Extreme Ads Makeover – Target

In this series of “Extreme Ads Makeover”, I will be tearing down ads of Target and have them completely remodeled to have better targeting and ROI.

Check out more ad makeover case studies such as Lexus, Chanel, Chase Bank, Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, Target, Home Depot, and Nature Made.

About Target

• Revenue: In 2021, Target reported total revenue of $106 billion, up 15% from 2020.
• Growth: Over the past 5 years, Target’s revenues have grown at a compound annual rate of over 5%.
• Profits: Target’s net earnings for 2021 were $6 billion, representing a profit margin of around 5.7%. Their operating income was $9.3 billion.
• Customers: Target has over 100 million customers per year shop in their stores and online. On average, customers visited Target stores close to 24 times per year.
• Stores: Target operates 1,924 stores across the United States. They have plans to open 30-40 new small format stores per year.
• Ecommerce: Digital sales account for nearly 20% of Target’s revenues. Their e-commerce growth was over 50% in 2020.
• Market Share: Target has around 3.7% market share in the US retail sector. In discount retail, they have over 20% share behind only Walmart.

So in summary, Target is a retail giant with over $100 billion in annual revenue, 100 million customers, and growing ecommerce and in-store sales. They are one of the largest and most profitable retailers in the US.

About Target’s marketing agency

Target works with multiple advertising and marketing agencies, with most major work handled by their in-house creative team and marketing department. Here are some key details on Target’s agency relationships:

• Mono was named Target’s Media Agency of Record in 2016. They handle major media planning and buying for Target in the US.
• Figliulo&Partners is Target’s creative agency of record as of 2022. They develop Target’s brand creative campaigns and marketing content.
• GALE Partners is Target’s Multicultural Agency of Record focused on Hispanic and Black consumer marketing.
• Haworth handles PR and communications for Target.
• Target also works with digital agencies like Colle McVoy on ecommerce experience and development.
• For specialty initiatives, Target partners with specialized agencies on a project basis. Recent examples include Mother LA (2022 holiday campaign), Instrument (toys), and Hooray Agency (baby goods marketing).
• Target has an extensive in-house Creative and Marketing team that leads overall brand strategy and product marketing initiatives. They develop much of the creative work internally.

So while Target has agency partners, their in-house team drives marketing strategy and creative. They leverage agencies for supplemental capabilities like media buying and niche campaigns.

About Michael Nguyen – CEO of Produce Results Agency, aka the “Extreme Ads Makeover” Host

Since 1999, Produce Results Agency has helped clients double assets from $5ooM to $1B and generated 4000% ROI for a regional bank turning their $66K marketing budget to $2.8M in revenue.

In this post, I will perform an ad audit on Target’s ads, analyze what’s missing from the ads, come up with new ads, and eventually validate those new ads by running paid traffic on my own dime to see how new ads perform.

I am using Meta Ads in this case study but the same principle applies to other mediums such as Google, Youtube, Programmatic Ads, and short forms.

Table of Content

1. Ads Audit

2. Gaps Analysis

3. Ads Makeover

4. Validate New Ads

5. Insights/Takeaways

6. Next Steps

Ads Audit

Promoted Product: Listerine mouthwash

Landing page: https://www.target.com/b/listerine/-/N-5tcm7?ref=tgt_soc_pdl&afid=FB_br&fndsrc=tmntga&DFA=%7B%7Bcampaign.id%7D%7D&cid=%7B%7Bad.id%7D%7D&fbclid=IwAR2_isL7Rsfhx-sqDIcNfWy2DzepOXBY7xysT2f6KMMM1j-_CLyhRHrpWcY

Facebook Ads: 

Ad Set #1 (link)

Analysis

What I like:

• Obviously, external agencies supporting Target are experienced teams and their experience is reflected in how they structure the landing page to promote tracking.
  • You notice the landing page for 2 ad sets points to: https://www.target.com/b/listerine/-/N-5tcm7
  • Whatever after the URL are parameters set up for tracking purposes.
• Another plus point is the usage of a variety of creative assets. Specifically, in each ad set, a different image is used.
• Message-Creative matched: The message for each creative is matched. For example, the benefit of “promoting oral health white tackling bad breath, tartar & plaque” matches with the message in the creative “upgrade your oral health routine”.

