Paper Topic:

Marketing

MARKETING POSITION

Answer to Question 1

The Target Corporation 's website : HYPERLINK "http /www .target .com www .target .com includes a web-link for the services for community that the company undertakes in contrast to its normal retail operations These initiatives include the Target house , where the company provides free , fully-equipped two-bedroom apartments for patients receiving treatment at St . Jude 's Children 's Research Hospital for 90 days or more . The company also is active in the areas of education , arts , and social services . In addition , Target team members participate in a

lot of voluntary social work year-round these include projects such as making meals for the elderly and the homeless and helping children build their reading skills through a `Reading Buddies ' program at schools libraries and hospitals (Target , 2007

The fact that Target offers a lot to the community is perhaps part of their overall marketing strategy where the company is trying to create a specific market positioning and this seemingly fits in well with creating a marketing promise based on being responsible . Hence , the main attribute distinguishing the Target 's consumer from other consumers is the appreciation for responsibility when making one 's shopping . Target does more than provide competitive prices - it offers programs for a cleaner environment and develops community improvement plans . Thus , the sweet spot for the consumer shopping at Target is that not only is there access to a number of brands and products , but the consumer is acting responsibly by being part of a shopping institution that cares for the environment

A counterargument to Target 's apparent strategy at positioning itself as the perfect shopping experience for responsible consumers is that people actually shop at Target locations for the competitive prices that are provided instead of the feeling of being a responsible consumer as opposed to shopping at some place like Wal-Mart

The image of Target is that of a departmental store that offers a wide variety of services and products at prices higher than that of Wal-Mart but which also fulfills its obligations towards society by being a responsible corporate citizen . The key identity elements of the brand include commitment to higher values than price , provision of quality products to the consumer , focus on design elements as a part of shopping experience , and care for the environment which boils down to the core identity of being a model corporate citizen that provides retail services . The value proposition of the brand is in making the consumer feel better off in that while he or she did make purchases , these were done in a responsible manner without having any negative implications This assertion is borne out by the involvement of ordinary consumers as evidenced from the website . Also , the company and its employees donated more than 12 million last year to the United Way foundation (Target 2007

The intangible aspects of the Target brand do feed into the tangible aspects . People do get a sense of affluence and inner satisfaction from shopping at Target that...

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