Brand Spotlight: Target
I recently visited Minneapolis, Minnesota while tagging along with Kristen for the ASLA 2023 Conference. There are so many great brands in and around Minneapolis. I contemplated telling you about them over the next few months but thought you might accuse me of not showing love for brands outside of the Twin Cities. To compromise, this week, I want to bring you not one, but five Brand Spotlights.
What better way to start a week of Brand Spotlights for Minneapolis companies than to choose arguably the most familiar one, Target. After all, two of the major league stadiums are named after Target: Target Field (home of the Twins) and Target Center (home of the Timberwolves and Lynx). Target is a household name in the United States. Many of us regularly shop at Target. Its use of color (i.e., red) is consistent and pricing is competitive. I always enjoy purchasing greeting cards from Target.
The business was founded in Minneapolis by businessman George Dayton in 1902. For several decades, the business operated under variations of Goodfellow Dry Goods and Dayton’s. Target, the company's first discount store and eventual namesake, was opened in 1962. Interestingly, the original Target logo looked a little different:
I was especially interested in writing this Brand Spotlight for Target after visiting the Walker Art Center with Kristen and admiring the several works in its current exhibition “Among Friends: The Generosity of Judy and Ken Dayton.” Per the Walker’s website: “This exhibition pays tribute to the generosity of the Daytons, who over the decades enabled more than 550 artworks to enter the Walker’s collection, including many sculptures in the Garden. In 2000 the Daytons made headlines when they announced their intention to gift their personal collection to the Walker, a bequest fully realized in 2021 following Judy’s passing. On view in the current exhibition are significant paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by artists including Alexander Calder, Sam Gilliam, Philip Guston, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Louise Nevelson, Martin Puryear, Cy Twombly,” Mark Rothko, “and Andy Warhol.” After further research, I learned that the Dayton family has been quite generous for more than a century and helped establish a tradition of corporate generosity in Minneapolis and beyond.
Recently, I enjoyed visiting the two-story Target in downtown Minneapolis. Do you have any interesting rituals or memories from visiting Target?
