TARGET
Target saw a 13-point lift in ad recall after running a core ad campaign to promote allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community, and another ad campaign to introduce Take Pride in the metaverse.
Target is a general merchandise retailer with stores in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Seventy-five percent of the US population lives within ten miles of a store location. Target employs over 350,000 team members. Its tagline is "Expect More. Pay Less."
lift in ad recall
lift in brand favorability
lift in message association: “What brand do you most associate with #TakePride?”
lift in favorability of Target’s virtual “Take Pride” space on Horizon Worlds
Target wanted to boost brand awareness as well as show support for the LGBTQIA+ community and commitment to building queer-affirming spaces, even in the metaverse.
THE SOLUTION
A two-pronged campaign approach
Target has long supported Pride Month in June, and now strives to celebrate Pride year-round. For its “Take Pride” 2022 initiatives, the retailer took a holistic approach to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community across Meta’s apps, and building queer-affirming spaces that encouraged interaction and self-expression.
Target partnered with the team at Meta on a two-pronged approach. The team ran a core brand awareness campaign to promote allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as a second campaign that promoted Target’s metaverse experience in Horizon Worlds, an immersive virtual reality space where LGBTQIA+ creators were empowered to build relationships with others in the community and celebrate their authentic selves.
THE CREATIVE
Celebrating self-expression
In the core campaign: Target built a fast-cut video ad in Instagram feed showing young people wearing cute, colorful summer clothes and having fun together at the beach. Text overlays included: “Who would you be, if you were never told who you couldn’t be? Who do you become, if you never stop becoming?” and the messaging: “Target’s Pride Collection is here! Discover community-created products from queer designers and much, much more. TomboyX and Humankind Swim #TomboyXforTarget #HumandkindforTarget.” The ad included a “Learn More” button that linked to the product page on Target’s website where people could purchase. Target showed these ads to US adults aged 18–24.
In the metaverse campaign, Target built an animated video ad that ran in Instagram and Facebook feed, Stories and Reels to drive traffic to Target’s Take Pride on Horizon Worlds, an inclusive queer-affirming virtual space offering a variety of immersive experiences in the metaverse. The video featured an avatar of Kiernan “Flutt3r” Pearce—an LGBTQIA+ creator, computer systems administrator, web developer and artist—who spearheaded the Take Pride world, explaining, “The Take Pride experience I created is about finding your own path on your journey of self-discovery. Join me to explore, play and celebrate our community together.”
Background scenes showed a range of interactive activities and games, including other avatars on amusement rides and in a hot air balloon, playing cornhole and roasting marshmallows. The ad included the messaging: “Pride + metaverse. Let’s get started” as well as a Learn more button that linked to a landing page on Target.com where people could learn more about Horizon Worlds. The retailer showed the ad in this campaign to US adults aged 18–40.
Target determined the results of its June 8‒July 4, 2022 campaigns using a Meta brand lift study, which revealed:
- 13-point lift in ad recall
- 2.1-point lift in brand favorability
- 6.3-point lift in message association: “What brand do you most associate with #TakePride?”
- 5.8-point lift in favorability of Target’s virtual “Take Pride” space on Horizon Worlds
- Over 15.3 million people reached with these ad campaigns
- 2,500 people visited Target’s virtual Take Pride space on Horizon Worlds, with an average total dwell time of about 13 minutes per person