Back in 2004 right before the holidays, Target decided to ban all solicitors outside its doors, even the Salvation Army, who had had exclusive rights to this privilege for years.
Target’s no-solicitation policy did not hold well with many holiday shoppers who felt that the Salvation Army, who does so much good for those that need it most in our communities, should maintain its exclusive status. After all, we can all take comfort in the fact that the money that we put into those famous red kettles will be used to help those who need it most, and will not be misappropriated.
Many Christmas shoppers decided to ban Target to protest its new policy. At this point in time, it was the worst possible PR disaster that could have happened to Target. On the one hand, they were trying to not be discriminatory to charities, but in the process of trying to be equitable, they alienated valuable shopping consumers. Negative publicity prevailed over this situation for many days.
Fast-forward to today, and Target has managed to maintain its no-solicitation policy and also embrace the Salvation Army.
Yesterday, Magician David Blaine began another death-defying stunt in Times Square where he has until early Friday morning to escape a spinning gyroscope hoisted five stories above the street. On Friday morning if and when (or not) he escapes the device, he then joins 100 children and their families, chosen by the Salvation Army, on a Target shopping spree at 5 a.m., an hour before the store opens for Target's 2-Day Sale. Each family gets a $500 Target Gift Card.
Target’s VP-Marketing John Remington says "This is a great way to kick off the Target 2-Day Sale and also continue our important partnership with The Salvation Army."
Ok, let’s admit it, this is just a similar way of using celebrities as in the past couple of years (remember Target’s Wake Up Call with the likes of Ice-T, Darth Vader and Heidi Klum?) to drive shoppers to Target’s doors on Black Friday.
But, it’s also a step in the right direction from a PR point of view to make amends with the Salvation Army, even if they can’t have their kettles at Target’s doors. It communicates to shoppers that they’ve made nicey-nice with the Army and will probably continue to include them on similar charitable efforts.
My only beef with Target is: Why didn’t you think of this 2 years ago BEFORE you made this decision to alienate the Army and countless shoppers? You could have saved yourself a lot of negative publicity, had your registers ring more often, and gained the respect of consumers.
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