Key takeaways
- Target built creator relationships around the appeal of finding affordable style, working with people who already enjoyed sharing what they bought.
- Partnerships developed into products and entertainment, including Tabitha Brown’s permanent vegan range and the Teammates of Target series.
- Target now places creator reviews inside its digital holiday catalog, helping shoppers assess products where they can also save or buy them.
How creators became part of the Target shopping experience
In 2012, bloggers Jen Coleman and Laura Wiertzema began posting their favourite Target finds on Instagram. Their account, Target Does It Again, mixed product photos with fitting-room selfies. By April 2016, it had 544,000 followers and a paid relationship with the retailer, according to D Magazine.
They had a lot to draw on. Target had spent decades building a reputation for affordable style, with designer collections that gave shoppers a reason to browse and something worth recommending.
Since then, Target has found several ways to develop its creator relationships. Tabitha Brown helped create products across its departments. The cast of Husbands of Target developed their parking-lot comedy into a series for the brand. In October 2026, Target brought Club Target creators’ reviews into its digital holiday catalog, where families can watch a recommendation while choosing a gift.
Together, these examples show how creators can contribute to the work of running a retailer. Target has involved them in what it sells and how it helps customers choose, building on the reasons people enjoyed shopping there in the first place.
Let’s decode it.
Affordable style and the “Tar-zhay” reputation
Target opened its first store in Roseville, Minnesota, in 1962, combining the fashion and service of a department store with discount prices. According to the company’s history, the “Tar-zhay” nickname dates to that first year. The faux-French pronunciation suggests somewhere a little more glamorous than the usual stop for household essentials, with an affectionate nod to the store’s style.
Target made that promise more visible through its designer partnerships. Michael Graves arrived in 1999, followed by names including Isaac Mizrahi in 2003 and Missoni in 2011. By 2019, the retailer had worked on more than 175 designer partnerships.
Those collaborations gave shoppers a concrete example of the style implied by “Tar-zhay”. Target put established designer names on products people could buy during an ordinary shopping trip. A customer could shop a new collection in the same store they would go to for everyday essentials.
Limited collections also gave interested shoppers a reason to plan their visit. Target says most items in its 2011 Missoni collection sold out within hours. For someone who wanted a piece of the collection, the launch date mattered. The retailer could make shopping there feel like an occasion, while still offering the everyday products that brought people through the doors.
Creators helped shoppers find their way through the store
Coleman and Wiertzema’s account offered a personal selection from Target’s assortment. Their fitting-room photos showed how they wore the clothes, and their recommendations gave followers somewhere to start. If you liked their taste, you could browse with them before making a trip of your own.
For Target, a partnership with the account meant working with people who had already found an audience for that kind of shopping. The creators chose what interested them, and the retailer was part of the recommendation from the outset. Their posts strategically connected the fun of discovering a product with a clear and direct place to buy it.
Tabitha Brown’s partnership grew into product development
Brown had worked with Target for two years when it announced four product collections with her in May 2022. They covered clothing and homeware as well as food and entertaining, with most items in the first fashion collection priced below $30.
Brown’s followers knew her vegan cooking and colourful style from her videos. Target had several departments in which to develop those interests, so a fan could recognise her contribution in the food aisle as well as the clothing section.
The relationship continued beyond the original releases. At Essence Festival in 2023, Brown announced that her vegan food line would become permanent in 2024. VegNews reported its return that April, with products including vegan ravioli and potato salad.
Making the range permanent gave the partnership a place in a Target shopper’s everyday shopping routine. A fan could discover a food through Brown, try it, and then return for it on a later visit. The retailer had a way to continue the relationship through products that could become regular purchases, with Brown’s interest in vegan cooking giving the range a clear identity.
Target developed entertainment around shoppers’ habits
Creators also understood the humour in a trip to Target. Husbands of Target imagined men finding ways to spend time together in the parking lot while their partners shopped. The audience could recognise the experience of waiting for someone who had only intended to pop in, which gave the creators a premise they could keep developing.
In 2024, Target expanded the idea into Teammates of Target, bringing back Charlie Berens, Dude Dad, You Betcha and the Holderness Family. Professional athletes joined the cast, including WNBA players Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson in a pickleball episode. The retailer kept the people audiences knew from the original videos and gave them a larger production to work with.
Brand Storytelling reported 40 million views across platforms for the first episode. The connection to Target was easy to understand because the comedy was developed out of the experience of shopping there. In response, creators could build on an observation their audience recognised, with the brand playing a natural and familiar part in the story.