Room for improvements:

• Consistency and Repetition: The ad text and visual both emphasize the promotion of oral health. However, the visual’s “Upgrade your oral health routine” is a more compelling call to action than the text’s more descriptive approach.
• Value Proposition: The ad text emphasizes the price (“under $7”) and the convenience (“with Drive Up”), which are strong selling points. However, the visual’s emphasis on “upgrading” one’s routine suggests a qualitative improvement, which isn’t mirrored in the text.
• Emotional Appeal: The ad text doesn’t leverage strong emotional triggers. The emotions of anger, envy, defiance, and disgust,  could be used to create a more compelling narrative. For instance, tapping into the emotion of disgust related to bad breath or the defiance of not settling for subpar oral care products.
• Types of Statement: The ad doesn’t utilize the condition statement type, which can be a powerful tool in persuasion. A condition statement like “If you care about your oral health, then Listerine is the choice for you” can be more compelling.
• Shame: The ad doesn’t tap into the shame associated with defeat. This could be used to emphasize the consequences of not taking oral health seriously.
• Lack of Emotional Depth: Without tapping into deeper emotions, the ad might not resonate as strongly with potential customers. Emotions drive decision-making, and by not leveraging them, the ad might not be as effective in compelling action

Effect on Ad Performance:

• Reduced Engagement: Without emotional appeal or a clear value proposition, the ad might not capture attention or resonate with viewers, leading to lower engagement rates.
• Lower Conversion Rates: Without urgency or a clear CTA, viewers might not feel compelled to take immediate action, leading to lower conversion rates.
• Less Memorability: Without strong visuals or emotional triggers, the ad might be less memorable, meaning consumers might not recall the brand or offer later on.
• Broad Targeting: Without specifying a target audience, the ad might reach individuals who aren’t interested in the offer, leading to wasted ad spend.
• Lower Click-Through Rates (CTR): Without a compelling reason to click, viewers might just scroll past.
• Lower Conversion Rates: Even if they do click, they might not be as motivated to purchase without clear value, differentiation, or emotional resonance.
• Less Retention: Without a clear connection or reason to remember the brand or offer, even those who click might forget about it shortly after.

The boring “feature/benefit” ad will soon hit the following limitations:

Lack of A/B Testing

• Limited Insights: With only one ad, you won’t be able to perform A/B tests, which are essential for determining what aspects of the ad are working and what aren’t.

Targeting Limitations

• Missed Opportunities for Segmentation: Different ad sets can target different customer segments. A single ad may not be as effective across all segments, missing out on some potentially lucrative opportunities.
• Reduced Personalization: Multiple ad sets allow you to customize messages based on user behavior, geography, or other demographics. A single ad will be less personalized and potentially less effective (more on this below when I do an ad makeover)

Creativity and Message Fatigue

• Ad Fatigue: Over time, the same ad is likely to become less effective as users get tired of seeing it. Multiple ad sets can help mitigate this effect.
• Limited Creative Testing: Having multiple ads allows for testing different creative elements like headlines, images, and call-to-actions. A single ad limits this flexibility.

Risk Management

• Higher Risk: If your one ad doesn’t perform well, you don’t have other ad sets to fall back on. This all-or-nothing approach can be riskier.
• Budget Allocation: With multiple ad sets, you can allocate more budget to higher-performing ads. A single ad does not offer this flexibility.

Optimization Challenges

• Limited Learning: If your single ad isn’t performing well, it’s harder to pinpoint what exactly is going wrong. Multiple ad sets can provide you with more data, making it easier to optimize.
• Inability to Leverage Platform Algorithms: Many advertising platforms use machine learning algorithms to automatically allocate budget to the best-performing ads in a campaign. With just one ad, you can’t take advantage of this feature.

Data and Analytics

• Limited Data for Analytics: Having only one ad will provide you less data, reducing the reliability and validity of your performance metrics.

Attention:

If you had multiple product lines and currently ran paid ads, there’s a 97% chance that you had less than 3 ads based on my experiences of remodeling ads from Lexus, Chanel, Chase Bank, Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, Target, Home Depot, and Nature Made.

Maybe you are perfectly okay with one control ad and burn your ad budget without ROI.

But if you would like to have a second-opinion ads critique so that you can see the gaps and areas where you can extract MORE juice out of your ads, click on the link below to have me critique your ads.

