Michelle Smiles

Teaching my children to question authority, except mine.

My 1000th Post!

May28

Memo to Target:

You know I love you.  I spend many hours and tens of thousands hundreds of dollars in your store each year.  But we need to have a little talk.  Because I don’t have a goose laying golden eggs, we use your house brand of formula for the wee one.  She likes it and it is 1/2 the price of the big brands – we are all happy.  But if you are going to change the look and brand name?  You need to tell someone.  How in the world am I supposed to know that the one on the right is the new version of the one on the left if you don’t tell me?

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Yes they have the same “infant formula with iron” wording BUT THE BRANDS APPEAR DIFFERENT.  If you’ve ever had a baby, you know when you find something the works, you don’t change it.  A little placquard saying “this is our new look” with photos of both would have saved me much angst in the past month.  We’ve been trying other things because we thought you stopped carrying your house brand.

Some googling reveals that Target is abandoning the bullseye for this new look.

“We believe that it will stand out on the shelf, and it is so distinctive that we’ll get new guests that will want to try it that maybe didn’t even notice the Target brand before,” said Kathee Tesija, executive vice president of merchandising for Target.

Because we might have missed the big bullseye on the front of the store when we walked in or not noticed the huge marketing campaign surrounding the bullseye, including a Spuds McKenzie-esque dog, on on TV and in print for the past 5 years?  Consumers are using more store products right now so why not keep the recognized branding?

Oh and the new look? Meh – washed out and boring.  And the new name and logo (Arrow with “Up & Up) is stupid and has no connection to Target.  Stick with your bullseye. Or at least tell your stores to PUT UP SOME SIGNAGE about the change.  Because honestly and truly, I don’t care about the change in packaging on 99% of your products…but don’t mess with the baby formula without spelling it out clearly for us tired moms.

I would be happy to accept a six figure salary so that you can obtain my opinions on all major decisions in the future.  I’m always happy to tell you what you are doing wrong consult.  Call me.

PS You also play fast and loose with the word “Clearance”.  25% off is not clearance – it is a sale.  Let’s not use the word “Clearance” until we’ve reached at least 50% off. M’kay? Thanks.

posted under Misc.
19 Comments to

“My 1000th Post!”

  1. On May 28th, 2009 at 8:13 am Pattie Says:

    Hmmmm…..we don’t buy formula anymore, but I totally understand….never mess with Mamas!!!! I was at Target this week and saw some changes on their packaging of our products as well. I totally agree…..the new designs are VERY blah!

    I sure hope that they haven’t paid mega bucks to some agency to totally remove the bullseye trademark. Cuz nothing says “Target” quite like, well, a target!

  2. On May 28th, 2009 at 9:24 am amy Says:

    I think the new formula packaging looks fresher and I like it, but I think they should have done a blue bullseye and not the blue arrow. The arrow doesn’t make sense to me.

    Don’t these people do focus groups?

  3. On May 28th, 2009 at 9:27 am Rhonda Says:

    I think the arrow and words “up up up” looks really dumb!

  4. On May 28th, 2009 at 9:33 am Karen Says:

    I noticed this while shopping for a baby shower a few weeks ago.

    What the heck does “Up & Up” mean? I thought it was just being used on baby items, and as we all know, babies grow up and up. I didn’t realize it was storewide instead of the bullseye.

  5. On May 28th, 2009 at 10:06 am Burgh Baby Says:

    I hate, hate, HATE when companies change labels. I can’t read a silly label, I look for things by color, dammit. We buy the white jug of orange juice with the orange circle in the corner, the red bottle of laundry soap, and the pink box of cereal. I cannot be trained to function any other way.

  6. On May 28th, 2009 at 10:13 am mama k Says:

    ooh they get me everytime with the “clearance” endcaps. Then I pick something up and it’s like a dollar off. Big whoop!

  7. On May 28th, 2009 at 10:26 am Jody W. Says:

    #marketingfail, methinks

  8. On May 28th, 2009 at 11:55 am sara Says:

    I just noticed the change this past weekend, and I agree – it sucks. While not as important as formula, I had a hell of a time figuring out if the baby wipes were my regular Target brand. I kept turning the package over and around looking for that damn bullseye. Very annoying.

  9. On May 28th, 2009 at 1:23 pm Julie P Says:

    LOL and I totally agree with the definition of clearance – I hate it when there is a red clearance sign and I get all excited only to find out its just sale.

  10. On May 28th, 2009 at 1:23 pm Julie P Says:

    OHHHH I forgot to say CONGRATS on the 1000th post. That is amazing. Way to go.

  11. On May 28th, 2009 at 3:59 pm Hadyn Says:

    Michelle, I think I love you …

  12. On May 28th, 2009 at 6:28 pm Melissa Says:

    wow, 1000 posts. holy crow. btw, I used to use their next step formula instead of the enfamils because it was half the price. if they had changed it back then, i would have done the same thing you did. who has the time or brain cells to figure that out

  13. On May 28th, 2009 at 8:24 pm Martha Says:

    1000 posts omi! Congrats on being so prolific.

    Gosh I am glad we are done with formula. I cleaned my garage out of clutter a couple months ago and found 2 unopened cans. Despite being expired I just couldnt throw them away. I put them at the end of the driveway and they were gone by that afternoon. Hope that was ok to do.

  14. On May 28th, 2009 at 10:22 pm Laura Says:

    Congrats on the 1000th post. I heart Target. I have one so close I make at least two trips a week! Agree with you on the marketing issues you touch on! Though, I gotta say….when you do hit the right clearance, it’s celebration time! — I just got bath tissue for 63 cents AND I had a 50 cent coupon.

  15. On May 29th, 2009 at 7:55 am Busy Mom Says:

    Dear Target: I look for the bullseye. Just change the color of the bullseye if you must do something. I do not get Up & Up.

  16. On May 29th, 2009 at 11:38 am Alleen Says:

    I wouldn’t have known that was their new log except I got some baby coupons in the mail that explained it. Why mess with a good thing??

    And I’m so with you on some of the clearance. I’ve some things that were like 0.20 off marked clearance!! But, when it’s good, it’s really good there 🙂

  17. On May 29th, 2009 at 11:39 am Alleen Says:

    new logo that is above….

  18. On May 29th, 2009 at 2:38 pm Diana Says:

    Michelle,
    You rock. I agree completely and love the last part about sale vs clearance. Love the Tarjay but seriously lame new logo.
    D

  19. On May 29th, 2009 at 7:27 pm TJ Says:

    I usually buy the Target diapers and was confused too. I bought the Huggies instead because they only had giant packs of the new design available and since I thought it was a different generic, I wanted a smaller pack to try them out first. Now that I know it’s the same thing in new packaging, I guess that I’ll try them. Thanks for the confusion Target!

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