Building ongoing creator relationships
By May 2026, Target said people were mentioning it more than 50,000 times a day in user-generated content. “A lot of our best marketing actually comes from our guests,” chief digital and revenue officer Sarah Travis told Retail Dive that month. “This is about giving them a home.”
Target’s two new programs, Club Target and Target Ambassadors, provide different ways for creators to work with the retailer. Club Target had around 8,000 participants following its pilot, according to Travis. It gives everyday creators weekly Instagram and TikTok challenges, tips and rewards such as gift cards or features on Target’s channels.
Target Ambassadors operates through LTK, where established creators already manage their shopping content. Campaign opportunities, enhanced commissions and bonuses for eligible content give participants ways to earn, with program tiers tied to commissionable Target sales. The retailer can work with creators in a platform they already use for their businesses.
The distinction between Club Target and Target Ambassadors makes sense when you consider what each type of creator needs. Someone sharing finds with a small following may appreciate ideas and encouragement to keep making content. A creator earning a living through recommendations also needs to understand the commercial opportunity and how to manage it. Target has provided different arrangements for those relationships.
How Target’s creator programs differ
| Program | Participation | Rewards and earning opportunities |
|---|---|---|
| Club Target | Everyday creators share Target finds through weekly Instagram and TikTok challenges, with tips and inspiration from the retailer. | Target gift cards, features on Target’s channels and commission opportunities. |
| Target Ambassadors | Established creators work with Target through LTK, where they manage shopping content and campaign opportunities. | Enhanced commissions and bonuses for eligible content, with program tiers tied to commissionable Target sales. |
Source: Target’s May 2026 program announcement.
Viral Nation’s influencer marketing services cover creator selection and relationship management, including ongoing ambassador and affiliate programs.
The retailer is also drawing on creator storytelling in its broader advertising. Its September 2026 Inside Out campaign builds from creator activity into national media, including television and streaming. Red Bag Stories invites creators to share what they carry in their Target bags, connecting the products to the people who chose them. It develops the same interest in someone else’s shopping that helped make Target Does It Again worth following.
Bringing creator recommendations into the shopping experience
Target’s digital Holiday Kids Catalog, introduced in October 2026, gives Club Target creators another place to contribute. Families can browse nearly 500 toys, games and gifts on Target.com or in the app, alongside demonstrations and creator video reviews. They can also save products to a wish list or add them to a cart.
For someone buying a present, seeing a toy in use can help them judge whether the child they have in mind would enjoy it. Target puts that information alongside the products families are considering, with options to buy or share a wish list nearby. Creators can help customers make a decision within the retailer’s own shopping experience.
Viral Nation’s content studio services cover the production of creator demos and product explainers for commerce.
Where Target is winning
Target’s advantage lies in giving creators a role in both its assortment and the way customers shop. Tabitha Brown’s permanent vegan range developed an existing partnership into products fans could return for. In the digital holiday catalog, creator reviews help families assess toys alongside options to save or buy them. In each case, the creator contributes something a customer can use when deciding what to purchase.
Target has also recognised the value of creators who understand the humour around shopping there. Teammates of Target developed a familiar parking-lot joke into entertainment for the brand, with Brand Storytelling reporting 40 million views across platforms for its first episode. The retailer was already part of the story audiences enjoyed.
These relationships build on Target’s appeal as a place to discover something worth buying. The retailer has found ways to develop the enthusiasm around its stores into products, entertainment and recommendations that fit the shopping experience. That gives its creator investment a continuing role in the business, with the people customers follow helping shape what they encounter at Target.
Frequently asked questions
What role did shopping creators play in Target’s marketing?
Accounts such as Target Does It Again gave shoppers a personal selection from Target’s assortment through product photos and fitting-room selfies. Followers could see how the creators wore the clothes before planning their own shopping trip.
How did Target’s partnership with Tabitha Brown develop?
Brown was an influencer partner for two years before Target announced four product collections with her in May 2022. In 2023, she announced that her vegan food range would become permanently available at Target from 2024.
How did Target develop its creator-led entertainment?
Target developed Teammates of Target from the creators’ Husbands of Target videos, which imagined people spending time together while their partners shopped. The branded series retained the original creators and expanded the cast to include professional athletes.
How does Target use creator reviews in its shopping experience?
Target’s October 2026 digital Holiday Kids Catalog includes video reviews from Club Target creators alongside toys, games and gifts. Shoppers can watch demonstrations, save products to a wish list or add them to a cart.
