Target and Their Buyer Personas

Target is a store that has been thriving for over twenty years. They are known for their "cheap chic" theme. Cheap chic means that their apparel and furniture are chic but affordable. However, I would have to say that their buyer personas are aimed at two specific groups.

The first buyer persona that Target represents is the everyday child or teenager. When you go into the store the first thing you see are the dollar bins, commonly referred to as "The One Spot." Overall The One Spot is filled with items such as pencils, erasers, candy and Hello Kitty apparel. Target has also done a wonderful job with children's clothes (for boys and girls). I would definitely make sure to use Facebook and Instagram to reach the everyday child or teenager. Instagram is geared more towards the younger generation so the everyday child or teenager would obviously go to Instagram to see what's new at Target.

The second buyer persona at Target is the hardworking mom. A hardworking mom could be a stay at home mom or a working mother. Either way you almost always see children in Target with their moms. Target does a good job with their dollar bins (which attract moms too) and the apparel that moms can wear to work, to the gym or to sleep. Target is also attracting moms with their baby clothes as well. I would also use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google+ for the hardworking mom persona. These days, most people have a Gmail account which means they have unlimited access to YouTube and Google+. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are also the most popular social media channels to reach any persona in this day and age.

Overall, Target is already doing an excellent job reaching different people of all ages. Identifying their target personas or demographics couldn't hurt either. It's a progressive step in the right direction.

The Serial Podcast

I watched The Serial Podcast: Episode I--The Alibi. Adnan Syed allegedly murdered a young woman. The podcast was done by a woman that had been working on the case since 1999. And she asked a very interesting question (which got me intrigued). She asked, "How do you account for your time everyday?" It is extremely difficult to keep track of your steps, everything you did in a single day, and make no mistakes. Especially in 1999, there was no texting and other forms of technology to back you up and help you retrace your steps.

The video appealed to me because I have watched crime shows (Hill Street Blues, Law and Order, CSI) for years. This reminded me a lot of Law and Order and how often times people question or doubt whether the killer is indeed guilty. There were twelve podcasts total; they were all posted May 21, 2015.

Podcasting made sense for this show because it reminded me of the older radio shows. My grandparents would often talk about shows being read on the radio like The Shadow. Listening to the podcast reminded me of listening to the radio. I felt like I was tuning in just like they were in the 1940s.

I would also say that writing these podcasts all down would make sense too. It could make a good chapter book. The podcasts could also turn into a newspaper column as well, but I don't think it would make sense to turn these into press releases. The podcasts would lose their voice and the voice is essential to telling the story.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PI6NrQGC96A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

All Pictures Have a Message

In order to stay relevant, any brand has to be active on social media. In modern day society this includes posting pictures. Today we will examine three brands and their pictures, and the messages they are sending to their audience.

To start, Marvel Comics posted a picture of their super heroine, The Scarlet Witch, to their Facebook Timeline. The picture is advertising that the super heroine's series will be out this December. Overall the picture was shared by 18 people and the picture was liked by 204 fans. One comment said, "That's not The Scarlet Witch I grew up with from The Avengers No. 16. Who's THIS woman?" The picture was seen but clearly the review was mixed. Marvel is sending a message to their audience to be prepared for her series; Marvel is keeping the audience updated on what's current.

Amazon has posted a picture on Facebook of a grey t shirt that has a cat on it shooting purple beams from his eyes. They're having a sweepstakes, you could win that t shirt or a gift card for $100 or something else all together if you commented below. You comment had to include the hashtags as well. One customer was very happy; she received a carpet scrubber "in less time than Amazon expected, you all are awesome!" Amazon was sending a message to their clientele that if they simply participated they would be rewarded. So far this garnered positive results for Amazon and their customers, which should be what every brand is set on.

Lastly, I looked at Dita Von Teese. She's known as the Queen of Neo Burlesque and is posting pictures of her shows, but also anything she's interested in. For example, she posted a picture of 15 Vintage Black Pin Up Models. In their day, famous pin ups included Bettie Page and Betty Grable. However, Dita Von Teese posted the picture and the link to this article so that Black Pin Ups would be remembered, by her followers and by Von Teese herself. Von Teese's message to her audience is that she's all inclusive; pin ups include all races the world over. Von Teese received a thank you comment and another comment that said, "I had no idea...these pics are over beautiful and talented women."
 http://bit.ly/1L1IQWq (Marvel)
http://amzn.to/1kzKmtD (Amazon)
http://blackgirllonghair.com/2015/08/14-unsung-vintage-black-pinup-models/

The Marvel of Marvel Comics

There are videos that are always trying to sell you something, no matter how hard they try to hide it. Variant Comics made a video called, "The Top 10 Facts You Never Knew About Marvel Comics," and the video is informative and intriguing.

This video listed interesting facts that the general public (or even the average X-Men fan) probably don't know about Marvel Comics. For example, there was a little boy who didn't want to wear his hearing aid. Marvel found out about this and created Blue Ear, a superhero who wears a hearing aid!

Also, most fans don't know about the Marvel/DC Mash Up. Characters were merged together from both DC and Marvel superheroes creating a new genre in the realm of comics. This video was not only intriguing but it wasn't long, gave interesting facts about Marvel and its history.

Surprisingly enough, the video didn't contain any information or facts about Stan Lee. For years, Stan Lee and Marvel have gone together in the same sentence. However, this is a good thing because it's unexpected and went outside of the norm. There is so much more to Marvel Comics than Stan Lee and the characters that he created.

The video generated 382,521 views on YouTube and is still thriving. Under the comments section on YouTube, there was a lot of debate going but the debate wasn't based on the video per say. The debate was sparked over which is better, DC or Marvel and which superheroes were better. Overall, I was even more interested in the history of Marvel Comics and the video made me think about more than just the superheroes. I never felt like this was an ad or that Marvel was trying to convince me to leave DC Comics in any way.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6h3SX_OyXSA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>