To Salvation Army, Target is the Grinch who stole Christmas

By David Kaplan
Houston Chronicle
November 7, 2004

Target's branding campaign is the darling of the advertising world. The discount retailer's playful ads are universally praised.

But some people are scratching their heads over its decision to stop allowing Salvation Army bell ringers to solicit outside its stores during the holiday season.

A Salvation Army bell ringer with a red kettle is an American seasonal icon. But marketing analysts differ on whether cutting ties with the Salvation Army will produce any harmful fallout.

"Consumers notice bell ringing but are less likely to notice the lack of bell ringing," said Kit Yarrow, a professor of psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco who studies consumer behavior. "Except for awareness from news coverage, I don't think Target will suffer much."

However, Yeosun Yoon, assistant professor of marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, thinks the decision could hurt Target.

People have special emotional attachment to bell ringers during the holidays, she said. "It could potentially hurt Target," she said, although not in a profound way.

Target spokeswoman Brie Heath said the company's decision was made in fairness to the many other worthy groups that approach it daily. "We had to enforce our no-solicitation policy consistently," she said.

Betsy Gelb, professor of marketing at the University of Houston, believes Target is sincere when it says it is a matter of being fair. "I could imagine they were getting a tremendous amount of heat," she said.

Gelb doesn't think the decision will hurt Target. Bell ringers may evoke warm feelings in consumers during the holiday season, but "I don't think warmth is a salient dimension of Target's image," she said.

When she sees a bell ringer outside a store, Gelb said, "That's how I know it's Christmas. But I don't think Target is going to lose anything."

The Salvation Army is looking for other retailers to take up the slack.

Rolan Chambless Jr., public affairs manager of the Salvation Army Houston Area Command, said the Salvation Army had red kettles posted outside 22 area Targets.

Last year, he said, those locations generated $124,000 of the $700,000 in donations the nonprofit organization raised locally.

Many other retailers will continue to allow Salvation Army bell ringers to stand in front of their stores.

A corporation should be selective when choosing a nonprofit cause, Yoon said. Typically, the charitable act will complement the company's product line, she said, such as Microsoft donating computers to a high school.

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