities Future expansion of stores globally
Relevant mergers that include small
retailers
Opportunities High barrier to entry for competitors
Mobile sales are growing
Entry into digital media/video space
Opportunities Attract younger consumers
Expand internationally
Increase product, service offering
Threats Being a global retailer - political problem
from various countries
Competition from smaller retailers
Threats Increased competition from
retailers entering e-commerce
Competitor price-matching
Threats High competition in the
warehouse industry
Competition from online retailers

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Value Proposition
Expect more. Pay Less.
Target strives to provide well-designed, quality products at a great price. It takes a two-pronged approach to deliver value
to its customers through fashionable and differentiated merchandise at affordable prices to its guests, while also
delivering a shopping experience that is expected by its guests. Target ensures accessibility and convenience for its
customers, such as an expanded grocery and fresh food sections. And as a part of its commitment to the local
community, 5% of each guest’s purchase with a Target REDcard is donated to the local community, which adds
additional value to the guests that choose to shop at Target.
Audience Segmentation
External Audiences Internal Audiences
● U.S. Consumers
● Canadian consumers
● U.S. media
● Canadian media
● Shareholders
● Suppliers
● U.S. Store Employees
● U.S. Corporate Employees
● Canadian Store Employees
● Canadian Corporate Employees
Consumers Employees
U.S. Consumer Demographics:
● Age:​ Median age of 40
● Gender:​ 76% women, 24% men
● Education:​ About 57% have completed college
● Family Size :​ Approximately 43% have children
● Income​: Median Household income : $64,000
U.S. Consumer Psychographics:
● Want one stop shop for all personal and household
needs
● Expect and desire quality products and the most value
their dollar will buy
● Comfort shoppers:​ want shopping for their grocery and
household products to not consume too much time
Store Employee Demographics:
● Age​: Median age of 34
● Gender​: 65% women, 35% men
● Education​:
○ 48% have less than a high school education or
are high school graduates;
○ 52% have some college experience or a college
degree (associate’s or higher)
● Income: ​Median household income: $42,000
Psychographics
● Friendly individuals with varying degrees of
communication skills
● Energetic, adventurous and outspoken
● Committed to their local communities
Canadian Consumer Demographics:
● Age:​ Median age of 45
● Gender:​ 80% women, 20% men
● Education:​ About 52% have completed college
● Family Size :​ Approximately 53% have children
● Income​: Median Household income : $60,000
Canadian Consumer Psychographics
● Not use to the concept of “one-stop shop”
● View Target as low price competitor of Walmart
● Look for smaller product sizes and online shopping
● Desire low prices and similar spirit of U.S. stores
● 83%-92% are aware of Target
Corporate Employee Demographics:
● Age​: Median age of 40
● Education​:
○ 87% have completed college
○ 35% MBA graduates
● Gender: ​55% men, 45% women
● Income: ​Median household income: $75,000
Psychographics
● Friendly with varying levels of communication skills
● Energetic, adventurous and outspoken
● Committed to their local communities

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Social Media Audit
Show, Don’t Sell
Target currently has a massive social audience of over 138,000,000, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
Pinterest, Vine, and LinkedIn. Target maintains a different handle for each customer need on Twitter. This allows for
Target to cater news to segmented audiences and avoid inundating follower with content that is irrelevant to their needs.
Target relies heavily on Twitter (specifically @Target, @TargetDeals and @TargetStyle) to drive sales, utilizing #Cartwheel
to promote to promote their app that allows consumers to add discounts to checkout. Target actively engages and
replies across social media channels, responding to 64% of comments within the hour and 99% in 24 hours.
Target is active on every channel and often cross-promotes in order to increase engagement--for example, Target
shared a YouTube video of its partnership with its Top Pinners from Pinterest. Target is not afraid to let top Instagram
influencers take over their account and bring a new perspective and dimension to their feed. Their posts on Instagram
are often interactive, reciprocate social media love, and tease upcoming partnerships, events, and promotions.
Target uses LinkedIn to handle and address crisis. Jeff Jones, EVP and CMO of Target is currently a LinkedIn influencer
and shared a post in response to the former CEO of Target stepping down and the data breach. This post allowed Target
to get ahead of the issue and shape the conversation around the issues and crisis it was facing, as well as reassure
investors, clients, and partners that Target was acknowledging its issues and moving forward.
Channel Name Tone of Content Channel Name Tone of Content
Target
Aggregator of photo and multimedia
content from other channels.
Target
Promotion of items, often holiday
themed. Content is often engaging.
Target Baby
Posts multimedia content targeting
parents and moms.
Target Careers
Sporadically active. Features
employees and recruiting events.
Target Style
Highly-stylized content that focuses
on fashion, design and how-to.
Target Style
Content heavily focused on design
and fashion.
Target
Temporal promotions around Music
offerings
Target
Inactive. Aggregates YouTube
content. Similar content to Facebook.
Target
Career openings, company news,
and posts from executives
Target
No post since Aug. 2015. Promotions
of products using popular memes.
Target On the
Dot
Official style blog for fashion
apparel at Target. Links back to
Target. Visually and
multimedia-driven.
Target
Videos of commercials and
partnerships with popular YouTubers
Target Careers
Inactive. Used to promote Target
culture and share employee stories
Target
Product promotion and
engagement with fans
Target Pulse Blog
Used to promote Target culture and
share employee stories
Target Careers
Curates corporate information,
culture, careers information
A Bullseye View
Stories behind Target’s products,
events, other company happenings
@Target
Aggregator of content from other
channels
@TargetCareers
Promotes culture, employee stories
and careers information
@TargetNews
Company-wide news, partnerships
and events, Bullseye View Stories
@AskTarget
Guest service-centric, responds to
any customer inquiries or complaints
@TargetStyle
Promoting designer collaboration
and apparel offerings
@TargetDeals
Promote sales and holiday promotions
on app and in-store

