The Target BuildingIt has taken me forever to write about my second day at Target (school has been crazy) but i've finally sit down to do it. My second day at target was spent shadowing Michael Francis, the Executive Vice President of Marketing. I was extremely excited/nervous to meet him, as I had heard a lot of great things about him from other Target employees and I really respect the direction he has given to Target's marketing and advertising strategy.
I met with Michael at 8:30am and the day was non-stop from that moment on. We first had a meeting with Karen Gershman, the VP of Marketing Planning, where the two discussed upcoming promotions, licensing deals, and TV spots (I got to see one of Target's future commercials!). Michael and Karen had just recently returned from the Golden Globe awards so they filled me in on that and we discussed the premiere of their "Goodbuy, Hello" commercial (they found the voice for that commercial on Youtube).
After that we headed into another meeting with all the VP's of Marketing at Target and representatives from Wieden+Kennedy, a company that does some of Target's advertising. The two hour meeting discussed strategy and future goals for the company. After the meeting, the VP's of Marketing took me to lunch where we talked a little bit about everything including Target, family, and how I ended up in Minneapolis for this opportunity. After lunch Michael and I had another meeting, this time with the head of the Target Foundation (the part of Target that donates to the community). She and Michael discussed upcoming donations and events Target would be sponsoring.
By the end of the day, I had learned several things about Target. The first was what it takes to be the Exec. VP of Marketing at such a successful corporation. Michael Francis was extremely energetic throughout the day (this could be due to the 4+ cups of coffee he consumed while we were together), friendly and outgoing, and was able to make extremely important decisions in a quick manner. I also learned what challenges Target faces in such a competetive market, both with competitors and with itself; in attempting to stay true to the culture of the organization while simultaneously exceeding itself.
Since Michael and I parted at around 1:30pm, I decided to put the rest of the day to good use and headed to the Mall of America. Needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed by its size. The mall boasts 3 floors, a carnival/amusement park in its center, a full-sized aquarium and basically anything else you could ever imagine. I spent entirely too much time there but it was worth it! I headed back to the hotel on the "lightrail" and turned in.
This sign was posted on a cabin by the themepark inside the Mall of America.
The next morning, I woke up and took a taxi to meet with the University of Michigan Alumni Association of Minnesota. I sat through their meeting where they discussed upcoming events for Alums in the area and what activities they were going to partake in with the alternative spring break group that would be arriving in late February. It was great to meet with the Alums (some of whom worked at Target). After that I headed to the airport where I waved goodbye to Minneapolis, Target, and an experience I won't soon forget.
