Cutting up a watermelon recently, I saw a million little black seeds staring up at me. My first reaction? Shock. I didn’t know they still sold watermelons with seeds in them. My second reaction? Irritation. Why hadn’t the sign at Target indicated that they were not “seedless” watermelons?
Happy to find a good deal on one of my favorite fruits, I had thrown the watermelon in my cart without even considering the fact that the sign hadn’t specifically labeled the watermelon as seedless. After all, it was Target.
A brand I associate with quality, reliability, and above all, convenience.
The whole watermelon incident got me thinking about the importance of branding, and how difficult it is for companies to remain consistent while continually innovating to meet the demands of today’s ever evolving consumer.
This reminded me of a conversation I had with Kitten about a year ago:
Pulling into the parking lot of a local sporting goods store, Kitten looked out the window and squealed, “Target!”
“That’s right,” I answered, “but we’re not going to Target right now.”
“Why not?” Kitten asked.
“Because we need groceries, and this isn’t a Super Target. We have to go to the one over by our house to get groceries.”
There was a long pause from the backseat, and then Kitten said, “Huh?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. To me, getting groceries at Target still felt like a relatively new phenomenon, but to Kitten, a Target without groceries was unimaginable.
If Target is going to keep me happy, they have it pretty easy: make sure my watermelon is seedless. But to keep Kitten happy, they’ve got their work cut out for them. I can’t even begin to imagine what goods and services they’ll need to provide to earn her loyalty by the time she’s old enough to have a discretionary income.
Think they’ll be up to the challenge?