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Objectives & Audience Engagement
OBJECTIVE 1: ​Reposition Target as a technology leader in the retail industry by gaining customer’s trust in
purchasing process.
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE:​ Increase adoption and purchasing via mobile app by 1000% over the course one year.
AUDIENCE:​ Current and potential Target “guests” via consumer and technology media outlets.
STRATEGY:​ Launch the mobile application to the target audiences through extensive marketing and promotional
campaign via various media platforms.
TACTICS:
● Promotional Events​:​ ​To promote the Target app, Target can have “showrooms” in key markets (Los Angeles, San
Francisco, New York, Texas, Chicago, Miami, and Canada) with items from each of its past designer partnerships
(Phillip Lim, Lilly Pulitzer, Toms, Altuzarra, and more), that guests can “shop” using their app.
● App-only Promotions & Exclusives​:​ Merge cartwheel with the main app to allow coupon-cutting within the app,
which can be applied at the register. Make certain products from high-profile partnerships with brands such as
Altuzzara, Lilly Pulitzer, and Phillip Lim, app-only exclusives.
● App Mobile Payment Function​: Similar to the Starbucks in-app mobile payment feature, promote this feature as a
safer and more convenient way to pay. Incentivize usage of payment through app by offering additional discounts.
● Marketing​: ​Incorporate visual usage of app into current marketing campaigns, focusing on convenience and
exclusive product availability on the app.
● Newsletter:​ ​Educate current Target customers--particularly REDcard users on new application through a
newsletter campaign that outlines the features of the app, focusing on increased security, exclusive sales, and
ease of purchase.
● Social Media:​ ​Use current owned social media channels to point to app, create editorial educational campaign on
different features of the app with a focus on security and convenience.
● Website: ​Leverage cookie technology to determine whether user is accessing site from a mobile browser or
mobile device to encourage usage and adoption of app. Also, enable the website with special discounts if
accessed through the app.
● Media Relations​:​ Target mid to top-tier technology outlets to cover new feature. Provide fact sheet and demo for
them to test, potentially at a junket or other press event.
OBJECTIVE 2:​ ​Successfully relaunch Target Canada to build Target’s international brand and gain market share
from local competitors.
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE: Increase market share in Canada by 5% each next year.
AUDIENCE: Local community organizations and leaders; Target Canada current, former, and potential “guests”
STRATEGY: Aim to replicate Target’s brand internationally by launching a robust corporate social responsibility. program
in Canada in order to regain consumer trust and establish the brand within the community.
TACTICS:
● Sale Contributions​:​ Contribute 5% of the REDcard sales to educational nonprofit initiatives in Canada.
● Sponsorships:​ ​Sponsor nonprofit organizational events and initiatives in Canada.
● Media Relations:​ Communicate Target’s initiative via event promotions, press conferences in Canada and via his
newly established social media accounts.
● App Promotions:​ Include a function on the Target application to allow consumers to choose the organization
they’d like the 5% of their purchase to be donated to
● Employment Opportunities:​ ​Promote the increase of job opportunities in Canada with the increase in the number
of stores and hence reducing the unemployment rates in Canada.
● Social Media:​ ​Encourage customers to participate in Target’s initiatives to boost Canadian communities through
donations.