Gaps Analysis

The Landing Page (see link )

Audience avatar: Based on the landing page, I can draw some conclusions about the target audience:

1. Daily Oral Care Routine: The mention of “Swish, rinse & feel refreshed every day” and “Everyday Use” suggests that the target customer values daily oral hygiene and is looking for products that can be incorporated into their daily routine.
2. Variety Seekers: The mention of “Explore formulas for every need” and “Fun flavors in alcohol-free formulas” indicates that the target audience might be looking for variety in their oral care products, both in terms of flavor and benefits.
3. Health-Conscious: The emphasis on “Zero Alcohol” suggests that the target customer is health-conscious and prefers products without alcohol, possibly due to concerns about its effects or personal preferences.
4. On-the-Go Lifestyle: The mention of “On the Go” indicates that the target audience leads a busy lifestyle and values products that can be used on the move, ensuring fresh breath throughout the day.
5. Family-Oriented: The specific mention of products “Specially formulated for the little ones” suggests that Listerine is targeting families, especially parents who are concerned about their children’s oral hygiene.
6. Supports Diversity and Art: The mention of “Listerine supports increasing diversity in dentistry” and the collaboration with King Saladeen for the “Listerine Whoa Collection” indicates that the brand values diversity and art, and this might resonate with a customer base that shares similar values.

In other words, the target avatar for this product would be:

Health-conscious individuals who values daily oral hygiene and is open to exploring a variety of oral care products. They lead a busy, on-the-go lifestyle but also prioritize the oral health of their family, especially their children. This customer appreciates brands that support diversity and artistic collaborations, reflecting a modern, inclusive mindset.

Ads Makeover

Here’s the disease that most marketing agencies and businesses running paid ads:

“They think they’ve tested 20 ads but they really just tested 2 ads 10 different times.”

Headline Options

1. “Elevate Your Daily Ritual with Listerine!”
2. “From Morning Rush to Bedtime Stories: Listerine’s Got You Covered!”
3. “Everyday Freshness, Zero Alcohol: Dive into Listerine’s Range!”
4. “For the Busy Bee to the Little Ones: Listerine’s All-Day Freshness!”
5. “Ever Felt the Blues of Bad Breath? “
6. “Guess What’s Shaking Up Oral Care? “
7. “Tired of Mouthwashes That Just Don’t Cut It?”
8. “Green with Envy Over Others’ Fresh Breath? “
9. “Dare to Defy the Mundane in Oral Care?”

Body Copy Options

1. “Swish and rinse to kickstart your day with a refreshing feel! With Listerine, enjoy the benefits of zero alcohol and fun flavors tailored for every family member. Plus, embrace diversity with our exclusive Whoa Collection by King Saladeen. ”
   • Models Applied: Relationships (Your customer), Imagery (Visual, Auditory), Emotions (Joy, Ambition, Creativity), Time (Present), Capability (Can, Is), Proof (Credibility – Powerful Associations), Numbers (Savings), Language Devices (Alliteration, Rhythm), Locations (Conceptual – “Cyberspace”).
2. “On the move? Keep your breath fresh anytime, anywhere with Listerine. Dive into our alcohol-free formulas, perfect for every family member. And don’t miss our artistic collaboration, celebrating diversity in dentistry!”
   • Models Applied: Relationships (Your customer), Imagery (Visual), Emotions (Joy, Ambition, Creativity), Time (Present), Towards/Away From (Desire), Capability (Can, Does), Proof (Credibility – Powerful Associations), Numbers (Savings), Language Devices (Alliteration), Locations (Conceptual – “Cyberspace”).
3. “Why settle for ordinary when you can upgrade? Listerine offers a symphony of flavors without the alcohol. Perfect for your daily routine and specially crafted for the little ones. Celebrate diversity with our unique Whoa Collection!”
   • Models Applied: Relationships (Your customer), Imagery (Auditory), Emotions (Joy, Ambition, Excellence), Time (Present), Capability (Can, Does), Proof (Credibility – Powerful Associations), Numbers (Savings), Language Devices (Simile, Rhythm), Locations (Conceptual – “Cyberspace”).
4. “Your day is packed, but your oral care doesn’t have to take a backseat. With Listerine, experience freshness on the go. Dive into our diverse range, from zero alcohol to fun flavors. And, make a statement with our Whoa Collection, designed by King Saladeen.”
   • Models Applied: Relationships (Your customer), Imagery (Visual), Emotions (Joy, Ambition, Excellence), Time (Present), Capability (Can, Does), Proof (Credibility – Powerful Associations), Numbers (Savings), Language Devices (Alliteration, Rhythm), Locations (Conceptual – “Cyberspace”).
5. “Tired of those sad moments when bad breath hits you outta nowhere? Listerine’s got your back. Our prediction? No more unexpected downers. Keep your chin up and swish away the blues with us. No more facepalms, just freshness! ”
   • Models Applied: Emotions (Sadness, Anticipation), Types of Statements (Question), Future (Prediction), Language Devices (Slang, Tragedy), Shame (Stupidity, Vulnerability).
6. “What if we told you there’s a plot twist in your oral care routine? Listerine’s bringing the unexpected to the table. Our promise? A surprise in every swish. Don’t be that last one to catch the wave. Get on board and ride the freshness tide!”
   • Models Applied: Emotions (Surprise, Anticipation), Types of Statements (Question), Future (Promise), Language Devices (Slang), Shame (Stupidity, Vulnerability).
7. “If you’re fed up with mouthwashes that promise the world but deliver zilch, it’s time for a change. If you don’t switch to Listerine, you’re setting yourself up for a tragic tale of defeat. Don’t let subpar products get the best of you. Choose Listerine and show ’em who’s boss! ”
   • Models Applied: Emotions (Anger, Disgust), Types of Statements (Condition), Future (Warning), Language Devices (Slang, Tragedy), Shame (Defeat).
8. “Ever looked at someone and thought, ‘Why can’t my breath be that fresh?’ If you’re not using Listerine, you’re just playing yourself. A word of warning: envy’s a tough pill to swallow. Don’t be left in the shadows. Step up and grab the spotlight with Listerine’s unmatched freshness! ”
   • Models Applied: Emotions (Envy, Defiance), Types of Statements (Condition), Future (Warning), Language Devices (Slang, Tragedy), Shame (Defeat).
9. “Ready to challenge the status quo? If you’re still stuck with that old-school mouthwash, brace yourself for a downfall. But here’s the tea: with Listerine, you can defy the norms and elevate your game. Don’t settle for less when you can have the best. Dive into the Listerine revolution now! ”
   • Models Applied: Emotions (Defiance, Disgust), Types of Statements (Condition), Future (Warning), Language Devices (Slang, Tragedy), Shame (Defeat).

