I love this campaign! The folks at Target and FEED have been doing their homework. They know that consumers want fun, simple ways to make real, measurable impact – and that they want to do it with style! This is a partnership that was clearly designed to appeal to the newly defined psychographic profile the “Aspirationals” in a relevant way. It also employs the 1:1 giving model popularized by Toms (check out my previous post on Toms here), which, incidentally, just celebrated donating its 10 millionth pair of shoes to needy children. FEED uses a simple and effective model of 
clearly showcasing the number of meals funded with each purchase (e.g. buy this $25 storage bin and Target will provide 20 meals to needy families). Displaying “FEED” and the number of meals donated on the actual product is emotionally powerful, and the simplicity of just that number is pretty sexy. This on-product branding approach also happens to extend the partnership value through the life of the product while simultaneously creating a sense of community and exclusivity that many of today’s consumers crave. Brilliant. Keep reading for more details on Target’s FEED USA Collection and to learn about the “Aspirationals” consumer group.
FEED USA+ TARGET
FEED USA + Target launched June 30, 2013. Target and Feed hope to engage enough consumers to provide meals to 1 million people, delivered through a partnership with Feeding America. They have done a good job of clearly explaining how each donation is allocated, the fine print says: 10% of original retail, excluding tax, of store sales from 6/30/2013 – 10/12/2013 to be donated to Feeding America. The monetary equivalent of a meal will be donated. $1 = 8 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks. feedingamerica.org
The limited-time-only campaign is a special collection of around 50 retail products including home, sporting goods, stationery, apparel and accessories with a casual, hand-crafted, ‘Americana’ feel. Prices range from $3 to $400, and each piece displays the number of meals donated to Feeding America as a result of the purchase. 10% of the proceeds go directly to providing meals to the hungry.
This is a fully integrated cause marketing campaign which includes television advertising (check out this commercial – it’s very cute and effective: FEED USA: Kate), PR, social media and LOTS of in-store and online retail presence.
This high level of commitment by Target helps consumers get the sense that this is an authentic attempt to make positive change in the world—and, will certainly help scale the impact.
…These are some cool products –not your run-of-the-mill promotional items.
I’m looking forward to seeing consumer reaction to this campaign…will it be a bull’s-eye for Target?
CONSUMER PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE: THE ASPIRATIONALS
In November 2012, BBMG, GlobeScan and SustainAbility launched their Regeneration Consumer Study: Re:Thinking Consumption – Consumers & the Future of Sustainability, an in-depth online survey of consumer attitudes, motivations and behaviors relating to sustainable consumption among 6,224 respondents across six major international markets conducted in September and October 2012.
The study identified 4 distinct types of consumers. The “Aspirationals” are style and social status-seeking consumers that love to shop, and also feel a sense of responsibility to make purchases that are good both for the environment and for society. They represent 37% of consumers and are the largest consumer segment globally – particularly in Brazil, China, India, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Identifying and understanding the Aspirationals consumer segment can have huge implications for cause partnerships. It makes the business case for social impact partnerships stronger than ever by identifying a large group of mainstream shopping-friendly consumers -split almost evenly across Millennial, GenX and Boomer demographics- that care about impacting society with their purchases. And, it offers solid guidance regarding their preferences. This group of consumers wants to purchase exclusive, stylish products for the greater good. They want to engage with and promote brands that get it right. Well-designed cause marketing and corporate social responsibility campaigns that appeal to their emotional preferences can enjoy huge brand benefits and return on investment (ROI). Just make sure you get it right because they are very vocal and influential. Word travels fast.
WARNING: ASPIRATIONAL IN ACTION
Need an anecdotal example showing the FEED USA + Target campaign in action? Try this one on for size: I, literally, just raced out to partner with Target, FEED and Feeding America to provide 14 meals to people in the U.S. by purchasing this awesome shirt. I want tons of people to join me in providing meals to needy people, so I also just Facebooked, Tweeted and Pinned photos explaining this cool campaign to my personal networks (many of which are already Target-a-holics). I can’t wait to wear my shirt proudly LOTS of times which surely will start some good conversations. I’d say that’s pretty decent consumer engagement, brand building and social impact, wouldn’t you?Did I mention I spent over $100 in the store while there “just to get that FEED shirt?” Yeah, add sales revenue driver to that nice list.
