Yesterday marked my first official Black Friday. Never in the past have I gone shopping at extremely early hours, but this year I worked for my summer job as a Brand Rep at Justice, the girl's clothing store. I know it's an important day for the economy and this year marked new records in sales with about $11.4 billion in sales according to PR Newswire. Black Friday really got me thinking, how much does public relations factor into a company's success on infamous this day?
As a consumer, what I do on Black Friday depends upon my relationship with the company and how they advertise this day. Let's take two of my favorite stores as examples, Target and Kohl's.
To me, Target's commercials for Black Friday are hilarious. I love the blonde woman training for the day in her crazy red jumpsuit. I love how Target recognizes the hype this day brings and almost makes fun of it in a way. I appreciate the humor and the recognition of the intensity consumers bring to this day.
Kohl's this year took Rebecca Black's Friday and turned it into "Black Friday". I found this humorous for about two seconds and then found it super annoying. If you are going to take something pop culture related and turn it into an ad, it has to have wit and be completed very thoughtfully. This could have been a great idea, but I think it faltered in execution, especially because I think middle aged women are a public for Kohl's and they might not recognize this reference. I know my mother didn't and she loves Kohl's.
Companies must recognize their audience and tailor their ads and campaigns to them. Black Friday is no exception to this rule!
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