Target is a retailing corporation based in America. Initially, Target was known as Goodfellow Dry Goods till June 1902 and then was renamed to Dayton’s Dry Goods Company in 1903 and then later to Dayton Company in 1910. In the beginning, Target had experienced some loss but then it started experiencing some sales, accumulating to $39 million, allowing a fifth to open in Minneapolis. Today, Target directly competes with retailing giants such as Walmart, offering almost everything under one roof.
One of the ways Target successfully differentiates itself from others is through its logo. Over the years, it has made several changes to it until reaching the final version we see today.
Let us explore the transition following the logo and how it came about.
Target’s Logo and Evolution
Today, Target is present in almost every state in the USA and has successfully settled itself amongst its competitors. It has witnessed its fair share of boom and recession but still stands strong as ever. The logo of Target is bulls-eye. It is not only a logo but something that explains the history of Target as well. In other words, you could say that the history of the target as well as its evolution exists in the logo itself. Before getting the final makeup done in red and white circles, it had gone through several modifications in the past.
The very first logo introduced by Target had a target in red color with three blank white stripes between them. The text was typed in bold black italic. Whereas, the shade of red used in the target was replaced by a much more striking and vibrant red color shade. Then, the typeface was moved to the right of the bulls-eye symbol, so that the logo could be made more prominent and effective.
Furthermore, back in the day, Target dealt in selling groceries and apparel. However, as time passed and the business grew, Target had both international brands and fashion accessories available for sale in its stores as well. By focusing on its retailing strategies, Target was able to gain competitive advantage by being termed as one of the most reliable stores to shop at. Customer satisfaction was the first priority while offering the best deals at amazing prices was another.
Target’s success, however, does not only come from its unique logo. It is due to the powerful branding strategies that have allowed the store to be unique and popular in the retail industry. In all the years it has been running and modifying its original logo, Target has always remained loyal to the bulls-eye symbol and has used extreme designing to make it the best they could. Moreover, research conducted stated that more than 80% of people in the United States were familiar with the bulls-eye symbol. Such is the popularity of the red and white logo that it has become a legendary logo over the years.
Birth of the Iconic Logo
You might feel a bit nostalgic as we go down the history tunnel, remembering the birth of Target’s very first iconic logo. It was introduced in 1962. Moreover, it featured red and white rings that showcased the actual target on a dartboard. Furthermore, the name ‘Target’ was featured in the logo in a very thick black font.
This was Target’s attempt to differentiate itself from the competitors and to build recognition. However, it also helped Target attract thousands of customers due to a unique color combination. It sparked curiosity amongst the customers and they found the logo quite fascinating. Therefore, as they attempted to give the store a try, they ended up purchasing things at a comparatively lower price. Hence, making Target what it is today. More importantly, the idea paid off and paid off really well for Target in terms of sales.
Although this was Target’s very first logo, it was not supposed to be perfect. There were several flaws in it that needed to be corrected. The first thing was the superimposition of the name Target over the bulls-eye logo. The font was too thick and heavy for the Target logo underneath/behind it that it interfered with its readability. This was an important problem to fix because Target at the time was a newly developed retailing chain and if customers were not able to read its name properly, there were high chances that they would not give it a try.
Therefore, for a company to stand out, it needs to be clear in its logos, name, and any such relevant things that might be sending a message. Anything that either interferes with the logo or name etc. would not be good for the company.
Here Comes the Second Iconic Logo!
Target was probably one of the few companies whose every logo eventually became an icon. For instance, as Target was expanding its business, it wanted to modify its current Target logo to highlight growth and reflect the evolving strategies. In 1968, the company decided to modify the logo and moved the name outside the bulls-eye and changing its color to white.
In addition to that, this time, the size of the bulls-eye was smaller as well. While this made the readability and visibility of the name better but it again made things a bit complicated and confusing against the white background. As a result, the company removed the name completely because it knew that it was now a well-established brand and had time on its sleeves to come up with something entirely different. Then, the bulls-eye logo was resized to pretty much the size of the original logo.
Finally, another logo was introduced in 1980. By this time Target had completed 20 years of service and wanted to reinvent its original logo using different ideas and color combinations.
Welcoming the Third Version
In 2006, another version of Target was launched. It still had the same iconic red and white bulls-eye symbol but altogether featured a different look. With this version, the designers thought of changing the dimensions of the logo. In this version, you shall observe that the bulls-eye symbol is comparatively larger than the text present in the logo.
By this time, Target had reached its peak success and was quite popular as a brand. Then, the marketing team at Target decided to reduce the size of the text as they thought that the bulls-eye symbol was powerful enough to attract customers and was more familiar and popular as compared to the text.
Target’s Market Survey
Since Target is a retail company, it constantly needs to work on its marketing and branding strategies to keep up with the competition. Therefore, in 2014, it decided to conduct a market survey in New York City to determine which logo was the most popular amongst the masses. Considering the changes it had made to the logos, it was imperative that it studied the effects and observed whether it helped them achieve any advantage.
Upon the completion of the survey, it was found that around 20% of people liked the first logo due to its vintage look. The second version of the logo created in 1975 was only liked by 5% and the third version appealed to just 3%, which was introduced in 1989.
However, the current logo of Target remains the most popular and has gained the maximum number of votes for its visual appearance.
Final Word
Target’s iconic bulls-eye logo is very easy to identify. You shall find them stamped almost everywhere today. The most important thing to notice is that even though Target has made numerous changes to its logo but it has always kept it simple. This is a perfect example of how companies make it easy for customers to identify and recognize. After having spotted the bulls-eye logo miles away, the customers are assured that they will get the best service and quality on the go.