BUSINESS
Target-ing LGBTQ Buyers Through Queer Media
Minneapolis-based retail giant learned a big lesson about a decade ago
A Target Gay Pride fl oat represented a shift, at least during Stonewall 50 celebrations nationwide in 2019, from LGBTQ print media advertising
to event sponsorship.
BY SCOTT STIFFLER
Fifty years after Stonewall, LGBTQ
people who listen to a song, stream a
series, or read a book have more positive
images to draw upon than ever
before.
But where are our faces in the ads that sell us
those things — or, for that matter, pretty much
everything? Rarely seen is the same-sex couple
sizing up choices at a car dealership, passing
around a tube of toothpaste during their morning
routine, or sharing a smooch as anniversary
gifts are exchanged.
“There’s just a very small group of companies
that make an effort to educate themselves, and
to progress… to show us as we are, or appeal directly
to the LGBT consumer,” said Todd Evans,
of Rivendell Media.
As Rivendell’s president and CEO, it’s Evans’
job to place advertisements for the National
LGBT Media Association. (Gay City News is
among its dozen members.)
Absolut Vodka and Wells Fargo, Evans noted,
are on the short list of high-profi le corporations
that market to the LGBTQ community with
creative content that depicts lives being lived
in something other than heterosexual accordance.
Include Target on that list, said Evans, who
points to the general merchandise retailer as an
example of a company committed to LGBTQspecifi
c marketing and products.
“This is a group that has wanted to educate
TARGET.COM
themselves,” said Evans, recalling, “years ago,
Target faced a boycott for indirectly donating
to an anti-LGBT politician. They rose to the occasion
by not only stopping that, but becoming
LGBT-friendly.”
In July 2010, Target became — those no better
word — a target of backlash after donating
$150,000 to MN Forward, a group that proclaimed
to function as a champion of Minnesota’s
economy, but also funded campaign ads
for Tom Emmer — the Republican candidate
for governor who, The Minnesota Independent
reported, “authored a constitutional amendment
to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil
unions” in 2007, while a member of the Minnesota
House of Representatives.
As reported by Minnesota Public Radio News
in an August 20, 2010 article, Gregg Steinhafel,
CEO of Target — which is headquartered in
Minneapolis — apologized for the fi nancial contribution,
but only after, the news outlet noted,
“Democrats, gay rights groups, and others
called for a boycott of the company.”
Steinhafel’s August 5, 2010, letter to Target
employees asserted the company’s commitment
to “fostering an environment that supports and
respects the rights and beliefs of all individuals,”
and pledged to bring together “a group of
companies and partner organizations for a dialogue
focused on diversity and inclusion in the
workplace, including GLBT issues.”
Making good on that diversity pledge raised
the hackles of the anti-LGBTQ American Family
Association, which has been boycotting Target
since April 2016 for, it alleges, endangering
“women and children by allowing men to frequent
women’s facilities” — a dog whistle reference
to Target’s policy of allowing transgender
people to use changing rooms and bathrooms
in accordance with their gender identity.
Whether the product of public embarrassment,
genuine enlightenment, or a little bit of
both, Target, said Evans, “went from the verge
of a boycott” during its MN Forward days “to
really embracing their LGBT customers, and
speaking directly to them.”
Target got its feet wet with ads in Out magazine
and The Advocate from 2012 to 2016, and
then, in 2017 and 2018, Evans said, the retailer
“expanded those national buys to a number of
local markets, including Dallas, New York City,
Miami, Boston, Orlando, Salt Lake City, and
Denver. One series of ads, Evans noted, featured
individuals of “every shape and color. It really
speaks to Pride itself, and being accepted. They
even end it with the hashtag #takepride. I don’t
think you can ask for anything better.”
Danielle Schumann, the corporate public relations
lead at Target, declined comment several
times, instead referring this reporter to links
within the corporate.target.com destination.
There, Caroline Wanga, a Target vice president
and the chief culture, diversity & inclusion
offi cer, is quoted saying, “In order to continue
to be a place where people want to come and
spend their money, we have to be connected
to who our potential customers are across the
board, and in order to stay relevant as a business,
we have to be sure our guests are seeing
experiences, products, and services that refl ect
who they are.”
This year, corporate.target.com notes, Pride
Month was observed in the form of more than
90 Pride-themed items created by working
“closely with Target’s Pride Business Council
— an HQ-based team member resource group
— to create an assortment that is inclusive.”
Those items were made available in 350 of Target’s
1,868 US stores.
A perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights
Campaign’s 2019 Corporate Equality Index and
“presenting partnership” status with GLAAD’s
Spirit Day — described by the Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation as “the world’s
largest and most visible LGBTQ anti-bullyingcampaign”
— are among demonstrations of
solidarity touted by Target, which also made a
$100,000 Pride Month contribution to GLSEN,
the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
In 2019, the corporate.target.com site noted,
➤ TARGET, continued on p.23
December 5 - December 1 22 8, 2019 | GayCityNews.com
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