Validate New Ads

This is where the rubber meets the road as I am going to validate ad concepts from the previous step by running paid traffic to see which ad concepts would resonate most with the customers.

Here’s how I set the adset on Facebook

• Budget: $10 Lifetime
• Product/Service: Mouthwash
• Targeted audience: Target with interest in Target with women from 25-60 in Texas
• Placement: News Feed
• Optimization: Optimized for Traffic

Here are all the 9 ads being launched.

Fast-forwarding 24 hours to let the ads run.

Here’s the results

Campaign Numbers:

• • Ad budget: $14.60
  • Total Impressions: 2,333
  • Total Reach: 2,044
  • Total Clicks: 16
  • Cost Per Click (CPC): $0.91
  • CTR (all): 0.69%

Ad results

Summary

1. 1. Reach and Impressions:
      • ‘Headline 3’ has the highest reach with 540 and the highest impressions with 573.
      • ‘Headline 9’ has the lowest reach with 25, and also the lowest impressions with 27.
   2. Amount Spent:
      • ‘Headline 7’ had the highest amount spent at $3.73.
      • ‘Headline 9’ had the least amount spent at $0.13.
   3. CPM (Cost per 1,000 Impressions):
      • ‘Headline 7’ has the highest CPM at $11.00, indicating it’s the most expensive ad per 1000 impressions.
      • ‘Headline 1’ has the lowest CPM at $3.19.
   4. Link Clicks and CTR (Click-Through Rate):
      • ‘Headline 3’ has the highest number of link clicks at 5.
      • ‘Headline 4’ stands out with a CTR of 1.37%, making it the most effective ad in terms of engagement.
      • ‘Headline 1’ has the lowest CTR at 0.47%.
   5. CPC (Cost per Link Click):
      • ‘Headline 2’ has the highest CPC at $1.28.
      • ‘Headline 4’ has the lowest CPC at $0.42, making it the most cost-effective ad in terms of link clicks.
   6. Ad Performance:
      • ‘Headline 3’, despite not having the highest CPM, stands out with the highest reach and impressions. It also has a reasonable CTR and CPC, indicating a good balance between reach and cost-effectiveness.
      • ‘Headline 9’ has the lowest reach, impressions, and amount spent. It might be worth investigating why this ad is underperforming compared to others.

In conclusion, while ‘Headline 3’ reached the most people, ‘Headline 4’ was the most effective in terms of engagement and cost-effectiveness for link clicks. It’s essential to consider both reach and engagement metrics when evaluating the performance of ads.

