LOS ANGELES – There was a powerful synergy when Target’s Greg Cunningham hosted marketing wunderkind Steve Stoute during the National Black MBA Association Convention luncheon. Stoute, who’s hailed by the likes of Jay-Z and Innerscope’s Jimmy Iovine as one of America’s premiere marketing minds, is the very embodiment of Target’s Dare.Dream.Do. campaign, which Cunningham spearheads.
Stoute, Cunniningham noted, dared to dream outside the normal industry parameters. He became an advertising superstar after already attaining that status in the music game while managing the likes of Nas and Kid N Play. He has awed contemporaries and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement in 2008 after successfully aligning entertainment icons with Fortune 500 companies to promote their products. In the process, Stoute became an incarnation of the mantra that Cunningham so ardently advocates.
“Over the years, we’ve expanded our Dream in Color campaign, which is now Dare.Dream.Do. to include both our internal and external communications,” said Cunningham, Target’s group manager for brand management. “As we talk to our team members, we use Dare.Dream.Do. as a filter. How do you dare to be your best everyday at work? How do you dream to aspire to achieve, whether it be personal or team goals? And ‘Do’ is kind of that call to action – what are you going to do to act upon it?”
Stoute did much to attain his dream. He explained this to Cunningham on stage in front of thousands of young MBA students and graduates in order to inspire them to translate their scholastic gifts into real-world practical application.
“Dare.Dream.Do. is all about inspiration,” Cunningham noted. “For Black History Month, we selected four notable dreamers – founder and director of The Angelrock Project Malaak Compton-Rock, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, chef and cookbook author Marcus Samuelsson and author and founder/CEO of Translation Marketing Steve Stoute – who have compelling and encouraging stories and a passion to inspire greatness in others. In promoting the Dare.Dream.Do. campaign through a national media presence including cable network TV, online, in-store and print, we hope to encourage everyone, everywhere to celebrate the enormous contributions of African Americans.”
Dare.Dream.Do. is a part of Target’s unending devotion to inclusiveness in the workplace.
“Fostering an inclusive culture is part of the DNA of Target; the variety that our guests, team members and local communities provide consistently inspires and informs our business choices everyday,” said Cunningham. “Our Dare.Dream.Do. campaign celebrates diversity and the stories of leaders and influencers. This, coupled with our product assortment, helps encourage our guests to appreciate each other’s differences all year long.” – terry shropshire
For more information, log onto Target.com/daredreamdo.