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OBJECTIVE 3: ​Establish trust in new leadership by tying new executives to strategic changes for Target in
response to the data breach and failed Canada expansion.
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE: Leverage social media platforms to increase visibility by sharing links and stories in the media
and from Target’s blog to reshape the conversation around and perception of the company.
AUDIENCE: Current & Potential Customers, particularly millennials and power social media users
STRATEGY 1: Establish new leadership as influencers and thought leaders in the industry in order to foster trust and
increase visibility.
TACTICS:
● Social Media: ​Create a verified Twitter account and LinkedIn Influencer account for Target’s CEO share business
insights and establish him as a thought leader in retail and technology
● Investor Relations:​ ​Provide vision for strategic change and objectives for new leadership through the release of
material and other financial documents, holding annual investor meetings, quarterly earnings calls, and reports.
● Media Relations: ​Have new executive leadership do press or media tours around the release of the annual report,
Q1 Earnings, and annual shareholders meeting to maintain shareholder trust in the company and its leadership.
STRATEGY 2: Leverage internal communications channels to introduce new leadership and changes in strategic vision
to store and corporate employees
TACTICS:
● Internal Communications Campaign:​ Create a video campaign introducing the new CEO and Target executive
leadership to employees at a corporate and store-level.
● Store Tour: ​Have new leadership visit key stores across the nation at high-sales times (e.g. Black Friday, Holiday
season, etc.) and sit down with them to discuss specific needs, concerns, and ideas they may have for the
company.
● Employee Relations: ​Create internal memos, newsletters, and in-store meetings and announcements on monthly
basis
OBJECTIVE 4: ​Ensure Target’s delivery on its value proposition and brand promise by establishing stronger
employee internal communications channels and properly training corporate and store staff.
BUSINESS OBJECTIVE: Position Target as an industry leader when it comes to training employees for potential crises
AUDIENCE: Current and potential Target employees at both the retail and corporate level
STRATEGY: To create a comprehensive crisis communication plan, which will explicitly detail how Target’s employees
should react during and after a crisis.
TACTICS:
● Formulation of Crisis Plan: ​Develop and implement an internal safety and security educational program for
employees.
● Town Halls: ​Increase the level of engagement of employees through internal campaigns, face to face
communications and mobilization events (town halls).
● Internal Communications Channels Audit: ​Reevaluate and revamp current internal communications channels
(intranet, newsletter and roadshows) to increase transparency, communication, and employee engagement.
● Crisis Communications Workshops & Training: ​Work with senior leadership and store leadership to create a
crisis communication plan and educational curriculum; provide workshops and run through multiple scenarios and
drills at corporate and store-level.
● Internal Communications Campaign​: ​Create short clips that communicating specific changes employees can
expect to see over the coming months including the launch of the new Target app, new data security initiatives,
and crisis communications training for all employees.

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RACI Chart
SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN
Phase One: Audit, Research & Create Social Media Audience Portfolio
Phase Two: Craft Social Media Content & Engagement Strategy for existing & new platforms*
Phase Three: Launch new platforms. Monitor conversation, analyze daily and monthly to measure sentiment & behavior change.
Thought Leadership Target Canada Trust-Building Customer Service
Platform @BrianCornell* @TargetCanada* @Target @TargetHelp
Purpose
Establish trust in new leadership and
communicate vision to stakeholders.
Relaunch Target Canada and provide
open forum for guests
Promote cybersecurity and
technology. Promote app usage.
Add customer support for app
to current service.
Content
Share strategic vision for Target
Selectively engage with followers
Retweet corporate or industry news
Share multimedia of tours, events
Continue product promotion strategy
Holiday/Seasonal content
Activations, Events & Partnerships
Customer retention management
Promotional content for the app
Continue product promotion strategy
Holiday/Seasonal content
Activations and Partnerships
@Replies to customer feedback
Relevant announcements
Product warnings & recalls
Tools Tweetdeck, Hootsuite & Social Mention Hootsuite, Sysomos, Social Mention Sysomos, Hootsuite Ubervu, Hootsuite
Ownership Corporate Comms & Social Social Media & Canada Group Social Media Customer Support & Social
Platform LinkedIn Influencer Blog* facebook.com/targetcanada* facebook.com/Target Help Tab on Target FB*
Purpose
Establish trust in new leadership and
communicate vision to stakeholders.
Relaunch Target Canada and provide
open forum for guests
Promote cybersecurity and
technology. Promote app usage.
Add customer support for app
to current service.
Content
Share strategic vision for Target
Address issues and crises
Share company or industry news
Share tidbits from corporate documents
Continue product promotion strategy
Activations, Events & Partnerships
Canada-specific content
Customer retention management
Promotional content for the app
Continue product promotion strategy
Holiday/Seasonal content
Activations and Partnerships
Replies to customer feedback
Relevant announcements
Product warnings & recalls
Ownership Corporate Communications Social Media & Canada Social Media Customer Support & Social
Tools Social Mention, Sysomos Hootsuite, Facebook Insights Hootsuite, Facebook Insights Hootsuite, Facebook Insights
CAMPAIGN CALENDAR (next two pages)

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Next Steps
● Budget Review & Approval
● Briefing Meeting & Brainstorm
● Finalization of GAIST
● Team Assembly
● Project Plan & Team Final Approval

12.
EXPECT MORE.
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