Winning Ads: 

• If the goal is to get maximum reach and impressions, ‘Headline 3’ is the top performer.
  • Headline: “Everyday Freshness, Zero Alcohol: Dive into Listerine’s Range!”
  • Ad body: “Why settle for ordinary when you can upgrade? Listerine offers a symphony of flavors without the alcohol. Perfect for your daily routine and specially crafted for the little ones. Celebrate diversity with our unique Whoa Collection!”
    • Models Applied: Relationships (Your customer), Imagery (Auditory), Emotions (Joy, Ambition, Excellence), Time (Present), Capability (Can, Does), Proof (Credibility – Powerful Associations), Numbers (Savings), Language Devices (Simile, Rhythm), Locations (Conceptual – “Cyberspace”).
  • Total Impressions: 573
  • Total Reach: 540
  • Clicks: 5
  • CPC: $0.58
• If the objective is to get the most clicks at the lowest cost, ‘Headline 4’ stands out.
  • Headline: “For the Busy Bee to the Little Ones: Listerine’s All-Day Freshness!”
  • Ad Body: “Your day is packed, but your oral care doesn’t have to take a backseat. With Listerine, experience freshness on the go. Dive into our diverse range, from zero alcohol to fun flavors. And, make a statement with our Whoa Collection, designed by King Saladeen.”
    • Models Applied: Relationships (Your customer), Imagery (Visual), Emotions (Joy, Ambition, Excellence), Time (Present), Capability (Can, Does), Proof (Credibility – Powerful Associations), Numbers (Savings), Language Devices (Alliteration, Rhythm), Locations (Conceptual – “Cyberspace”).
  • Total Impressions: 73
  • Total Reach: 69
  • Clicks: 1
  • CPC: $0.42

Analytics:

Takeaways/Insights

So in this thorough case study, I extensively analyze, examine, and audit Target’s ads relating to the mouthwash, then come up with new ad ideas based on 17 analysis “lenses”, and finally validate ad ideas by running them through paid FB traffic to determine the winning ad.

• Similar to Starbucks case, it appears the usage of complex human emotions doesn’t drive attention. In contrast, when I look closely, the mechanic behind ad 3 & 4 is almost the same. But consumers tend to favor ad #3’s rhyming headline.
• To utilize human emotions effectively, I’d suggest changing the creatives to match the emotions. In this case study, I intentionally kept the landing page + creatives the same to reduce the number of variations and focus on the ad copy instead.
  • As a result, our ads 7-9 could have suffered the message mismatched not only on the creative but also on the landing page.
  • That explains why ads #7-9 don’t gain the anticipated traction
• Use bundling to increase the AOV instead of one bottle. For example, Target can offer a bundle of 3 bottles or a family bundle with 2 bottles: one for parents + one for kids.
• My assumption is the buyer can stay subscribed for 3 months. With my Churn Buster Kit system to minimize churns and bring back lost customers, we can stretch the customer LTV to 20-50%.
• Having only one control ad can seriously underperform your entire campaign because of the lack of A/B Testing, targeting limitations, ad fatigue, risk management, and optimization challenges.
• Having multiple analysis “lenses” is the foundation to come up with ad ideas addressing customers’ needs, wants, objections, pains, and frustrations. Without additional analysis “lenses”, you are more likely to get “stuck” with boring and mediocre “features & benefits” angle.
• Ideas & creatives are the name of the game.
• I’d recommend Target team create more ad angles for each of its products. The path of “Extreme Ads Makeover” doesn’t stop and should be continuously evolving with the market.

What-If Revenue Impact Analysis

• What If Target went ahead and doubled down on ad #3 with the highest reach, more clicks, and a little higher CPC,  what would be the revenue impact?
• Let’s make some assumptions:
  • For the well-known mouthwash of Listerine, the conversion rate should be 10%+
  • The avg price of one bottle of Listerine: $8
  • Double down on ad #3 by increasing the number of clicks to 10,000 clicks (Cost = 10,000 clicks x $0.58 = $5,800)
• Let’s calculate the potential revenues
  • At 10% conversion rate, 10,000 x 10% = 1000 shoppers buy
    • Revenue = 1000 x $8 = $8000
    • ROI = 38%  ($8000- $5800) / $5800)

Next Step

• Double down on the winning ad and amp up the budget on it because I’ve done the homework for you, all you need is to increase the ad budget.
• I share with you the 17 proprietary models I used to create ad ideas. While those 17 models appear easy for me because I’ve used them to generate thousands of ad ideas, for you, generating ideas may not come easily. That’s why I want to introduce the…
• “Second Opinion” Package

If you are a 7-figure business owner and already run paid ads and need someone to critique your ads for a potential makeover, go ahead and order my “Second Opinion” package.